BICOM

Key Points 

• Increasing levels of aid are entering Gaza from Israel, but there are reports that some has been hijacked by armed men
• New facts are emerging about Hamas’s conduct towards its own people, as journalists gain full access to Gaza
• Former British Intelligence Corps soldier defends conduct of Israeli forces
• Multilateral diplomatic efforts continue to sustain ceasefire and attempt to prevent Hamas rearming

Key quotations

Daniel Dawson*, British soldier who served in Intelligence Corps in Afghanistan and Iraq (22/1): “Footage of Gaza released today does show devastating damage to individual buildings, but this is no Stalingrad.  A fact often unappreciated by those with no military experience is that the selective use of overwhelming force, aimed at key targets, actually shortens conflict and saves lives.” 

Tim Butcher in the Daily Telegraph (21/1): “There had been no carpet bombing of large areas, no firebombing of complete suburbs. Targets had been selected and then hit, often several times, but almost always with precision munitions.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (21/1): “We will cooperate with the international community in the efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip while simultaneously denying Hamas any legitimacy, as we have done ever since the organization took over Gaza.”

Humanitarian aid

Increasing levels of humanitarian aid are entering Gaza from Israel. The Kerem Shalom, Karni, Nahal Oz and Erez crossings opened on Wednesday, enabling humanitarian movements and the transfer of humanitarian goods into Gaza. Throughout Wednesday, 21 January, a total of 181 trucks with 5,221 tons of supplies made their way into Gaza.

However, there are reports that some of the aid has been hijacked by armed men in the Gaza Strip. A Jordanian news agency reported on Monday that a consignment of aid from Jordan intended for the UN agency UNRWA has been seized.

Since the beginning of the operation, 53,647 tons of humanitarian supplies have been transferred to Gaza on 2,084 trucks. Also, 3,162,351 litres of fuel have been conveyed through Nahal Oz and Kerem Shalom. A total of 681 dual nationals have been evacuated on three different occasions. Israel has also worked successfully to rehabilitate the electrical grid in Gaza.

Full journalistic access: new facts emerging

Full access to Gaza from Israel has now been granted to journalists. This has brought to light new details about the conflict and its immediate aftermath. 

• Firsthand reports are now emerging about the conduct of Hamas in the conflict. Hamas officials have made a partial admission in response to accusations that they launched a brutal assault on Fatah rivals in the Gaza Strip in the midst of the conflict, including abductions and shootings. According to the Independent, Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for the Islamic faction, said yesterday in Gaza City: “Maybe some of them were killed because they were acting against the population, against the resistance.” A Fatah official in Ramallah told the Jerusalem Post that at least 100 of his men had been killed or wounded as a result of the massive Hamas crackdown, and that some had been brutally tortured.
• More residents in Gaza are now openly critical of Hamas, whose fighters shed uniforms at the outset of the conflict, wore civilian clothes instead and hid within the civilian population. A reporter from the BBC quoted Yusef, a farmer from Jabaliya, whose house was destroyed, saying: “I blame Israel and Hamas both.”

Debate over Israel’s use of force

A British soldier who served in the Intelligence Corps in Afghanistan and Iraq has vigorously defended the conduct of Israeli forces against accusations that it acted with disproportionate force. Daniel Dawson* said today:

“Much has been made of Israel’s ‘disproportionate and excessive’ use of force in Gaza.  Footage of Gaza released today does show devastating damage to individual buildings, but this is no Stalingrad.  A fact often unappreciated by those with no military experience is that the selective use of overwhelming force, aimed at key targets, actually shortens conflict and saves lives.  In Basra in 2003 the USA and the UK chose to use extreme force against locations that had been fortified by the Ba’ath Party, in order to spare our troops and the people of Basra the horror of a drawn out street battle.  It appears that the IDF made the same choice in Gaza.”

White phosphorus

With regard to the use of phosphorous shells, Dawson* stressed that, “the use of white phosphorous is not illegal.  The Geneva conventions do restrict the use of white phosphorous in certain circumstances, but it is used almost daily by British forces in Afghanistan.”

This assessment is backed up by the eyewitness account of Telegraph journalist Tim Butcher, who writes:

“There had been no carpet bombing of large areas, no firebombing of complete suburbs. Targets had been selected and then hit, often several times, but almost always with precision munitions. Buildings nearby had been damaged and there had been some clear mistakes, like the firebombing of the UN aid headquarters. But, in most the cases, I saw the primary target had borne the brunt.”

Peter Herby, head of the Red Cross mines-arms unit, said last week on the use of white phosphorus that, “In some of the strikes in Gaza it’s pretty clear that phosphorus was used. But it’s not very unusual to use phosphorus to create smoke or illuminate a target. We have no evidence to suggest it’s being used in any other way.”

Israel denies that it used white phosphorous in a way inconsistent with international law, but has in any case appointed a senior officer to investigate.

Israeli society

Within Israeli society, a debate is occurring about the outcome of the war, and how Israeli forces conducted themselves from a humanitarian perspective. Speaking last night on Israel’s Channel 2 News, Defence Minister Ehud Barak stressed that Israel had achieved a considerable victory over Hamas, and defended the conduct of the IDF. Nevertheless, Israel’s daily Haaretz newspaper today calls for an independent inquiry into the war because Israel’s “moral profile in its own eyes is invaluably important.”

Diplomatic developments

On the diplomatic front, European states, along with the US and moderate Arab states led by Egypt, are continuing to engage in securing a more satisfactory long-term situation that will prevent Hamas from rearming. Having appointed Senator George Mitchell as his envoy to the Middle East, President Barack Obama’s first calls from the Oval Office were to the leaders of the Palestinian Authority, Israel, Egypt and Jordan.

Senior Israeli defence official Amos Gilad has travelled to Cairo today for talks with Egyptian officials. The officials are discussing the idea of a long-term truce with Hamas, the cessation of arms smuggling through tunnels and the opening of border crossings with Gaza. Gilad will focus his efforts on a mechanism to halt smuggling into Gaza.

Hamas still demands the opening of the border crossings, whilst Israel is stressing the very high priority it places on the return of captured soldier Gilad Shalit.

* The soldier asked for his name to be changed for security reasons. He is happy to identify himself if need be via BICOM.