There were signs, as we’ve previously mentioned in a previous article, that prisoners were being abused in the Sde Teiman detention center, with numerous human rights reportedly being broken by Israel. Unfortunately, what began as a whisper, turned into a rolling headline when a number of soldiers have been detained for the reported abuses, for further investigation and subsequent prosecution by a military court in case they will be found guilty.
Together with the high number of civilian casualties that the Palestinians have reportedly suffered at the hands of the IDF, this new scandal casts a long shadow upon Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip. The humanitarian situation in the area has been looking dire for close to a year.
Often, many are tempted to overlook the suffering that the Israelis are faced with as well, with 70.000 IDPs coming from northern Israel, with rocket barrages coming down upon them, rained by Hezbollah from Lebanon or Syria.
One such an event has happened in recent days when a rocket attack took place in the Golan Heights, more precisely in Majdal Shams, where one unit landed on a football field where multiple children were playing. This resulted with 12 casualties and many more wounded, with all of them being children. This is reportedly the highest casualty number reported by Israel since the attack on October 7th, even though the Golan Heights are not officially internationally recognized as part of Israel’s territory.
Another also perished in another rocket attack claimed by Hezbollah which happened in a northern kibbutz called Hagoshrim, while aiming for a military base, according to news sources. It is reported that since October 7th, Hezbollah has inflicted upon Israel 25 civilian casualties, respectively 18 military ones.
It is reported that 111 of the 215 hostages that Hamas took on October 7 still remain in the terrorist organization’s custody, while 39 of the totals are confirmed as casualties by the IDF – Israel’s military has been admitting in recent times that getting all of the hostages and bodies might be an unrealistic task, especially after all the military operations that took place with the objective of rescuing and retrieval.
Nevertheless, the geopolitical situation seems to be worsening, with Israel planning for retaliatory strikes on Hezbollah, especially after the recent rocket attacks mentioned above. Many fear that the situation might turn out of control, which in turn would increase the risks for the appearance of more civilian casualties.
In this case, diplomats have been reported to be scrambling with the objective of managing these strikes, in other words, escalation management. This had been also true after the Iran-Israel exchanges but, as we know by now, those have had no casualties involved, which makes the current situation all the more dangerous, even though Hezbollah has reiterated that it does not want a full-blown war at this moment. Furthermore, this would appear to be applicable to Israel as well, since it is already fully immersed in its operations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank and, in this regard, officials have already stated that their retaliation would be “harsh, but contained”.
One thing rings true though – the longer this war continues, the higher are the risks and chances to blow over, ultimately causing many more civilian casualties while the devastation it continues to bring would also escalate in a wider conflict.