Israel had never wanted a ceasefire - Analyst
KUALA LUMPUR - The invading Israeli army that started a barrage of attacks on the Gaza Strip right after the end of the humanitarian pause last Friday clearly proved that the Zionist regime has no desire to make peace.
National Defence University of Malaysia’s security and international relations expert Professor Dr Mohd Mizan Mohammad Aslam said the humanitarian pause was just part of Israel's tactics to reorganise its military strategy to attack Gaza more aggressively.
"During the seven-day humanitarian pause, Israel did not only conduct airstrikes, but continued to attack the people of Gaza from the ground, causing dozens to die.
"Israel never wanted a ceasefire or reconciliation, even the release of the hostages was not the original plan. It was just filling in the gaps of time and playing out the narrative of the people," he told Bernama.
Mizan believes the real motive behind Israel's increasingly aggressive attacks is to force the entire population of Gaza to move to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
"Israel wants to break up Gaza and seize the territory because of its strategic position for trade routes. It (Israel) plans to build new canals under its control," he said.
The analyst hoped that the United Nations (UN) would deploy peacekeepers to the area immediately.
"A UN peacekeeping force is an urgent need. If such a force was to be deployed to Gaza, especially in the refugee camp area, it would be able to reduce Israeli rocket fire or they (Israel) would face serious international legal action," he said.
He also suggested that Muslim countries who are the main global producers of oil and gas slow down their production as a sign of protest against Israel's atrocities.
"Maybe Israel does not use much oil and gas, but other countries will be affected if the production slows down. These countries will then push harder for Israel to stop the attacks."
Meanwhile, geostrategist Professor Dr Azmi Hassan is of the view that efforts need to be stepped up to ensure that the massacre of the people in Gaza is stopped.
He said despite receiving strong criticism from the global community, Israel remained brave and arrogant in committing their crime against humanity. He believed the Zionist actions are supported by certain Western powers.
"What is important is to ensure that the brutal acts of the Israeli occupation forces against the people of Gaza are completely stopped, not just a temporary ceasefire.
"I believe that Qatar and Egypt are capable of being good mediators since both countries have direct relations with Israel and Hamas," said the senior fellow at the Archipelago Strategic Research Academy.
Israel resumed its assault by land, sea and air at 7am on Friday, just minutes after a seven-day humanitarian pause sponsored by Egypt, Qatar and the US ended.
At least 15,207 Palestinians, including more than 6,500 children and 3,000 women, have been killed since the start of the Israeli regime's military offensive on Oct 7.
The number of those reported missing, either trapped under rubble or their fate unknown, has risen to more than 7,500 while the number of those injured has reached 40,650.
The relentless Israeli offensive also caused severe damage to critical infrastructure in Gaza, including hospitals, schools, mosques and residential buildings. - BERNAMA
