Tensions between Israel and Palestine are continuing to mount, at the end of the fifth day.
The numbers are startling: 1200 Israelis dead. A similar number of Palestinians also dead. 5000 wounded in Gaza.
2 million Palestinians are now encountering extreme shortages of water, food, fuel and medication after the Egypt-Gaza border was destroyed by Israeli bombing.
One British-Palestinian, who doesn’t want his name used, talks about how the conflict is affecting him and his family.
British-Palestinian: Now there’s a complete siege. So no supplies, no water. I mean, 98% of the water in Gaza is is unclean to begin with. So imagine now where you don’t have water, you don’t have electricity. The one power station that was working in Gaza has today run out of fuel.
Earlier today, the Israeli military closed off a large land area around Gaza. And now, fuel is running out at Gaza’s only power plant.
Wael Buhaissy, a Palestinian-American, is having difficulty communicating with his family in Gaza due to the blockade.
Wael Buhaissy: When my cousin talks to me… we do Facebook Messenger…he said this will have to be quick because we’re going to lose electricity any time.
Who’s to blame for the conflict? It’s complicated, says Sandy Tolan, a USC professor and author of several books on Israel-Palestine.
Sandy Tolan: This started on Saturday. No, it didn’t. It really goes way back. And there are there are a lot of bad players in this and a lot of it is the extension of how Israel has essentially tried to take over more and more of the land and keep Palestinians in place while they continue to build out settlements and keep Gaza essentially under lock and key. Does this justify what happened? Absolutely not. Does it help understand the power and fury that results in this kind of action defense? Indefensible as it is? Yes, it does help explain that.
The Palestinians understand how this conflict is affecting the Israeli population too.
British-Palestinian: I understand why people in Israel might be upset, because obviously, you know, that’s their own people. But at the same time, the Palestinians are people you know, it’s a two-way street here. You know, their life isn’t less valuable than our life. I hope that the international community will come to their senses and wake up and essentially try to find a reasonable solution that can minimize the bloodshed, because that’s the most important thing. No one, no one in their reasonable mind wants to see this. Innocent lives being lost is not an ideal situation.