Escalating Israeli Casualties: US-Israel Deal Fuels Concerns in Gaza Conflict

With the continuous rise in the number of Israeli soldiers killed and dozens of injured arriving at hospitals daily amid scenes of intense fighting deep within the Gaza Strip, the Israeli leadership has been forced to acknowledge the ferocity of the battles with the Hamas movement. This requires a long time to achieve even some of the war's objectives.

As a result, the mini-security cabinet and then the expanded political-security cabinet succumbed to US demands to approve the provision of humanitarian aid to the Gaza population, including fuel. In return, Washington pledged to use its veto power in the UN Security Council to prevent any ceasefire resolution. Thus, Israel obtained a green light from the US with no defined timeframe to end the fighting in Gaza.

This deal reinforced the Israeli leadership's rejection of the demand by the families of prisoners to resume negotiations on the file. This has returned them to square one, intensifying their concern about the risk of their loved ones being killed by their own government's soldiers' gunfire. More importantly, they are concerned about the possibility of being smuggled out of the enclave through tunnels.

All of this comes at a time when Palestinian civilians pay the heaviest price. The US-Israeli deal does not ensure their protection, and there is no clear plan for the course of military operations to guarantee safe zones away from the fighting. This was evident in the statements of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a joint press conference with his British counterpart, David Cameron.

Washington's words and its deal with Tel Aviv make civilians in Gaza hostages to the interests of both parties, highlighting the Arab and international failure to save the lives of over two million Palestinians.