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Has Washington Started Exploring Gaza’s Future?

Massive destruction is seen after an Israeli strike on Gaza. (AP)
Massive destruction is seen after an Israeli strike on Gaza. (AP)
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Has Washington Started Exploring Gaza’s Future?

Massive destruction is seen after an Israeli strike on Gaza. (AP)
Massive destruction is seen after an Israeli strike on Gaza. (AP)

As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his third visit to the region since the Gaza war began on October 7, it seemed that his goal went beyond talking about a short-term humanitarian ceasefire and involved shaping new political, military, and regional realities.

Observers closely following the situation believe that any initiative not taking the two-state solution into account is unlikely to be successful.

During a congressional hearing this week, Blinken, who started a visit in Israel on Friday, emphasized the importance of discussing Gaza’s future.

Western and US media reported on various plans to involve the UN in overseeing Gaza's administration and to establish an international alliance for its security.

Reports suggest that Blinken and his deputies are in discussions with their regional counterparts about plans for governing Gaza after Israel concludes its war against it.

Barbara Leaf, Blinken’s Middle East affairs assistant, has undertaken this task despite the absence of a concrete plan as of yet. One temporary option being considered is the formation of a multinational force from the region.

Dividing Gaza

As the “ceasefire resolution” remains elusive, the Israeli army has said it managed to divide Gaza into two parts, pushing most of the northern residents to the south.

Although Israel has declared its reluctance to occupy the northern part of Gaza, it is evident that the conditions for Palestinians returning there are under its control.

Moreover, a long and challenging process awaits Palestinians for reconstruction.

Paul Salem, the head of the Middle East Institute (MEI) in Washington, points out that the war’s outcome is still uncertain.

However, Salem said it is likely to lead to a division of Gaza into two parts, one controlled by Israel and the other by Hamas.

“I believe this is a realistic scenario, and the question becomes who will take over the part occupied by Israel?”

“I don't think, given the current situation, the Palestinian Authority or any Arab or international entity can bear the responsibility of replacing an administration practically under Israeli supervision with Israeli occupation,” said Salem.

Ghaith Al-Omari, a senior fellow and expert at The Washington Institute, noted that the international administration of the territory is still just an idea and not an official proposal, facing numerous challenges.

“For Arab countries, intervening in Palestinian affairs poses political risks. This doesn't mean the proposal is impossible, but it's a complex suggestion that requires significant diplomatic groundwork,” explained Al-Omari.

“The Palestinian Authority is currently extremely weak and has lost credibility to the point where it cannot play any role in Gaza,” he added.

“Therefore, the international administration will also have the task of rehabilitating the Palestinian Authority, which is why Secretary Blinken mentioned a reinvigorated Palestinian Authority,” explained Al-Omari.

Eyes on the West Bank

Israeli-Palestinian confrontations are not limited to Gaza. What is happening in the West Bank may have even more significant political implications, affecting not only its future, but also the Palestinian Authority and Jordan.

There are renewed calls for the displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank to Jordan and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to Egypt, which both vehemently reject this displacement.

The actions taken by Israel in West Bank areas are no less than a parallel war to what is happening in Gaza, with their effects being equivalent to the erasure of the Palestinian Authority itself, which is supposed to be “reinvigorated.”

Nabil Amr, a leader in the Fatah movement, asserted that the conflict between Palestinians and Israel will only end with the disappearance of the occupation.

“Before this war, Israel withdrew from Gaza, and the issue now revolves around Jerusalem and the West Bank,” Amr told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He added that Israel is clinging to the occupation, while Palestinians are determined to end it.

“We hope that these recurrent wars will be put to an end until the world moves towards a two-state solution, not just as a slogan, but as an implementation on the ground,” said Amr.

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Lebanese Emergency Services Are Overwhelmed and Need Better Gear to Save Lives in Wartime

Search and rescue team members try to find victims following an overnight raid by the Israel army on the Palestinian camp of Ain el-Hilweh, in Sidon, Lebanon, 01 October 2024. (EPA)
Search and rescue team members try to find victims following an overnight raid by the Israel army on the Palestinian camp of Ain el-Hilweh, in Sidon, Lebanon, 01 October 2024. (EPA)
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Lebanese Emergency Services Are Overwhelmed and Need Better Gear to Save Lives in Wartime

Search and rescue team members try to find victims following an overnight raid by the Israel army on the Palestinian camp of Ain el-Hilweh, in Sidon, Lebanon, 01 October 2024. (EPA)
Search and rescue team members try to find victims following an overnight raid by the Israel army on the Palestinian camp of Ain el-Hilweh, in Sidon, Lebanon, 01 October 2024. (EPA)

When Israel bombed buildings outside the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, Mohamed Arkadan and his team rushed to an emergency unlike anything they had ever seen.

About a dozen apartments had collapsed onto the hillside they once overlooked, burying more than 100 people. Even after 17 years with the civil defense forces of one of the world's most war-torn nations, Arkadan was shocked at the destruction. By Monday afternoon — about 24 hours after the bombing — his team had pulled more than 40 bodies — including children's — from the rubble, along with 60 survivors.

The children's bodies broke his heart, said Arkadan, 38, but his team of over 30 first responders' inability to help further pained him more. Firetrucks and ambulances haven’t been replaced in years. Rescue tools and equipment are in short supply. His team has to buy their uniforms out of pocket.

An economic crisis that began in 2019 and a massive 2020 port explosion have left Lebanon struggling to provide basic services such as electricity and medical care. Political divisions have left the country of 6 million without a president or functioning government for more than two years, deepening a national sense of abandonment reaching down to the men whom the people depend on in emergencies.

“We have zero capabilities, zero logistics,” Arkadan said. “We have no gloves, no personal protection gear.”

War has upended Lebanon again Israel’s intensified air campaign against Hezbollah has upended the country. Over 1,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Sept. 17, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes, sleeping on beaches and streets.

The World Health Organization said over 30 primary health care centers around Lebanon’s affected areas have been closed.

On Tuesday, Israel said it began a limited ground operation against Hezbollah and warned people to evacuate several southern communities, promising further escalation.

Lebanon is “grappling with multiple crises, which have overwhelmed the country’s capacity to cope,” said Imran Riza, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, who said the UN had allocated $24 million in emergency funding for people affected by the fighting.

Exhausted medical staff are struggling to cope with the daily influx of new patients. Under government emergency plans, hospitals and medical workers have halted non-urgent operations.

Government shelters are full

In the southern province of Tyre, many doctors have fled along with residents. In Nabatiyeh, the largest province in southern Lebanon, first responders say they have been working around the clock since last week to reach hundreds of people wounded in bombings that hit dozens of villages and towns, often many on the same day.

After the bombing in Sidon nearly 250 first responders joined Arkadan's team, including a specialized search-and-rescue unit from Beirut, some 45 kilometers (28 miles) to the north. His team didn't have the modern equipment needed to pull people from a disaster.

“We used traditional tools, like scissors, cables, shovels,” Arkadan said.

“Anyone here?” rescuers shouted through the gaps in mounds of rubble, searching for survivors buried deeper underground. One excavator removed the debris slowly, to avoid shaking the heaps of bricks and mangled steel.

Many sought refuge in the ancient city of Tyre, 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the border with Israel, thinking it was likely to be spared bombardment. More than 8,000 people arrived, said Hassan Dbouk, the head of its disaster management unit.

He said that there were no pre-positioned supplies, such as food parcels, hygiene kits and mattresses, and moving trucks now is fraught with danger. Farmers have been denied access to their land because of the bombings and the municipality is struggling to pay salaries.

Meanwhile, garbage is piling up on the streets. The number of municipal workers has shrunk from 160 to 10.

“The humanitarian situation is catastrophic,” Dbouk said.

Wissam Ghazal, the health ministry official in Tyre, said in one hospital, only five of 35 doctors have remained. In Tyre province, eight medics, including three with a medical organization affiliated with Hezbollah, were killed over two days, he said.

Over the weekend, the city itself became a focus of attacks.

Israeli warplanes struck near the port city’s famed ruins, along its beaches and in residential and commercial areas, forcing thousands of residents to flee. At least 15 civilians were killed Saturday and Sunday, including two municipal workers, a soldier and several children, all but one from two families.

It took rescuers two days to comb through the rubble of a home in the Kharab neighborhood in the city’s center, where a bomb had killed nine members of the al-Samra family.

Six premature babies in incubators around the city were moved to Beirut. The city’s only doctor, who looked after them, couldn’t move between hospitals under fire, Ghazal said.

One of the district’s four hospitals shut after sustaining damage from a strike that affected its electricity supply and damaged the operations room. In two other hospitals, glass windows were broken. For now, the city’s hospitals are receiving more killed than wounded.

“But you don’t know what will happen when the intensity of attacks increases. We will definitely need more.”

Making do with what they have

Hussein Faqih, head of civil defense in the Nabatiyeh province, said that “we are working in very difficult and critical circumstances because the strikes are random. We have no protection. We have no shields, no helmets, no extra hoses. The newest vehicle is 25 years old. We are still working despite all that.”

At least three of his firefighters’ team were killed in early September. Ten have been injured since then. Of 45 vehicles, six were hit and are now out of service.

Faqih said he is limiting his team’s search-and-rescue missions to residential areas, keeping them away from forests or open areas where they used to put out fires.

“These days, there is something difficult every day. Body parts are everywhere, children, civilians and bodies under rubble,” Faqih said. Still, he said, he considers his job to be the safety net for the people.

“We serve the people, and we will work with what we have.”