Gaza war waiting to spread fast

The death toll in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip has crossed another horrendous milestone - 25,000 casualties while almost 2 million people have been displaced according to reports.

What is more worrisome is that there is no sign of the devastating war ending in the near future with all indications pointing to an extended conflict over many more months.

This no doubt, points to an abysmal failure of world bodies, of rights organisations and the collective will of the people.

The United Nations(UN) which had pulled off many a peaceful resolution of conflicts in 70 years if its existence, has been dubbed a ‘toothless tiger’ with resolution after resolution calling for an end to hostilities, either being vetoed by the world powers or gathering dust.

And as the bombs and missiles keep pounding the narrow piece of land, the only ones who seems to be rejoicing are arms dealers and the military-industrial complex, who will surely benefit from this unending chain of violence.

Those who have suffered most are women and kids, like in any other war with no hope of any kind of succor; latest reports say that Gaza doctors are in desperation performing Caesarian operations without anesthesia and kids are in dire need of aid supplies.

What has now become a matter of utmost concern is the possibility of the Gaza hostilities spilling over into neighbouring countries and even faraway ones.

Poverty-ridden Yemen has been drawn into the midst of the war with the rebel Houthis, who are in conflict with the government in that country, targeting ships in the crucial Red Sea and Gulf Aden.

Disruption of the huge volume of sea traffic on this route is sure to hit world trade the most including the supply of oil and every nation including India has a huge responsibility to ensure that such attempts do not succeed.

Meanwhile the Lebanon-based Hezbollah has been targeting Israeli installations drawing retaliatory fire in the process which goes to show who the Gaza war has complicated the state of affairs in the region.

To worsen matters, Iran attacked what it dubs terrorist targets in Baloch held territory in Pakistan leading to shock and consternation across the Islamic world.

Under heavy domestic pressure, Pakistan had to retaliate leading to casualties on both sides but luckily, the standoff did not escalate into a major confrontation with representatives of both countries deciding to engage in talks.

That however does not mean that the simmering tension will disappear all of a sudden unless concrete efforts are made to mend ties between the two ‘nuke-enabled’ countries.

So what seemed like an uneasy peace in the massive stretch of land from Pakistan across the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea and Gulf of Eden, has vanished in the space of a few months and what we are left with are massive human casualties, bitterness of the worst kind and the wholesome destruction of the land of the Palestinians.

With the Israelis unrelenting in their ‘mission’ to destroy Hamas, and the resilience of the Palestinians proving that they just cannot be steamrolled into submission, there is no silver lining on the horizon yet.

It is obvious that it is US support to Israel which has emboldened the nation to continue relentlessly with its destructive acts in Gaza.

Unless world powers including India, Egypt, Brazil and South Africa collectively exert pressure on Israel and the US to back off and ‘give peace a chance’ at least now, Gaza and the Middle-East will continue to burn with the war likely to spread across the Middle-East and West Asia with catastrophic consequences.

This is a tragedy waiting to unfold and the nations with the wherewithal to stop it, will have to act now before it’s too late.