-Analysis-
PARIS — In the precise language of diplomacy, the expression “deep concern” means two things: of course, we’re “worried,” but it also means… that we’re not going to do anything!
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Faced with the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Rafah, in the south of Gaza, the latest target of Israeli attacks, declarations of “deep concern” are multiplying. And the lack of action is just as notable.
Such passivity is becoming increasingly difficult for Western governments to maintain, even as Israel’s closest allies are confronted with more and more images from Rafah that are simply unbearable.
Over the past few days, we’ve had the direct testimony of Raphaël Pitti, a French doctor specializing in war zones, who has just returned from Rafah. He described the conditions of survival, and above all the conditions of death, in the Palestinian town whose population has increased fivefold with the influx of displaced people .
On France Culture radio, Pitti described the “sorting” between patients who can be saved and those who are left to die in the overwhelmed hospital in which he intervened.
Half of all Gazans
Since the massacre of October 7, the Israeli army has ordered the inhabitants of northern Gaza to move south. It has demanded that those who had gathered in the Khan Younis camp move even further south, to Rafah, on the Egyptian border. There are now 1.3 million people in Rafah, more than one in two Gazans.
The announcement that the Israeli offensive would now descend on Rafah has spread terror, as the Palestinians have nowhere else to go. Sunday night’s air raids, intended to cover a special operation to free hostages, already claimed dozens of lives.
The United States, which is the only country with any influence, has warned the Jewish state of a possible tragedy in Rafah. President Joe Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. In vain. Only the resumption in Cairo of talks on a possible truce offers a glimmer of hope.
Netanyahu undeterred
For two months now, we’ve been hearing the Americans say that the Israeli offensive is causing too many civilian casualties and needs to change strategy. We even heard Biden say last week that Israel’s assault was “over-the-top.”
The hostage rescue gives Netanyahu an argument for continuing to use force, however extreme.
But Monday, the United States once again ruled out the idea of restricting arms and munitions deliveries to Israel, just as the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, was saying out loud that we should “start thinking about it” But he’s one step ahead of most European governments.
This reluctance to put pressure on Israel can be explained both by the close historical ties with the Jewish state and by the hostage issue, which continues to weigh heavily. The Monday rescue of two hostages by the Israeli army gives Netanyahu an argument for continuing to use force, however extreme. On this point, Israeli opinion is behind him.
But the status quo is forcing Western governments to face a major gulf with its own citizens, as Biden senses at every public appearance. There comes a point when it’s no longer enough to say you’re “worried,” you have to show it.
