In shattering the two-month ceasefire that had brought fragile peace and relief to Gaza, Israel has also smashed the faint hopes that a resolution might just remain within reach. That was one of the deadliest days since the early months of the conflict, sparked by the lethal Hamas raid of Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel said it was attacking “terror targets,” but health authorities in Gaza said that 174 children and 89 women were among the more than 400 dead. Evacuation orders issued by the military suggest that a renewed ground offensive was on its way for traumatized and repeatedly displaced Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that it was “only the beginning” and the military issued new evacuation orders. Families of the remaining Israeli hostages are terrified and angry too, attacking the government for choosing to give up on them.
Horror is piling upon horror. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since the war began, and the numbers grew even during the ceasefire, many due to Israel’s blocking of aid. British Secretary of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy on Monday belatedly acknowledged that as a breach of international law — only for the prime minister’s spokesperson to rebuke him.
A UN report last week said that Israel’s attacks on women’s healthcare in Gaza amounted to “genocidal acts,” and that security forces had used sexual violence as a weapon of war to “dominate and destroy the Palestinian people.” A previous UN commission found that “relentless and deliberate attacks” on medical personnel and facilities amounted to war crimes.
Building on the ceasefire always looked difficult. Negotiations never seriously began for the second phase that was supposed to bring about a permanent cessation of hostilities, the release of all hostages, and the total withdrawal of Israeli forces — never mind consideration of the hypothetical third phase, Gaza’s reconstruction.
Netanyahu, who blames Hamas’ intransigence in refusing to release all the hostages now for the end of the ceasefire, is kept in power by endless conflict. He was due to testify in his corruption trial on Tuesday, but canceled, citing the renewed offensive. He needs support to pass a budget by the end of the month or his government would be dissolved. Resuming airstrikes has brought back one of his far-right coalition partners, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, and should prevent the other, Bezalel Smotrich, from jumping ship. Israelis challenging, as authoritarian, his attempts to dismiss Israel Security Agency chief Ronen Bar can be accused of undermining the patriotic cause.
Yet most Israelis wanted to move to the second phase of the ceasefire, a recent survey showed. The testimony of returned hostages has refocused attention on the plight of those still held.
The renewed attack has been widely and rightly condemned in Europe and the Arab world. However, Israel, which was undeterred by former US president Joe Biden’s feeble scoldings, is now dealing with a president who told it to pause for a beat, but is happy to give it the green light to resume and urge it to go further. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly promoted the forced displacement of Palestinians — another war crime. The US and Israel have reportedly contacted officials in Sudan, Somalia and Somaliland about resettling uprooted Palestinians. Those plans are no more tolerable for being far-fetched. The Arab peace plan was a clear statement that there is a better alternative. However, for Israel’s right, which will not tolerate Palestinian aspirations to statehood, the destruction of hope is not merely a result of this war, but the goal. It must not succeed.
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
Within Taiwan’s education system exists a long-standing and deep-rooted culture of falsification. In the past month, a large number of “ghost signatures” — signatures using the names of deceased people — appeared on recall petitions submitted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) against Democratic Progressive Party legislators Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶). An investigation revealed a high degree of overlap between the deceased signatories and the KMT’s membership roster. It also showed that documents had been forged. However, that culture of cheating and fabrication did not just appear out of thin air — it is linked to the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
On April 19, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) gave a public speech, his first in about 17 years. During the address at the Ketagalan Institute in Taipei, Chen’s words were vague and his tone was sour. He said that democracy should not be used as an echo chamber for a single politician, that people must be tolerant of other views, that the president should not act as a dictator and that the judiciary should not get involved in politics. He then went on to say that others with different opinions should not be criticized as “XX fellow travelers,” in reference to