There is a reason why Israel is shutting out journalists from Gaza, says Jan Egeland over the phone from Amman, Jordan's capital. The devastation is so great and violates international law to such a high degree that they do not want witnesses, he believes.
So many thousands dead. Rafah is devastated, Khan Yunis is devastated. Over a year of continuous bombardment of this small, densely populated area full of children, women, and civilians – innocent people.
The day before the phone call, Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), left Gaza after a three-day visit. By borrowing bomb-proof UN cars, his team managed to reach places in northern Gaza that few outsiders reach, such as Gaza City near the besieged Jabalia. What he saw was worse than anything he could have imagined.
Gaza City is as big as Stockholm. Now it looks like Stalingrad during World War II.
Starving out the population
Families forced to take shelter in ruins describe bombings, starvation, and fear, he says. Some of his colleagues in northern Gaza have been forced to flee 14 times since the outbreak of war on October 7 last year. The terrorist-stamped Hamas killed over 1,100 mostly civilians in its largest attack ever against Israel, whereupon Israel responded with massive bombardment and a ground invasion that, according to the authorities in Gaza, has claimed nearly 44,000 lives.
Of the over 8,100 deaths during the war's first half-year that the UN's human rights organization has been able to verify, seven out of ten are women or children.
Many of Egeland's colleagues have lost countless relatives, including children. For him, there is no doubt that Israel's warfare is breaking almost all the laws of war.
Swedish and other politicians say that Israel must be allowed to defend itself – but this is not self-defense. This is systematic destruction of entire Gaza, it is murder of tens of thousands of civilians.
It is not self-defense to starve out an entire population.
In just over two months, Donald Trump will take over the White House in the USA. Jan Egeland is cautiously hopeful, despite saying that the "settlement mafia" on the West Bank is celebrating Trump's victory.
New enemies
It should not be in the USA's interest to appear as the world's best at breaking international law, he believes.
Right now, it's Israel first, the USA second, and humanity third. I think we might be surprised – that there will be more demands, that Israel must change its warfare.
Israel will not become safer by creating more hatred, emphasizes Egeland.
I met a family whose house, which they were very proud of, was bombed to pieces. The father said to me: "We will not forget this outrage for five generations". Israel is creating new generations of enemies.
