As Israeli troops launched a ground assault on Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, the US and the UK announced coordinated sanctions targeting Hamas and its financiers, which Chinese experts view is a move in support of Israel which could further exacerbate the humanitarian disaster by increasing Israel’s disregard for the mounting international pressure.
According to a press release from the US Department of Treasury on Tuesday (local time), the US imposed its third round of sanctions targeting Hamas-affiliated individuals and entities, including the group’s senior leaders and the mechanisms through which Iran provides support to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
The US Department of Treasury said the designations are coordinated with action by the UK, which announced sanctions against four senior Hamas leaders and two Hamas financiers on Tuesday, and vowed to “disrupt Hamas operations both in Gaza and wherever their leaders base themselves” in coordination with the US.
The US, UK and Israel are united in their war goals, which are the total elimination of Hamas and the destruction of the Hamas regime in Gaza, Niu Xinchun, a research fellow at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Yin Gang, a veteran scholar of the Middle East with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the sanctions show the US’ firm stance supporting Israel, and subsequently Hamas will encounter greater difficulties.
The sanctions could mean that Israel will not further bow to international pressure for a cease-fire, Yin said, noting that the US may believe that the time has come to eliminate Hamas once and for all.
Israeli forces on Wednesday entered Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, after hours of bombarding the medical facility that is full of thousands of patients and sheltering civilians. Israel said Hamas has set up its command center in and beneath the hospital, which both Hamas and hospital staff denied, according to the AP.
According to the health authority in Gaza, more than 11,200 people, two-thirds of them women and minors, have been killed since Israel launched a major air and ground offensive.
“The US is willing to provide Israel with all the assistance it needs to destroy Hamas, while at the same time the US demands that Israel reduce the humanitarian crisis…. But these two goals are contradictory and cannot be reconciled,” Niu said.
The UN humanitarian office said on Tuesday that more than two-thirds of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has fled their homes since the war began. At least 102 workers from the UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza have been killed in Israeli bombing.
As long as there is no cease-fire, a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza is practically foreseeable, Niu said. “There are only a few countries in the world, including the US and Israel, that do not agree to a cease-fire because they believe that Hamas cannot be eliminated with a cease-fire,” he said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press briefing on Wednesday that China condemns all acts that harm civilians and opposes any violation of international law, and has repeatedly called for a cease-fire as soon as possible in order to avoid a more serious humanitarian catastrophe.
We will continue to work with the parties concerned to play a positive and constructive role in order to cease the fighting, de-escalate the conflict, alleviate the humanitarian situation and ultimately realize lasting peace between Palestine and Israel through a two-state solution, Mao said.
(Global Times)
