A new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out on October 7, 2023. As of the 7th of this month, the conflict has lasted for 8 months.

According to data released by the Gaza Strip’s health department, as of June 7, the conflict has caused 36,731 deaths and 83,530 injuries in the Gaza Strip.

 

During these eight months, while the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip continued to intensify, the spillover effects of the conflict continued to emerge: the situation on the temporary border between Lebanon and Israel remained tense; the Houthi armed forces in Yemen frequently attacked Israeli ships in the Red Sea; the consular building of the Iranian embassy in Syria was hit by an Israeli missile air strike, and a conflict broke out between Iran and Israel... The risk of escalation of the regional situation is increasing.

Analysts believe that the United States is hypocritical in that it is trying to prevent the escalation of the situation in the Middle East while continuing to promote military aid to Israel. And the United States' actions have also led to its international image continuing to be "negative".

　　"What did we do to deserve to be bombed?"

In the early morning of June 6, local time, the Israeli Defense Forces bombed a school in the Nusayret refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. The attack killed 40 Gazans, including 14 children and 9 women, and injured 74 others.

Just one day later, Israeli warplanes once again launched an airstrike on a UNRWA school in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, killing three people and injuring many others.

Imad, a Palestinian child injured in the attack, said he did not understand why he was attacked by the Israeli army.

　　Imad: "There was no one in the school that the Israeli army was looking for, no armed personnel. I was sitting next to my father when suddenly a lot of debris fell on my legs and I lost consciousness. A lot of debris fell on my father's head and he died. My leg still hurts and they gave me about ten stitches."

 

At the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the Gaza Strip, there are many children like Imad who were injured in the air strikes.

Simpson, a volunteer doctor at the hospital, called for an immediate ceasefire: "We are witnessing a humanitarian disaster on an incredible scale. Unless you see it with your own eyes, so many children and people of all ages are injured, dead or permanently disabled. It is difficult to provide medical care to so many patients. There is not enough medical aid and medical staff, nor enough medical space. I think the international community needs to pay attention to what is happening here and call for an end to this conflict."

US media reported that after analyzing the on-site video and review by weapons experts, it was found that the bombs used in the Israeli air strike were made in the United States.

Previously, the Israeli army has used American weapons to attack the Gaza Strip many times.

 

Screenshot of a report from National Public Radio

After the first round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out on October 7 last year, US President Biden submitted a special appropriation request of approximately US$106 billion to the US Congress on October 20, of which US$14.3 billion was used for military aid to Israel. This action was seen as direct support from the United States for Israel and gave Israel the confidence to continue its military operations.

U.S. officials have revealed that since the outbreak of this round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the U.S. government has approved more than 100 arms sales to Israel through the "Foreign Arms Sales" channel.

On the 4th of this month, a delegation from the Israeli Ministry of Defense officially signed a military aid agreement worth US$3 billion with the United States, which included the purchase of 25 F-35 fighter jets manufactured by Lockheed Martin. 

Nadir Hashemi, a professor at Georgetown University and a Middle East policy analyst, believes that the latest arms sales fully demonstrate that the U.S. position on arms sales to Israel has hardly changed at all.

　　Hashemi: "Biden previously publicly admitted in an interview that weapons provided by the United States to Israel were used to kill innocent civilians in population centers. This actually means that Biden publicly admitted that the United States is an accomplice to war crimes. Attacking population centers where civilians live and indiscriminate bombing are violations of international humanitarian law."

　　America's image turns negative

In addition to continuing to sell arms to Israel, the United States, which favors Israel on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, has been constantly obstructing the UN Security Council from passing draft resolutions on the Palestinian-Israeli issue in order to achieve its own strategic goals in the Middle East.

According to statistics from the Chicago Institute on Global Affairs, a US think tank, from the establishment of the UN Security Council in 1945 to the end of 2023, 45 of the 89 draft resolutions vetoed by the United States in the Security Council involved Israel, including 33 involving Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory or treatment of Palestinians.

 

Screenshot of the official website of the Chicago Institute on Global Affairs, a US think tank

Last month, the General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution recommending that the Security Council review Palestine's application for full membership of the United Nations.

The 10th Emergency Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution with 143 votes in favor, 9 votes against, and 25 abstentions, recognizing that the State of Palestine meets the qualifications for UN membership as stipulated in the UN Charter and should be admitted as a member of the United Nations.

Nine countries including the United States and Israel voted against it.

In addition, the United States recently threatened to sanction the International Criminal Court for applying for an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. The U.S. House of Representatives has recently passed a related bill.

American philosopher Cornel West said that the United States' favoritism and connivance of Israel has turned American politicians into "war criminals."

　　West: "The US policy is a morally bankrupt policy that wants to establish a fulcrum in the Middle East on the one hand, while providing billions of dollars to promote and support genocide on the other. The US's unique policy has turned American politicians into 'war criminals'."

 

Screenshot of Qatar Al Jazeera social media

UN agencies recently estimated that by mid-July, more than one million people in Gaza will face the highest level of hunger crisis.

As Israel's ongoing attacks on Gaza have killed tens of thousands of people and triggered a serious humanitarian crisis, the United States' support for Israel has come under increasing criticism from the international community and human rights organizations.

 

Screenshot of the PBS report

A survey report released by German polling agency Latana on May 8 showed that the United States' reputation in many Islamic countries has been hit due to its stubborn favoritism towards Israel on the Palestinian-Israeli issue; even in European countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Ireland, the United States' image has gradually become "negative."

 

Screenshot of the report on the European version of Politico's website

Currently, Israel's military operations have caused a large number of casualties and property losses in Gaza. In order to safeguard its own interests in the Middle East, the United States has spared no effort to support Israel.

The reasons behind the change in America's international image are obvious.