Israel’s war in Lebanon has successfully distracted the attention of the international media from the current crisis in Gaza, allowing Israel a free hand in intensifying its destructive efforts with little concern for international law or conscience. The Israelis is now operating on an unhindered policy of aggression, fully shielded from the view of the outside world.

Yesterday, fifty Israeli tanks launched a sweeping offensive throughout several parts of Gaza. In the past 48 hours, Israeli invasions have left 24 Palestinians dead and at least 70 injured. Of the 24 dead, three were children, one of whom was an infant nursing from his mother at the moment of death.

The vast majority of Gazans affected by increasing Israeli aggression are civilians, with families suffering the heaviest burden. A recent operation killed three Palestinians from the same family, a tragedy similar to the one on Khan Younis beach earlier this summer, before Israel had systematized its operations.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached deafening heights. In the past week, approximately 200 Palestinians were injured, several medical facilities were damaged, and medicines and equipment continue to be in short supply. Israel has enforced a complete closure upon Gaza, and the movement of necessary supplies across the border has graduated from difficult to nearly impossible.

The AIC calls on the international media to keep the Gaza invasions and the growing humanitarian crisis on the international agenda. We must not forget Gaza: the closure, the destruction of infrastructure, and the families who have lost, and continue to lose, their children, dignity and homes. If the Gaza invasions continue without international media coverage, the people of Gaza will see no end to these attacks, and the death toll will mount unabated. The situation in Gaza is in dire need of attentive and critical eyes that can convey the facts on the ground to the world’s public and their policymakers. We cannot let Gaza fall into the shadows and excuse Israel from accountability for the results of these operation

-- The Alternative Information Center (AIC) is a joint Palestinian-Israeli organization which prioritizes political advocacy, critical analysis and information sharing on the Palestinian and Israeli societies as well as on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In doing so, the AIC promotes responsible co-operation between Palestinians and Israelis based on the values of social and political justice, equality, solidarity, community involvement and respect for the full inalienable national rights of all Palestinian people.

The AIC believes that true social co-operation and communication between Palestinians and Israelis is possible. We have embodied this ideal for the past twenty years through our joint and collective structure. However, we acknowledge that this can only come to pass in the region if the root cause of the conflict is targeted and challenged - that being the long Occupation and dispossession of the Palestinian people. Based on these convictions, the AIC will continue to work towards the establishment of genuine and responsible grassroots bridges between the two communities.