SALT LAKE CITY — As the war between Israel and Hamas continues, Gaza is now facing a humanitarian crisis ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive, leaving many in Utah and abroad worried. The past week has resulted in restless nights for many, including Palestinian-American, Tala.
"Gaza is small, it's very, very small, so when they're using these huge explosives and really strong military tactics, it doesn't take a lot to do a lot of damage," Tala said. "I couldn't even sleep last night. Am I going to wake up and there's no Gaza?"
Among the destruction, Tala says it hurts to watch harmful narratives about Palestinians form.
"Many Palestinians don't agree with the way Hamas is going about it and that's not the way they feel they should fight for their freedom," Tala said. "People that are pro-Palestinian, they just want to make it back to Palestine which is when all three of those religions lived in peace. Pro-Palestinian is not anti-Jew."
Tala wants people to be aware of the humanitarian crisis people in Gaza are facing.
"The occupation affects the Palestinians, so you know, they don't even have food, water, electricity. They don't even have equal rights," Tala said.
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Austin Knuppe, an assistant professor of political science at Utah State University, says there was a humanitarian crisis in Gaza before the start of the war.
"Because Gaza has three land borders and a sea border, the Israelis basically control all the public utilities that go into Gaza. They also control so many miles out on the shoreline," Knuppe said. "Even when food and medical supplies get through the checkpoint, Hamas also sees it in their best interest to restrict access to things."
Knuppe says there are a few short-term outcomes that could come from the war, but there is still a wider conflict dynamic at play.
"One would hope that Israel's allies in Europe and North America would be able to sit down the Israeli government and ask them pressing questions from lessons learned in the War on Terror and what the Israeli government expects to achieve in this," Knuppe said.
As the public discourse around the conflict continues, Knuppe says it's helpful to know you can hold contrasting moral and political thoughts at the same time.
"The ability to say it's evil for Hamas to target and kill Israeli civilians and it's evil and illegal for the Israeli military to target Palestinian citizens," Knuppe said. "Similarly in the same breath you can say the state of Israel has a right to exist and the way the occupation affects Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza is deplorable."
