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Dispatches

1) Dominic Nicholls,, “If Israeli forces enter Gaza, they must remember US failures in Afghanistan; In seeking to root out and destroy Hamas, Israel’s strategists will do well to recall the maxim: if you break it, you own it,” The Telegraph, October 23, 2023 (7:55 pm);

2) Steven Erlanger (Jerusalem), “War Has Smashed Assumptions About Israeli-Palestinian Conflict; Some paradigms taken for granted about Israel and the Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank, have been broken. So has the idea that Washington can ignore the Middle East, New York Times, October 23, 2023 (Updated 1:03 p.m. ET);

3) Lisa O’Carroll (Brussels) and agencies, “EU foreign ministers back humanitarian pause in Israel-Hamas war to let in aid; Bloc’s foreign policy head, Josep Borrell, and ministers see getting aid and power to Gaza as essential alongside release of hostages, ” The Guardian, October 23, 2023 (17.47 BST);

4) “Israel-Hamas War Day 18 | IDF Spokesperson: Fuel Will Not Enter Gaza; Biden: Israel Will Decide About Gaza Ground Op,” Haaretz, October 24, 2023 (21:17);

4) Julian Borger, “Gaza hospitals ceasing to function as water and fuel run out;
Medics say some doctors forced to operate without anaesthesia and using vinegar in place of antiseptic,” The Guardian, October 24, 2023 (19.16 BST);

Analysis

Electricity is critical for the operation of desalination plants and tge provision of water as well as the operation of hospitals. iCarroll quotes Joseph Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, as follows:

Borrell said reconnecting electricity supplies full-time to Gaza was essential. Without electricity, the desalination plants could not work and without those there would be no water and hospitals would “barely function”, he added.

The Trenchant Observer

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