A man looks at destroyed buildings following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, October 8, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

The casualty data of this round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is being updated every day, causing concern and distress for the civilians living in the area. According to Israeli media reports on October 9, the conflict has resulted in more than 1,300 deaths and over 5,000 injuries on both sides. Both Israel and Palestine have suffered a large number of civilian casualties. Additionally, humanitarian relief organizations of the United Nations have stated that over 120,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been displaced. The conflict is still escalating, and there is a significant degree of uncertainty about how much it will escalate and in which direction it will develop in the future. However, one thing is certain: The damage and suffering caused by the conflict will largely be borne by the local civilians, and they are in great need of care and protection from the outside world.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has ordered a "complete siege" on Gaza, where over 2 million Palestinian residents live densely packed. They already endure severe material blockades and restrictions on movement year-round, and the outbreak of the conflict has added to their dangers and hardships. Electricity and water supplies have been cut off, and a new humanitarian disaster is brewing. This is a focal point that the international community cannot afford to ignore in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The urgent task facing the international community, especially the major powers, is how to quickly put the brakes on this tragedy and prevent a larger-scale humanitarian catastrophe. It is the responsibility of the international community to address this issue promptly.

It must be said that the long-term marginalization of the Palestinian issue by Western countries, particularly the US, is extremely cruel. Western elites often ignore the actual humanitarian disasters while enthusiastically discussing abstract human rights, which is very hypocritical. We have noticed that many voices in the West are trying to create pressure for "taking sides," listing which countries "have not condemned Hamas." US Secretary of State Antony Blinken even openly "advised" Saudi Arabia during a conversation with the Saudi Foreign Minister to "clearly condemn" the attack. To be honest, Washington is not in a position to educate anyone on this issue.

All acts of violence and attacks targeting civilians are unacceptable in any civilized society and must be strongly condemned by the international community, regardless of the perpetrators. When conflicts erupt, the most rational and responsible approach is to call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and calm and to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible. However, in this case, we still see that the words and actions of the US and many Western countries are, in fact, fanning the flames rather than cooling down the situation. This is a consistent pattern for Western countries in many conflict regions, where they often create substantial obstacles to crisis resolution.

Take a typical example: Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, who has already announced her candidacy for the 2024 US presidential election, specifically mentioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X (formerly Twitter), saying, "This is not just an attack on Israel - this was an attack on America." "Finish them… They should have hell to pay for what they have just done."

The remarks are filled with hostility and strong incitement. These extreme words promote hatred and represent the true attitude of many American politicians toward the Palestinian issue and other international issues. In their eyes, the world is seen as a binary opposition of black and white, with them representing justice. They are accustomed to understanding and perceiving the complex reality of international politics with simplistic and crude linear thinking, and they handle international hot issues with intricate historical backgrounds in a simplistic and crude manner. As a result, this approach only adds fuel to the fire and leads to greater disasters.

As an unhealed wound in the international community, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict repeatedly reminds the world of the extreme importance of collective security. The crisis is recurring primarily because the Middle East peace process has deviated from the right track, and the foundation of the "two-state solution" has been continuously eroded, with relevant United Nations resolutions not being effectively implemented. While it is important for the international community to mediate and promote the immediate de-escalation of the situation, this is only a temporary solution for the Israeli-Palestinian issue. To truly achieve lasting peace and allow the residents of this land to live stable and dignified lives, it is necessary to return to the grand ideas and principles of collective security. The pursuit of "absolute security" will only result in absolute insecurity, and there have already been enough tragedies and lessons learned from this.

It is essential to quickly de-escalate the situation and stop innocent civilians from becoming victims, as this is a basic human right. Major powers, in particular, have a responsibility to play their role and should take necessary actions to promote dialogue, achieve a ceasefire, and restore peace. Any actions that add fuel to the fire or take sides will only further complicate and hinder the situation. Only by truly practicing the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security can the Israeli-Palestinian conflict achieve lasting peace.