TEHRAN - The tragic plight and unimaginable suffering of Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip have been further highlighted as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins.

Every year Gazans prepare for the fasting month with festivities, decorations, lights and lanterns in the streets, markets and mosques.

But this year is completely different. Palestinians in the besieged territory are in a somber mood because the specter of Israel’s genocidal war and starvation have overshadowed the normally festive Muslim holy month.

Israel has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians in Gaza since launching war on the territory on October 7.

Israel also imposed a total siege on Gaza soon after it began the onslaught. The regime has severely restricted the entry of food, water, medicines and other supplies.

Israeli forces also fatally shoot people who wait for deliveries of food from a limited number of trucks that have been allowed to enter Gaza. 

As UN experts have said, Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians in Gaza. 

Gazans are suffering from severe shortages, and families have little food or water to break their fasts in Ramadan. 

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has fled to the southernmost city of Rafah under the Israeli army’s orders in the wake of the regime’s relentless strikes across the territory.

But Israeli airstrikes continue to claim more lives in the city. Many displaced people in Rafah are living in makeshift shelters or tents in squalid conditions, with scarce access to safe drinking water or food.

The humanitarian situation is worse in northern Gaza where famine is spreading. Palestinian health officials say more than two dozen people have died due to malnutrition, dehydration and hunger there. 

Israel has not only obstructed humanitarian aid but it has also bombed hospitals and refugee camps over the past months.

Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu who had already floated the idea of dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip, recently made a call to “wipe out” the month of Ramadan.

Undoubtedly, his comments amount to pervasive racism against Palestinians and their systematic dehumanization. 

Unsurprisingly, Israel’s Western allies including the United States have stood by the regime. 

However, under domestic pressure, the U.S. has started airdropping aid into Gaza and announced a plan last week to construct a port in Gaza to transfer aid by sea. 

But aid groups have described these U.S. moves as a publicity stunt with the aim of easing growing pressure over Washington’s support for Israel’s brutal onslaught on Gaza. 

In the face of the U.S. inaction to stop Israel’s war, more people in the Gaza Strip are losing their lives as a result of strikes and starvation. 

In the meantime, fears over an Israeli ground assault on Rafah remain in the spotlight. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with an invasion of the city. 

Relief organizations have warned that a ground attack on Rafah could result in widespread civilian casualties. 

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has warned of “a humanitarian catastrophe” if Israel launches a ground offensive in Rafah. 

President Joe Biden has also warned that an Israeli invasion of the city would be his “red line”. 

These warnings are nothing more than political rhetoric because neither Washington nor Berlin is willing to attach conditions to military support for Tel Aviv. 

Western leaders only make critical remarks of Israel’s war on Gaza to cover up their compliance with the regime’s atrocities. 

As Israel continues its atrocious crimes in Gaza, the regime has also resorted to excessive violence in the West Bank. 

Israeli soldiers have beaten Palestinian worshippers with batons to prevent their entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque for prayers to mark the start of Ramadan in Jerusalem al-Quds. 

During Ramadan, tensions frequently mount around Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is the third-holiest site in Islam.  

Israel’s brutal war in Gaza coupled with its crackdown in the West Bank will provoke outrage which could culminate in the third Intifada; or a Palestinian uprising against the regime’s occupation.

Consequently, the new uprising could result in the spillover of the Israeli war on Gaza to the entire West Asia region. 

Undoubtedly, the U.S. which has stood by Israel’s atrocious crimes, would be responsible for the catastrophic consequences of a dangerous escalation and uprising in the region.