Gaza Burns And We Are All Complicit

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We watch, in real time, the continuous bombardment of Gaza - the starvation of men, women, and children; the targeting of medical personnel, journalists, and people queuing up for food.
South Africa filed an action in the International Criminal Court (ICC) alleging acts of genocide by Israel. The ICC ruled rather ambiguously that Palestinians in Gaza had “plausible rights to protection from genocide”. There is controversy as to what this exactly means.
The ICC has also issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and also some Hamas officials, for war crimes.
Scores of countries and international organisations have said that Israeli actions in Gaza could be considered genocidal or border on genocide.
ADSWe know that the objective of the Israeli government is the forced evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza. United States President Donald Trump has even suggested turning it into a holiday resort. The inhabitants of Gaza are to be relocated to neighbouring countries.
Netanyahu has made it clear that a two-state solution is out of the question. Israel will not tolerate an independent Palestinian state, claiming it would compromise its security. In the West Bank, 22 more Jewish settlements have already been announced - an unmistakable signal of further annexation and ethnic cleansing.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuThe result? The continued dispossession of Palestinians. The destruction of homes. The dismantling of a people’s right to exist on their own land.
And yet, the world watches. Silently. Powerlessly. Or worse - in open support.
US complicity in Gaza war
The US enables this horror - supplying Israel with weapons, funding, and political cover. Time and again, it vetoes resolutions at the United Nations Security Council calling for a ceasefire. The UK and Germany, shackled to Washington’s geopolitical interests, echo this complicity.
Trump could bring this unfolding human catastrophe to an immediate end if he wanted to.
Some Christian groups, blinded by apocalyptic theology, see in this violence the fulfilment of biblical prophecy. They offer not comfort, but justification, distorting scripture to excuse massacre.
Gaza after an Israeli attack, July 25, 2025Should this even be a question?
Is it conceivable that God is on the side of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Netanyahu?
Can the entire world - including international tribunals, legal scholars, human rights organisations, religious leaders, and humanitarian agencies - all be wrong about the morality of Israeli actions?
The world is not entirely asleep. Most nations have called for a ceasefire. The Pope has called for a ceasefire. People of conscience everywhere - Jewish, Muslim, Christian, atheist - have taken to the streets in protest, demanding an end to the bloodshed. French President Emmanuel Macron had the courage to speak out.
ADSBut the Arab world remains largely silent. Some governments, craving American weapons, investment, and trade, lowly bow, careful not to offend the US. They issue tepid statements. They rationalise their inaction.
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers Netanyahu an invitation from King Charles. Netanyahu, in turn, nominates Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Qatar gives Trump a plane. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa apologises for not being able to do the same. Everyone knows that flattery is an important diplomatic tool.
China stands up to him. Russian President Vladimir Putin ignores his calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Smaller nations shrink from him - cowed by power, bullied by their fear of American tariffs.
Terrorism and occupation
Let us be clear: Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas are also wrong. The right of Israel to exist should no longer be challenged. That issue is long settled. To continue to call for the extermination of Israel is sheer foolishness.
The October 2023 Hamas invasion, massacre, and hostage-taking were morally indefensible. It was also strategically disastrous, giving Israel the political cover and international sympathy it needed to launch massive retaliation.
Hamas soldierBut Israel, in turn, must comply with international law - including United Nations resolutions - withdraw from occupied territories, and allow for a genuine two-state solution with dignity, sovereignty, and security for both peoples.
What is condemned here is not Israel’s right to defend itself or to rescue its hostages.
What is condemned is the disproportionate destruction:
The killing of thousands of civilians
The obliteration of homes, schools, hospitals, mosques, and churches
The stoppage of humanitarian aid to a population already on the brink of famine
This is not defence - this is collective punishment.
We must not wait for more innocent men, women, and children to die - whether from bombs, bullets, or hunger.
Starvation in Gaza, July 25, 2025We cannot say, in some distant future, that we did not know.
The truth is, we do know. We have seen and heard the evidence.
And unless we speak, write, protest, and act to bring about a ceasefire and an end to this horror, then we are not merely bystanders.
We are complicit.
History will remember the bombs, yes.
But it will also remember the silence.
Let that not be our legacy.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” - Edmund Burke - Mkini
DAVID DASS is a lawyer, Malaysiakini subscriber, and commentator.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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