IAS/UPSC Coaching Institute  

29 Jul 2025 : Build on this joint statement to try and save Gaza

Editorial 2: ​Build on this joint statement to try and save Gaza

Context

There is still time for the world to prove that humanity is united and equal for everyone.

 

Introduction

A recent joint statement by around 30 Western countries, including the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, has called for an end to the war in Gaza. The statement strongly criticises Israel for delaying humanitarian aid and for the inhumane killing of civilians, including children trying to access food and water. It says that denying essential help to the civilian population is unacceptable. The countries also condemn Israel’s reported plans to isolate Gaza and eventually force Palestinians to leave, calling such actions completely unacceptable.

  • A recent western statement criticising Israel is the strongest so far, coming just as Israel attacks Deir al-Balah, a key refuge for displaced Palestinians.
  • Deir al-Balah has the infrastructure, staff, and systems needed to keep people alive — its destruction would be devastating.
  • Despite this criticism, it's unlikely to stop Israel.
  • Most western countries continue to support Israel politically and economically, without real consequences for its actions.
  • Germany and the U.S., Israel’s closest allies and largest arms suppliers, did not sign the latest statement.
  • This sends a clear message: their policies haven’t changed, and Israel may feel encouraged to continue.
  • The global community still has a chance to step in and stop the destruction of the Palestinian people.
  • This moment demands real action, not just words, to prevent further human tragedy.

 

Is Israel Committing Genocide?

  • The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is looking into this, but a final ruling may take years.
  • Many jurists, legal experts, and scholars believe that what's happening in Gaza does meet the definition of genocide.
  • However, the debate itself has become political, distracting from the horrific facts on the ground.

 

The Reality in Gaza

  • When the war began in October 2023, Gaza’s population was around 2.3 million.
  • Over 60,000 people have been confirmed dead — possibly half of them women and children.
  • Around 90% of the population has been forcibly displaced, many of them multiple times.
  • The UN reports that the remaining people are now crammed into just 46 square kilometres of land.
    • That’s roughly 43,478 people per square kilometre, living in inhuman conditions.
  • Systems of food supply, healthcare, and sanitation have collapsed, creating unbearable suffering.
  • These are not just statistics — they represent a mass human tragedy.

 

 

Systematic Humanitarian Collapse in Gaza

  • The real situation in Gaza is worse than the numbers suggest — there appears to be a deliberate plan to destroy life and homes through starvation.
  • Since the war began, Israel has restricted humanitarian aid, including an 11-week total blockade earlier this year.
  • A new aid delivery system is in place, which Western nations say robs Palestinians of human dignity.
  • Over a thousand starving people have been killed while trying to get food, often in inhumane and desperate conditions.
  • The UN reports that around one-third of Gazans are surviving without proper food.
  • Exhaustion, hunger, and approaching famine now affect nearly every part of the population.
  • Is this not a form of genocide, given the scale and method of suffering?

 

Media Silence and Narrative Control

  • Foreign journalists are banned from reporting freely inside Gaza.
  • Israel discredits reports from non-Israeli sources, weakening global understanding of what's happening on the ground.
  • This information blockade helps Israel deny or shape the story of its true goals in Gaza.

 

Ethnic Cleansing in Plain Sight

  • Many believe Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
  • Israeli leaders have spoken about a plan to:
    • Control most of Gaza
    • Force Palestinians into a so-called ‘humanitarian city’
    • Allow them to leave only if they agree to emigrate
  • Even former Israeli Prime Ministers, Ehud Olmert and Yair Lapid, called this city a “concentration camp.”

 

The Destruction of a Future

  • This plan is destroying any hope for future generations of Palestinians.
  • As economist Jean Drèze noted, once famine hits:
    • People may begin to turn on each other,
    • Solidarity may break down, and
    • That could be used to label Palestinians as barbaric or less than human.
  • This would falsely justify further actions and deny the idea that Palestinians are a people with rights and dignity.

 

Stop the hedging

  • The UN warns that the last ways to keep people alive in Gaza are collapsing.
  • But the global community still has a chance to stop the disaster from getting worse.
  • Governments can rethink how much diplomatic, military, and economic support they give to Israel.
  • The international community could send peacekeeping forces to Gaza to help protect lives.
  • Countries like Russia, China, and India can work with the Global South to increase pressure on Israel.
  • Gulf nations and Türkiye need to take a clear stand and stop staying neutral.
  • Western countries have already called for unity to end the war, urging all nations to act together.
  • Non-Western governments can respond by joining efforts and creating a shared plan for peace—and test if the West truly means what it says.

 

Conclusion

Some of us understand that what’s happening in Gaza is destroying the belief that humanity is united and equal. That’s why we must do whatever we can. While governments and big companies have more power, each person’s conscience matters. If we stay silent now, we may live with deep shame and regret later.