Published: 11:39 PM, 24 September 2026
Genocide in Gaza Unveils the Dire Failures of Civilization
Abdel Kutub Nassri
The tragedy unfolding in Gaza has become one of the defining humanitarian crises of our time. Since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the subsequent Israeli military campaign, civilians have endured death, displacement, hunger, destruction and the collapse of essential services. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), while hearing South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, ordered provisional measures in 2024 aimed at preventing acts falling within the Genocide Convention and ensuring humanitarian assistance and preservation of evidence. The Court has not, however, issued a final judgment determining that genocide has occurred.
The word “genocide” carries a precise legal meaning, and its application to Gaza remains the subject of international legal proceedings and intense debate. Yet regardless of the eventual legal determination, the scale of civilian suffering demands attention. In September 2026, the United Nations reported that most of Gaza's 2.1 million people remained displaced, while airstrikes and hostilities continued to cause civilian casualties and damage civilian infrastructure. Humanitarian agencies also reported severe restrictions on access and insufficient funding for relief operations.
Behind these statistics are human beings: children who have lost parents, parents searching for missing children, families living in inadequate shelters and patients waiting for medical treatment. In one recent UN report, four children aged between two and 16 were reportedly killed in separate attacks. Israeli strikes also destroyed more than $770,000 worth of nutrition supplies and damaged critical water infrastructure serving thousands of people.
Such destruction forces the world to confront an uncomfortable question: What does civilization mean if human life can become expendable in the pursuit of military objectives?
Civilization is often measured by technological advancement, economic growth and political institutions. Humanity has developed sophisticated weapons, artificial intelligence, global communication networks and international legal systems. Yet Gaza exposes a profound contradiction. A world capable of sending spacecraft beyond Earth has repeatedly struggled to guarantee basic necessities—safe shelter, food, clean water and medical care—to civilians trapped in a devastating conflict.
The suffering is not limited to those killed directly by violence. The destruction of hospitals, homes, water systems, schools and other infrastructure can create consequences that continue long after a bombing ends. In September, the UN reported that about 1.98 million people in Gaza—approximately 90 percent of the population—required shelter assistance, while only a small proportion had received such support in recent months.
The international community's response also raises difficult questions. Governments issue statements, international organizations appeal for funds and humanitarian workers attempt to deliver assistance. Yet the gap between diplomatic language and conditions on the ground remains enormous. The UN has repeatedly called for civilian protection, sustained humanitarian access and greater funding.
International humanitarian law is built around principles intended to limit suffering during war. Civilians must be distinguished from combatants, and attacks must comply with rules concerning proportionality and precautions. The UN human rights office has warned that attacks directed at civilians, as well as indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, are prohibited and may constitute war crimes or other atrocity crimes.
Accountability therefore matters. The UN human rights chief recently expressed concern after human remains, including those of children and women, were recovered from beneath rubble in Gaza. He called for the circumstances of deaths to be investigated and for evidence to be preserved.
The darkest lesson of Gaza may be that civilization is not demonstrated merely by what humanity can build. It is demonstrated by what humanity refuses to destroy—and by whose lives it refuses to regard as less valuable.
The people of Gaza are not statistics, political symbols or collateral figures in a geopolitical contest. They are families, students, doctors, workers, children and elderly people whose lives possess the same fundamental value as lives anywhere else.
History will examine not only what happened in Gaza, but also how the world responded. The enduring challenge for civilization is clear: international law must mean something in practice, human rights must apply universally, and the protection of civilians must remain a principle rather than a promise.
Abdel Kutub Nassri reports for
Nicosia Express from
Cairo, Egypt.
