Shagirde Razavi
What does peace look like when children are trapped in burning cars, hospitals lie in ruin, and world powers drown in silence? Peace should be a moment of reflection, moral clarity, a promise that “never again” really means something. But for Gaza, peace today feels like a far-off dream mocked by violence, delayed justice, and international complicity.
An independent UN Commission of Inquiry, led by former International Criminal Court judge Navi Pillay, has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, identifying four of the five prohibited acts under the 1948 convention.
The 72-page report states that Israel has carried out killing, inflicting serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately imposing conditions to destroy part of the group, and measures intended to prevent births.
The report documents the destruction of life and infrastructure, including bombed hospitals, blocked essential supplies, destruction of fertility and medical facilities, widespread displacement, and famine in parts of Gaza. More than 64,000 Palestinians are confirmed dead, with the number rising daily.
Pillay directly placed blame on the Israeli government: “The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza.”
Israeli officials immediately dismissed the genocide accusations as biased and politically motivated. President Isaac Herzog claimed the commission “misinterprets his words,” while Israel’s UN ambassador branded the report “scandalous” and “fake.” The United States continues to defend Israel’s actions as self-defence, citing the Hamas attacks of October 2023.
Meanwhile, global responses diverge sharply. South Africa has already filed a case at the International Court of Justice, and human rights groups and legal scholars increasingly describe the evidence as meeting the legal threshold for genocide.
The shifting moral consensus is complicated by decades of diplomatic divisions. While at least 145 of 193 UN member states recognize Palestine as a sovereign state, states such as the United States, Israel, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Panama continue to withhold recognition. Of course, many of these countries’ refusals to recognize Palestine demonstrate their submission to United States foreign policy goals, highlighting the role of neocolonialism on the world stage.
These denials of recognition go beyond symbolism; they become levers—vetoes, diplomatic shielding, and essential arms and financial assistance. In this way, they keep Israel insulated from accountability even as the global moral consensus drifts elsewhere.
Statistics reveal scale, but stories reveal truth. Amidst the countless victims named in the UN report is Hind Rajab, a five-year-old girl whose final moments become a harrowing testament to the genocide.
On 29 January 2024, while fleeing the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood with her family, their car came under fire. Alone and scared, Hind was able to reach the Palestine Red Crescent by phone. “I’m so scared, please come. Please call someone to come and take me,” she pleaded.
Medics tried to reach her. Days later, the bodies of Hind, six family members, and two paramedics were found. The family’s car was riddled with 335 rounds of bullets; the ambulance crew was also killed attempting the rescue. Hind’s final words still reverberate across Gaza, a testimony that many hold onto, reflecting the reality of those who confront death or have watched family and friends murdered.
The brutal reality: Israel rejects the UN’s findings as false, framing its operations solely as self-defense against Hamas. The United States echoes this defense, repeatedly using its veto power to block Security Council measures that could impose penalties—a veto power it has exercised six times since the start of Al Aqsa Flood.
That political firewall—built from vetoes, arms shipments, and diplomatic cover—produces consequences. Declarations of peace ring hollow, without any enforcement; even as governments issue statements and NGOs publish reports, weapons keep flowing and aid remains blocked.
Pulling a UN veto, in this scenario, shouts a truth—certain lives are judged as worth less than others. The way political statements are delayed highlights that ethics often chase pressure instead of resting on a solid moral foundation.
The UN Commission’s conclusion of genocide was driven not just by battlefield casualty counts, but by examining the patterns of deliberate policies: aid restrictions, crippling blockades, repeated forced evacuations that leave civilians trapped, the systematic destruction of medical facilities, and dehumanizing rhetoric. These actions are what pushed the inquiry past describing war crimes to concluding genocide.
Media framing compounds the crisis. The Axis of Resistance, who dare to resist occupation, are branded as “terrorists” or “proxy forces,” while overwhelming colonial state violence is framed as “self-defense” or “collateral damage.” Language shapes outrage, and outrage shapes policy.
Journalists have paid with their lives to correct that imbalance. Independent monitors confirm this is the deadliest genocide for journalists in living memory, with hundreds killed in Gaza since October 2023. Each lost reporter dims the world’s ability to see clearly.
The everyday person must keep action on the front of their minds – especially since we have seen the limitations (and failures) of institutional responses. Five actions matter most:
Peace will not come from statements in capitals while people die in their homes. It will come from voices that refuse to be silent, communities that refuse to normalize, and actions that expose hypocrisy.
The world asks: What is peace to you? For Gaza, peace requires justice, not gestures. It demands that the vow “never again” finally translates into meaningful action.
Every bombed hospital, every murdered journalist, every displaced family, every child like Hind who never wakes again demands more than just sympathy.
Peace must stop being just a symbolic word.
The crossroads are unmistakable: either let the statements sit idle as the killing persists, or reshape those statements into leverage that can choke the violence. Should the second option win, peace would mean rescued lives and the preservation of justice. Should nothing budge, this instant will be etched as the moment the world finally raised its voice, only to turn its back with resolve.
Shagirde Razavi is a multimedia journalist who digs deep into stories with a sharp curiosity and brings them to life across platforms.
