Since the beginning of the genocide in the Gaza Strip, numerous scenes have repeatedly appeared before cameras and the eyes of the entire world, depicting blatant assaults on humanity and constituting brutal crimes that are unforgivable under any law, jurisdiction, or pretext.

These scenes include attacks on defenceless children, medical teams, women, and the elderly. They also involve the destruction of hospitals, educational and civilian institutions, starvation, and many other atrocious practices that no person in the world would tolerate or remain silent about if they were happening to any other community. Humanity, with all its laws and human rights principles for which people have struggled, would never accept such scenes without a genuine reaction.

However, the situation was entirely different when these grave violations were committed against civilians in the Gaza Strip. The international community, human rights organisations, and representatives of humanity received a severe blow, the echoes of which continue to resonate in Gaza today. What the Israeli occupation is carrying out in Gaza revenge and collective punishment against an entire society stands in stark contrast to the moral and legal principles that guarantee human rights and prohibit the collective torture of societies or their brutal treatment. Yet, these crimes persist, and everyone remains in absolute silence. No one dares to fulfill their moral duty, even though, deep down, they acknowledge that what is happening is immoral and unacceptable. But everyone is shackled. So how did the Israeli occupation succeed in morally paralysing the world?

The demonisation of Gaza’s residents

The Israeli occupation has systematically demonised the Palestinian people in Gaza while also blaming the victims. This strategy is used to justify violence by portraying the victim as the perpetrator or as someone deserving of the violations committed against them. The demonisation and victim-blaming of Palestinians have unfolded in several stages:

First stage: Dehumanisation

The people of Gaza were depicted as less than human, with animalistic or inhumane descriptions used to portray them. This was evident when the ousted Israeli Minister of War, Yoav Gallant, described Gazas residents as “animals, not humans”.

This dehumanisation led to the dismissal of these civilian victims suffering, emotions, and rights. It facilitated the acceptance of aggression and violence against them while legitimising the violation of their rights by denying their humanity. This strategy also reinforced a collective identity that does not distinguish between the guilty and the innocent, portraying the entire society as an enemy. Through this, the Israeli occupation justifies the genocide it is committing in Gaza.

Second stage: Guilt projection

The Israeli occupation accused Gazas civilians of crimes and actions they never committed crimes that, in reality, were carried out by the occupation itself. The projection of guilt onto the victimised society has been aggressively promoted since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, aimed at shielding Israel from international legal and moral accountability and preventing the world from feeling guilt over its inaction. This strategy includes pre-emptively justifying any reaction or criticism of Israeli crimes by distorting facts, twisting narratives, and spreading misleading stories that portray the victim as guilty and deserving of their fate.

The Israeli occupation executed this process intensively across various levels. It falsely claimed that hospitals in Gaza harboured militants, using this justification to storm medical facilities and attack the healthcare sector. This propaganda was spread so extensively that it numbed the international community, allowing Israel to storm and destroy nearly all of Gazas hospitals, arrest medical staff, and condemn patients to death as medical services collapsed. Later, individuals from within the Israeli establishment itself admitted that the hospitals contained none of the alleged threats that Israel had used to justify its attacks.

The occupation also spread propaganda, labelling journalists in Gaza as terrorists affiliated with armed groups. This narrative gained widespread traction and served as a pre-emptive justification for any criticism or condemnation of Israels killing of journalists covering the genocide. As a result, more than 170 journalists have been killed since the war began, and all press institutions in Gaza have been destroyed.

Third stage: Moral disengagement

Moral disengagement is the process of suspending ethical principles to justify immoral actions. The Israeli occupation employed this tactic to rationalise its crimes and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Israel redefined its hostile actions by portraying them as necessary or heroic. Israeli leaders at all levels openly called for the annihilation of Gaza, its occupation, and the killing and displacement of the indigenous Palestinian population, justifying these actions under the pretext of protecting Israels borders, security and existence.

Additionally, the occupation implemented moral disengagement by minimising individual accountability among soldiers and military leaders responsible for massacres against Gazas civilians. This was done by claiming that actions were carried out under higher orders or as part of a collective role. The Israeli political leadership further reinforced this by downplaying or outright denying the suffering of Gazas victimised population. Moral disengagement is a mechanism used to justify crimes that would otherwise be indefensible, and Israel has employed it extensively to rationalise its genocide and war crimes.

Fourth stage: Polarisation

Polarisation is the final stage, where perspectives and attitudes become increasingly extreme and rigid. This process divides the narrative into two absolute camps"us" versus “them.” In this framework, all negative attributes are ascribed to the victimised society in its entirety, portraying it as a community deserving of punishment. This division fosters polarisation, which Israel actively pursued by portraying Gazas civilians as animals rather than humans, while simultaneously rallying global support, military aid, and legal cover to continue its genocide against Gaza.

This rigid “us vs. them” framing leads external parties to unconditionally support the aggressor the Israeli occupation while ignoring the suffering and emotions of Gazas victimised civilians, who are subjected to collective punishment. This tactic marginalises the victimised society, dismisses any efforts for empathy or understanding, and reduces opportunities for resolution explaining why the genocide has continued for fifteen months.

What is the international communitys stance?

The Israeli occupations latest crime was an assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, where medical staff were arrested, patients and displaced persons were forcibly expelled, the hospital was burned to the ground, and its director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyya, was detained. A crime of such magnitude an attack on hospitals and medical personnel is something no human should ever accept. Yet, the Israeli occupation has effectively dismantled global mechanisms for compassion, legal protection, and the defence of civilian institutions, leaving the world as a passive spectator to Gazas genocide. So how has the international community and the human rights sector responded to this and countless other crimes?

A leaked image showed Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyya walking toward an Israeli tank. Commentary on the image ranged from admiration of its beauty and the doctor’s courage to exaggerated depictions some even illustrated Abu Safiyyas white coat larger than the tank or added the letter “S” to his coat, likening him to Superman. These symbolic representations are shallow and reflect a lack of true agency among those who engage in them.

Superficial acts such as sharing an image or design of a victim, making small donations, changing a profile picture, or participating in online campaigns create a false sense of moral satisfaction. This phenomenon, known as “moral licensing”, allows individuals to feel morally righteous after taking minor symbolic actions, convincing themselves they have fulfilled their ethical duty toward genocide victims. In reality, such actions merely soothe personal guilt while failing to enact meaningful change.

Similarly, “slacktivism” (fake activism) enables people to engage in performative social or political actions such as posting on social media, signing online petitions, or changing profile pictures without making real efforts or achieving actual impact. This pseudo-activism makes individuals feel they are contributing positively while, in reality, avoiding genuine moral obligations.

The Israeli occupation has committed one of the most horrific genocides in history, yet no real international will exists to stop it. Israel dehumanised Gazas civilians, falsely accused them of heinous crimes, and then carried out those very atrocities killing and imprisoning tens of thousands, obliterating Gaza, and starving and displacing its people. Meanwhile, the international communitys response has been woefully inadequate, limited to symbolic social media gestures. The principles of humanitarian law and moral values seem to have vanished becoming transparent when the victims are in Gaza and the perpetrator is Israel.