The implications of genocide for Africa

GAZA UNDER SIEGE

- NAZIER PAULSEN

ON AUGUST 10, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his governments latest military proposal, a plan to seize what remains of Gaza City under the pretext of bringing the war to an end. The United Nations immediately warned that the plan would produce “another calamity of starvation and destruction” in a territory already on the brink of total collapse.

For nearly a year, Gaza has been subjected to one of the most devastating military campaigns of the 21st century. What Netanyahu calls “the best and fastest way to end the war” is, in truth, the final phase of a genocide, a deliberate and systematic attempt to destroy a people's ability to exist.

What is unfolding in Gaza is not a conventional war between equal forces. It is the dismantling of civilian life through siege, bombardment, and deprivation.

The latest reports from humanitarian agencies paint a catastrophic picture: more than 80% of Gaza’s population is displaced, with many forced to shelter in overcrowded, unsanitary camps without clean water or medical care. Rates of malnutrition have soared to unprecedented levels. In northern Gaza, children are dying from hunger-related complications in full view of the world.

The UN's humanitarian coordinator has warned that famine is now a reality, not a looming threat, as food supplies have been systematically blocked or destroyed. Malnutrition has weakened immune systems, making the population - particularly infants and the elderly - far more susceptible to disease.