The implications of genocide for Africa

ON AUGUST 10, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his government 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.

- NAZIER PAULSEN

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.

The situation is compounded by Israel’s targeted attacks on journalists and aid workers, acts that further expose the culture of impunity driving this military campaign. Earlier, five Al Jazeera journalists were targeted and murdered by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), amongst several other Palestinian journalists who have been killed while documenting the war since October 2023, joining a death toll of reporters that is among the highest in modern conflict history.