Civilians in Gaza seek safety after Israel drone attacks that killed hundreds. Photo/Courtesy
By Daisy Okiring
The Gaza Strip has become the epicenter of one of the gravest humanitarian crises of the 21st century. According to the United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry, Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians through mass killings, starvation tactics, and systematic destruction of civilian life.
More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, with children making up nearly half of the casualties. Nearly two million people—85% of Gaza’s population—have been displaced, creating what the UN calls “the largest displacement crisis in modern history.”
As the war drags on, the international community is asking difficult questions: Is Israel’s campaign in Gaza driven by religion, political calculations, or economic ambitions? The answer may lie in the intersection of all three.
Religion: A war wrapped in sacred narratives
Religion has long fueled the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For many Israelis, control over Gaza and Jerusalem ties directly to the biblical concept of a “promised land.” For Palestinians, Islam and Christianity anchor their claims to land, heritage, and identity.
Statements from Israeli leaders have highlighted this religious undertone. In December 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “We are fighting the Amalek, and we will not rest until Gaza is destroyed.”
The invocation of Amalek—an ancient biblical enemy of Israel—was condemned globally as a direct call for extermination. Palestinians, meanwhile, see Gaza not just as land but as part of a sacred resistance. The conflict therefore becomes more than political—it is infused with divine justification on both sides.
Yet religion alone cannot explain the intensity and scale of destruction. Analysts argue that invoking scripture serves as a moral cover for political and territorial ambitions.
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Politics: Power, security, and survival
At its core, the Gaza campaign is deeply political. Israel’s leaders frame the war as an existential battle for survival after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack that killed around 1,200 Israelis.
U.S. President Joe Biden, while criticizing Israel’s conduct, still reaffirmed Washington’s political alignment: “Israel has the right to defend itself, but not at the expense of innocent civilians.”
Despite repeated UN warnings, Israel continues military operations, with political survival playing a central role. Netanyahu faces corruption trials and fierce domestic opposition. Analysts argue that the war in Gaza is not only about defeating Hamas but also about securing his political legacy and holding together his fragile coalition.
The siege of Gaza also reshapes Israel’s regional alliances. Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had been moving toward normalization under the Abraham Accords. But images of mass civilian deaths have reignited public anger across the Middle East, pressuring Arab governments to suspend talks.
European leaders, too, have expressed alarm. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated in early 2025: “What is happening in Gaza is not self-defense. It is a systematic campaign of destruction against an entire people.”
Politics—both domestic and international—remain at the heart of Israel’s decisions.
Economics: Land, resources, and control
Beyond religion and politics, economics plays a hidden but powerful role. Gaza is not just a blockaded strip of land; it sits on offshore gas reserves estimated at over 1 trillion cubic feet, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Natural Resources Ministry.
For years, Israel has blocked Palestinian attempts to develop these reserves. Control of Gaza ensures that Palestinians remain excluded from potential economic independence.
Furthermore, reconstruction contracts and military-industrial spending tied to the conflict benefit Israeli companies. The war economy, critics argue, creates incentives for prolonging hostilities.
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned in March 2025: “The destruction of Gaza is not only a humanitarian tragedy—it is also an economic strategy aimed at erasing Palestinian viability and entrenching Israeli dominance.”
Economic control intertwines with the political aim of making a future Palestinian state unviable.
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Global reactions: Condemnation and complicity
The international community is split between condemnation and complicity. The United Nations, International Criminal Court, and human rights organizations have classified Israeli actions as genocidal.
South Africa led a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), arguing that Israel is violating the Genocide Convention. The ICJ issued provisional measures ordering Israel to stop genocidal acts. Israel, however, ignored them.
French President Emmanuel Macron remarked: “Civilian lives cannot be collateral damage. The scale of destruction in Gaza cannot be justified.”
On the other hand, the U.S., Germany, and the U.K. continue supplying Israel with weapons, despite calls for an arms embargo. Critics argue that Western powers’ military and political support makes them complicit.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva offered perhaps the strongest rebuke: “What Israel is doing to Gaza is worse than what Hitler did to the Jews.”
Such stark statements underscore the gravity with which global leaders view the crisis.
Why genocide? Religion, politics, and economics combined
So, why is Israel committing genocide in Gaza? No single factor provides a complete explanation. Religion fuels rhetoric and frames the conflict as divinely justified. Politics drives leaders to wage war for power, security, and legitimacy. Economics ensures long-term control over land and resources.
Together, these elements create what UN experts describe as a genocidal campaign: the systematic destruction of Gaza’s people, infrastructure, and future.
Navi Pillay, chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry, summarized it powerfully: “The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign with the intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza.”
The world’s responsibility
The Gaza crisis is not just about Israel and Palestine—it is about the credibility of international law and the conscience of humanity. Every day of inaction, as Navi Pillay warned, amounts to complicity.
The genocide in Gaza is religious in its justification, political in its execution, and economic in its long-term design. Unless the world moves decisively to end it, history may record this as one of the darkest failures of our time.
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