Israel Destroyed Gaza ‘for Generations to Come’ and the World Stayed Silent

𝐈𝐧 𝐆𝐚𝐳𝐚, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐫. (𝐖𝐀𝐅𝐀 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐂𝐂 𝐁𝐘-𝐒𝐀 𝟑.𝟎, 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐖𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬)

The first official reference to Gaza becoming increasingly uninhabitable was made by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2012, when the population of the Gaza Strip was estimated at 1.8 million inhabitants.

The intention of the report, “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐳𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭,” [ https://www.un.org/unispal/document/unctads-annual-report-reveals-economic-reality-in-opt-is-bleaker-than-ever-article/ ] was not merely to prophesize, but to warn that if the world continued to stand idle in the face of the ongoing blockade on Gaza, a humanitarian catastrophe was imminent.

Yet, little was done, though the UN continued with its countdown, increasing the frequency and urgency of its warnings, especially following major wars.

𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟓 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐃 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐳𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞.
[ https://unctad.org/press-material/gaza-could-become-uninhabitable-less-five-years-wake-2014-conflict-and-ongoing-de ]

By 2020, though, based on the criteria set by the UN, Gaza should have become ‘uninhabitable.’ Yet, little was done to remedy the crisis. The population grew rapidly, while resources, including Gaza’s land mass, shrank due to the ever-expanding Israeli ‘buffer zone’. The prospects for the “world’s largest open-air prison” became even dimmer.

Yet, the international community did little to heed the call of UNCTAD and other UN and international institutions. The humanitarian crisis—situated within a prolonged political crisis, a siege, repeated wars, and daily violence—worsened, reaching, on October 7, 2023, the point of implosion.

One wonders if the world had paid even the slightest attention to Gaza and the cries of people trapped behind walls, barbed wire, and electric fences, whether the current war and genocide could have been avoided.

It is all moot now. The worst-case scenario has actualized in a way that even the most pessimistic estimates by Palestinian, Arab, or international groups could not have foreseen.

Not only is Gaza now beyond “uninhabitable”, but, according to Greenpeace, it will be “𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞”
[ https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/story/scorched-earth-making-gaza-uninhabitable-for-generations-to-come/ ]. This does not hinge on the resilience of Palestinians in Gaza, whose legendary steadfastness is hardly disputed. However, there are essential survival needs that even the strongest people cannot replace with their mere desire to survive.

In just the first 120 days of war, “staggering” carbon emissions were estimated at 536,410 tons of carbon dioxide. Ninety percent of that deadly pollution was “attributed to Israel’s air bombardment and ground invasion,” according to Greenpeace, which concluded that the total sum of carbon emissions “is greater than the annual carbon footprint of many climate-vulnerable nations”.

𝐀 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐍 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞 (𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐏)
[ https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/damage-gaza-causing-new-risks-human-health-and-long-term-recovery ] painted an equally frightening picture of what was taking place in Gaza as a direct result of the war. “Water and sanitation have collapsed,” it declared last June. “Coastal areas, soil, and ecosystems have been severely impacted,” it continued.

But that was over seven months ago, when parts of Gaza were still standing. Now, almost all of Gaza has been destroyed. Garbage has been piling up for 15 months without a single facility to process it efficiently. Disease is widespread, and all hospitals have either been destroyed in the bombings, burned to the ground, or bulldozed. Many of the sick are dying in their tents without ever seeing a doctor.

Without any outside assistance, it was only natural for the disaster to worsen. Last December, Médecins Sans Frontières issued a report titled “𝐆𝐚𝐳𝐚: 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩”
[ https://www.msf.org/life-death-trap-gaza-palestine ]. The report, a devastating read, describes the state of medical infrastructure in Gaza, which can be summed up in a single word: non-existent.

Israel has attacked 512 healthcare facilities between October 2023 and September 2024, killing 500 healthcare workers. This means that a population is trying to survive during one of the harshest wars ever recorded, without any serious medical attention. This includes nearly half a million people suffering from various mental health disorders.

𝐁𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝐆𝐚𝐳𝐚’𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝟐𝟑 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝟕𝟓,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬—𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. [ https://www.turkiyetoday.com/world/gaza-on-verge-of-environmental-disaster-bodies-pile-up-as-israeli-assault-intensifies-93575/ ] This has released 281,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air.

Once the war is over, Gaza will be rebuilt. Though Palestinian sumud (steadfastness) is capable of restoring Gaza to its former self, however long it takes, 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐊 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭, 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝟔𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐎𝟐 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. [ https://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2024/hss/new-study-reveals-substantial-carbon-emissions-from-the-ongoing-israel-gaza-conflict.html ]

In essence, this means that even after the devastating war on Gaza ends and the rebuilding of the Strip concludes, the ecological and environmental harm that Israel has caused will remain for many years to come.

It is baffling that the very Western countries, which speak tirelessly about environmental protection, preservation, and warning against carbon emissions, are the same entities that helped sustain the war on Gaza, either through arming Israel or remaining silent in the face of the ongoing atrocities.

The price of this hypocrisy is the enduring suffering of millions of people and the devastation of their environment. Isn’t it time for the world to wake up and collectively declare: enough is enough?