The Gaza war and international community's accountability
Ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khattabi, Assistant Secretary-General, head of the Media and Communication Sector
Global conscience echoes a plea to halt a devastating war, where continuous Israeli bombings have afflicted thousands in the besieged Gaza Strip. Scenes of killing, starvation, and humiliation unfold, affecting civilians—women, children, infants, and the sick. This collective punishment is rarely witnessed in modern history, even in the five wars on the Strip since 2008.
The violent onslaught, targeting infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and places of worship, spares no one—medical teams, relief workers, journalists, and media professionals. According to the Gaza Information Office, 49 of them were killed after a month and a half of war, with about 50 headquarters and centres of Palestinian and foreign media institutions bombed in Gaza.
These harsh conditions perpetuate hatred and deepen the wounds of decades of suffering and historical injustice among new Palestinian generations. This occurs without regard for the safety, dignity, and rights of civilians, violating human rights conventions and international humanitarian law.
The tragic image of destruction in Gaza, coupled with waves of displacement in search of safe havens, symbolises the growing call for Palestinian freedom. This is despite the impact of the false Israeli media narrative.
Such aggressive practices cannot be justified by the right of self-defence, as affirmed by the emergency Arab and Islamic summit in Riyadh. The International Court of Justice, through Resolution 131 in 2004, ruled that Israel, as the occupying power, cannot invoke this right. Numerous international law scholars hold a similar view regarding the current asymmetric war.
The Gaza war raises profound questions about the international community's credibility and its ability to fulfil its legal and moral responsibility. This scrutiny intensifies due to the ongoing division within the UN Security Council concerning a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors to save innocent lives in the Strip.