TEHRAN - The deep and ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip represents an exceptional point in the contemporary history of human rights and international security. This crisis, shaped by the systematic and deliberate policies of the Israeli regime, embodies a gradual genocide and widespread human rights violations centered on the intentional deprivation and destruction of basic living conditions. 

Numerous reports from international organizations, including the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) and the United Nations, indicate an unprecedented deterioration in nutrition, health, and human security in this region. In the face of these disasters, international bodies, especially the United Nations Security Council, through silence and inaction, have effectively abdicated their vital duties to protect humanity and have become complicit in this cycle of violence due to the pressure exerted by powerful states.

One of the prominent dimensions of Israel’s crimes in Gaza is the gradual genocide carried out through the intentional deprivation of essential resources such as food, medicine, and healthcare services. This form of genocide, referred to in Article 3 of the 1948 Genocide Convention, involves deliberate actions to destroy, in whole or in part, a human group by depriving them of necessary living conditions (United Nations, 1948).

In recent years, international organizations including FEWS NET have repeatedly warned that over 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million population rely on emergency food aid, and approximately 70% of households face severe nutritional shortages (FEWS NET, 2023). This crisis results from Israel’s complete blockade of Gaza, which restricts access to essential goods and directly impacts the daily lives of its people. Moreover, preventing the entry of medicine, medical equipment, and other necessities has led to the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system; more than 50% of hospitals have either shut down or lost operational capacity due to shortages of staff and equipment (UN OCHA, 2024; WHO, 2024).
From a human rights perspective, this situation constitutes a blatant violation of fundamental human rights, including the right to life, nutrition, healthcare, and living in humane conditions. The intentional deprivation of these rights, implemented through blockade and structural restrictions, precisely fits within the legal definition of genocide and is subject to criminal prosecution (International Criminal Court, 2012).

This gradual genocide is compounded by active military and security policies of Israel, expanding its dimensions. Repeated bombings of critical infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and food warehouses, documented by Amnesty International and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, reveal a coordinated and systematic strategy to destroy living conditions (Amnesty International, 2023; OHCHR, 2024).

The destruction of water, electricity, and healthcare systems, combined with economic blockade, has placed Gaza’s population in a condition where, beyond the immediate dangers of war, they endure complex and deadly humanitarian crises. Unemployment in Gaza has exceeded 50%, and approximately 30% of children suffer from chronic malnutrition (World Bank, 2023).

These acts are recognized under international law as war crimes and crimes against humanity. International humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, explicitly mandates the protection of civilians and vital infrastructure and prohibits their intentional destruction. However, with unwavering U.S. support and global silence, Israel has effectively violated these norms and engaged in structural genocide.

In the face of this vast humanitarian disaster, international institutions, especially the Security Council, have acted weakly and passively. The main reason for this failure is the repeated use of the veto power by the United States as a permanent Security Council member, preventing the adoption of binding resolutions against Israel. The fact that the Security Council has held several emergency sessions and passed multiple resolutions on the Ukraine crisis, while remaining a mere spectator in Gaza, highlights a glaring double standard in international politics (UN Security Council Records, 2023-2024).

Despite full awareness of the disaster’s dimensions, the UN Secretary-General has effectively remained silent and failed to take practical and effective actions to pressure Israel or support civilians. This silence, severely criticized by independent human rights organizations, constitutes not only a moral breach but also a practical violation of the UN’s mandates (HRW, 2024).

This inaction by international bodies effectively legitimizes Israeli crimes and facilitates the continuation of human rights violations. Furthermore, given the political and military role of the United States and its extensive support for Israel, international law has practically become an instrument for defending the interests of dominant powers.

The international legal system, established as a mechanism for regulating inter-state relations and protecting human rights, faces a fundamental challenge. The position of international institutions, especially the Security Council, has become limited and inefficient due to the dominance of great powers. The United States, as a key actor in this system, not only obstructs justice but, by providing military and political support, is directly complicit in the continuation of genocide and human rights violations (Klabbers, 2017).

Data and reports from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) indicate that in recent years the United States has provided billions of dollars in military aid to Israel, which has not only maintained the status quo but intensified the humanitarian crisis (SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, 2023).

This situation reveals the urgent need for a profound reconsideration of the structure of international law and the functioning of international institutions.

In response to the failure of Western international bodies, the discourse of Islamic justice emerges as an effective and principled solution. This discourse is based on supporting the rights of the oppressed, confronting tyranny and arrogance, and promoting legal resistance (Esposito, 1998).

Free nations and countries worldwide must become champions of supporting Palestine and the oppressed, and Muslim governments, alongside the Islamic Republic of Iran—which has always stood by Palestine and the oppressed—must, by leveraging these principles, play a pivotal role in legal diplomacy and global resistance against Israeli crimes. This role may include legal documentation, supporting judicial processes in international forums, forming regional and international coalitions, and providing military support to defend Palestinian rights.

Legal resistance diplomacy will not only increase political and legal pressure on Israel and its allies but also help redefine the global order based on justice, the rights of nations, and mutual respect.

The Gaza crisis transcends a regional problem and symbolizes a profound legal and political crisis in the international system. As long as international institutions turn into political tools of great powers rather than actors of justice, global justice will remain an empty slogan, and gradual genocides will continue to occur under the world’s silence. Therefore, a fundamental rethinking of the nature and function of international law, and utilizing new capacities of legal resistance diplomacy, is vital and urgent.

References
* Amnesty International. (2023). Israel’s Attacks on Gaza’s Civilian Infrastructure.
* Esposito, J. L. (1998). Islam and Politics. Syracuse University Press.
* Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). (2023). Food Security Outlook: Gaza Strip.
* Human Rights Watch (HRW). (2024). The Silence of the UN on Gaza.
* International Criminal Court (ICC). (2012). Judgments on Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity.
* Klabbers, J. (2017). An Introduction to International Law. Cambridge University Press.
* Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). (2023). Arms Transfers Database.
* UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). (2023). Report on Human Rights Violations in Gaza.
* UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). (2024). Gaza Humanitarian Situation Report.
* UN Security Council Records. (2023–2024).
* World Health Organization (WHO). (2024). Health Access in Gaza.