The Collapse of Conscience: Gaza, Genocide, and the Silence of the World

By M. Basheer Ahmed, New Age Islam 18 September 2025 I still remember strolling the sunlit halls of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, having dialogue with dear Jewish colleagues whose unwavering commitment to justice and human dignity inspired me daily. They shared life stories and hoped that the horrors of the Holocaust would never darken our world again. It is profoundly heart-breaking that people once persecuted with unimaginable cruelty are now inflicting devastation on others. Many Israeli citizens, leaders, and institutions have supported—or remained silent—as Gaza and the West Bank are ravaged in ways many experts now describe as genocidal. The same people who once vowed “Never Again” are now presiding over a humanitarian catastrophe, while much of the world watches silently—or supply arms to the perpetrators. “Never Again”, should be called “Never Again for Jews only” Yet in a tragic twist of history, Israel’s current leadership has adopted policies echoing colonialist and supremacist ideologies. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s push for a “Greater Israel”—through occupation, displacement, and indiscriminate violence—bears a disturbing resemblance to nationalist expansionist ideologies of the past. Armed with U.S. military aid and political backing, Israel has evolved into a regional power that exerts disproportionate force on a stateless and largely defenceless population. History shows how fear, ideology, and power can numb the human conscience. When national narratives dehumanize others, it becomes alarmingly easy for good, moral people to suspend their humanity. October 7 and Its Aftermath When Hamas launched its brutal assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 civilians and seizing more than 250 hostages, I joined countless others in condemning that atrocity. Yet Israel’s response has transcended the boundaries of legitimate self-defence. What followed was not a targeted operation to liberate hostages or to neutralize combatants, but an indiscriminate campaign of starvation, siege, and relentless bombardment aimed at an entire population. Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, half of them children, find themselves trapped without access to food, clean water, or medical care. This is not warfare; it is the systematic annihilation of Palestinians. Long before October 7, Gaza had already endured repeated waves of destruction that shattered its hospitals, schools, and infrastructure. Israel’s control of borders, airspace, and maritime routes, enforced through a blockade stretching back nearly two decades, has steadily strangled life in the territory. Hamas justifies its attacks as resistance to occupation, the desecration of sacred sites, and the abusive treatment of Israeli settlers of Palestinians in the West Bank. Reports also indicate that Netanyahu’s government bolstered Hamas by allowing Qatari funds into Gaza, aiming to weaken the Palestinian Authority. This cynical strategy has fuelled chaos, not security. Gaza: A Humanitarian Catastrophe By April 2024, Israel dropped over seventy thousand tons of bombs on Gaza—more explosive tonnage than was unleashed on Dresden, Hamburg, and London combined during World War II. The Lancet reported more than 186,000 Palestinian deaths by mid-2024, while the Harvard Dataverse catalogued up to 377,000 disappeared, half of them children. Haaretz documented damage to more than 174,000 buildings, including hospitals, schools, mosques, and churches. Gaza now tragically holds the world’s highest rate of child amputees, and malnutrition and psychological trauma threaten to leave an entire generation scarred beyond repair. Genocidal Rhetoric and Intent Genocidal intent has never been more blatant. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invoked the biblical Amalekites—ancient enemies of Israel—suggesting Palestinians deserve total extermination. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant referred to Gazans as “human animals” while ordering a complete siege. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared starvation both “just and moral,” and Minister Yitzhak Shapira proposed deploying nuclear weapons. Members of the Knesset openly spoke of annihilation, and Israel’s military repeatedly struck designated “safe zones,” incinerating families told to seek shelter there. Doctors Without Borders documented children being shot in the head by snipers, and starvation has become a deliberate instrument of war. International Experts Agree Since the founding of the United Nations, the world has agreed that genocide is the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” Prominent scholars from across the globe now affirm that Israel’s actions meet these legal criteria. Brown University historian Omer Bartov, genocide expert Shmuel Lederman, United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, and Canadian legal authority William Schabas have each concluded that the evidence points to genocidal intent. Israel’s own human rights organizations—B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel—have issued detailed reports charging crimes against humanity. In January 2024, South Africa’s case before the International Court of Justice led to a ruling that Israel’s conduct is “plausibly genocidal.” Yet the United States and European allies continue to supply arms, betraying the legal order they helped establish in the wake of the Holocaust. Humanitarian Aid as a Trap Even humanitarian efforts have become death traps. Since May 2025, more than 700 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 5,000 wounded while queuing for food at distribution sites run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Tanks, drones, and attack helicopters target civilians seeking aid that is meant to sustain life. Six U.S. senators and over 240 non-governmental organizations have called for an immediate halt to these operations, warning that aid has become a weapon. Despite this carnage, a cautious awakening is underway. More than 140 United Nations member states now back Palestinian statehood. France’s president Emmanuel Macron, the United Kingdom’s prime minister Keir Starmer, and the governments of Spain, Ireland, and Norway have recognized—or pledged to acknowledge—a Palestinian state. Fifteen Western foreign ministers jointly demanded an end to Israeli impunity. Within the United States, a generational shift is evident as younger Jewish Americans increasingly view Israel not as a moral beacon but as an occupying force. Yet many Holocaust scholars and institutions refuse to acknowledge Palestinian suffering, dismissing any criticism of Israeli policy as antisemitism. This dangerous conflation silences ethical debate and undermines the fight against absolute hatred. A Unique Two-State Solution If we are serious about peace, we must move beyond platitudes. The two-state solution is the only framework that offers justice and security for both peoples. I propose a detailed roadmap: establish a unified Palestinian government across the West Bank and Gaza, supported by moderate Gulf states and Western powers. For an initial period of three to five decades, Palestine would remain demilitarized, with no standing army, navy, or air force. United Nations peacekeeping forces would secure borders and ensure Israel’s security, while international partners finance the construction of critical infrastructure, educational institutions, hospitals, and economic projects. With dignity and self-determination, Palestinians can build a stable society; with security guarantees and diplomatic engagement, Israelis can live without fear. Final Reflections The logic behind Israel’s campaign is chilling: Palestinian men are presumed terrorists, women are “terrorist incubators,” and children are future threats. By that logic, all Palestinians must be eliminated. History’s final judgment will not be kinder to us than the present moment demands. The mass graves are real, starvation is absolute, the charred bodies of children are real, and the ruins of Gaza’s schools, hospitals, mosques, and churches are real. No amount of diplomatic spin can wash away oceans of Palestinian blood. The moral catastrophe unfolding before our eyes violates the very essence of the “Never Again” pledge we all once embraced. The question is no longer whether genocide is occurring in Gaza. The question is whether humanity still possesses the will to stop it. If conscience still exists, it must speak now. Let the world remember the promise I shared with my Jewish friends at Einstein: that the lessons of the Holocaust would guide us toward compassion and justice. That pledge is being betrayed today. We must recommit ourselves to ensuring that state-sanctioned genocide is neither condoned nor concealed, and that peace born of justice prevails at last. I Plea every government, every leader and every citizen to do everything to stop this genocide and inhalation of Palestinians. The prevention of genocide is a legal and moral obligation to preserve the HUMANITY. “The death of human empathy is the earliest signs of a culture about to fall into barbarism.” ----- Dr. M. Basheer Ahmed is a psychiatrist, interfaith advocate, and founder of the Muslim Community Center for Human Services and American Muslims for Human Rights. He is a former assistant professor of psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine New York and professor of psychiatry UT Southwestern Medical school Dallas TX. 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