Behind the Wall
Gaza, Genocide, and the Consequences of Silence
Watching The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer's haunting film about the banality of evil at Auschwitz, one is confronted with the chilling ordinariness of monstrous acts. The film explores how unspeakable cruelty can be normalized, hidden behind walls—both physical and psychological—by those who commit or enable it. Its infamous garden wall, shielding the tranquil domestic lives of Nazi officers from the horrors of a death camp, mirrors the walls surrounding Gaza today. These barriers, literal and figurative, serve to obscure the suffering of a trapped population, separating it from the view of Israel and much of the world.
In Gaza, the suffering is no less hidden, concealed behind the rhetoric of self-defence, political alliances, and sanitized news reports. Just as the walls in The Zone of Interest insulated perpetrators from their victims, the barriers around Gaza hide a systematic campaign of destruction that amounts to genocide. Amnesty International has described the Israeli assault on Gaza as genocide, citing the deliberate targeting of civilians, the obliteration of essential infrastructure, and the imposition of conditions that make survival impossible (Amnesty International, 2024).
Genocide, as defined by the 1948 Genocide Convention, includes acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. What is unfolding in Gaza—mass killings, the destruction of homes, and the deprivation of life-sustaining resources—meets this definition with horrifying precision.
A Systematic Campaign of Destruction
The crisis in Gaza is not new. For over 16 years, a blockade has trapped over two million people in what many describe as the world’s largest open-air prison. This siege has devastated Gaza’s economy, crippled its healthcare system, and made over 80% of its population dependent on international aid. These conditions are not incidental—they are the deliberate result of policies that violate the Genocide Convention’s prohibition against ‘deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction.’
Entire neighbourhoods now lie in rubble, their residents buried beneath them or displaced. Hospitals, overwhelmed and under siege, struggle to treat the thousands of injured, their corridors echoing with cries of agony. Over 44,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed since the escalation began, including more than 20,000 children (UN OCHA, 2024). Yet this figure is likely an undercount. Thousands of bodies remain buried beneath the rubble of destroyed neighbourhoods, unreachable due to the lack of heavy machinery needed to move the debris (Amnesty International, 2024).
Adding to this is the euphemistic language used to justify and normalize such actions. Israeli military officials have referred to large-scale military operations in Gaza as ‘mowing the lawn’ (Blumenthal, 2015). This term, likening mass killing and destruction to routine maintenance, desensitizes audiences to the devastating human cost and perpetuates the dehumanization of Palestinians. It conceals the brutality of these operations while fostering an environment in which such acts are framed as necessary and inevitable.
Hospitals and refugee camps have become graves for the living. UNICEF reports that over 1.1 million children in Gaza are living in conditions of extreme trauma, with no access to clean water or safe shelter (UNICEF, 2024). A humanitarian worker described the scene as ‘hell on earth,’ where survival itself is a daily miracle. The blockade, ensuring no supplies reach Gaza’s population, turns every basic necessity into a privilege denied.
The Flawed Premise of Security
What happened on October 7th, 2023, was undeniably horrendous. The loss of innocent lives and the terror inflicted on civilians demand unequivocal condemnation. However, the response being perpetrated against the Palestinian people does not make Israel safer from another October 7th. In fact, it makes such an event more likely.
The systematic destruction of Gaza, the mass killings, and the deepening humanitarian crisis do not break cycles of violence—they entrench them. By targeting civilians and destroying lives, Israel fosters an environment of hopelessness, despair, and anger among Palestinians, conditions ripe for fuelling hatred and extremism.
This approach traps both Israelis and Palestinians in a cycle of revenge, where violence begets more violence, and hatred becomes the dominant force. Instead of addressing the root causes of the conflict—occupation, dispossession, and systemic inequality—this response exacerbates tensions and ensures that peace becomes ever more elusive.
As history has shown, collective punishment does not bring security. Instead, it sows the seeds for future atrocities, perpetuating an endless cycle where revenge, not reconciliation, shapes the future.
The Role of Global Complicity
The role of nations like the United States and the United Kingdom in enabling these atrocities cannot be overlooked. The U.S. provides Israel with $3.8 billion annually in military aid, part of a longstanding agreement to ensure Israel’s ‘qualitative military edge’ (BBC News, 2024). Recently, the Biden administration approved a $680 million arms sale to Israel, including bombs and munitions currently used in Gaza (Wall Street Journal, 2024). Similarly, the UK continues to license arms sales to Israel despite calls for a cessation, supplying weapons that have reportedly been used in attacks on civilians (Human Rights Watch, 2024).
These nations’ military and political support embolden Israel to act with impunity, making them complicit in the slaughter of Gaza’s people. Their silence, or at best their statements of ‘concern,’ ring hollow without concrete action. Sanctions, international tribunals, and immediate humanitarian intervention are not optional—they are obligations under international law.
The Urgency of Action
Words have power. Naming the destruction in Gaza as genocide forces the global community to confront its responsibilities. Supporting humanitarian organizations, amplifying Palestinian voices, and pressuring governments to hold perpetrators accountable are immediate steps individuals can take. Donate to organizations providing medical aid in Gaza. Write to your representatives to demand an arms embargo on Israel. Participate in protests and amplify Palestinian voices on social media. Silence is not neutrality—it is complicity.
Conclusion
In The Zone of Interest, the wall conceals the horrors of the Holocaust from those complicit in its perpetuation. But walls do not last forever. The day inevitably comes when they crumble, and those on both sides are forced to confront the reality of how the other has lived.
When the walls around Gaza fall—and one day, they will—what will we see? On one side, generations raised in despair, subjected to unimaginable suffering, stripped of dignity, and dehumanized in the eyes of the world. On the other, a society that turned away, its own humanity eroded by complicity in this brutality. The reckoning will be unavoidable. History has shown us that such reckonings are painful, but they are necessary for any hope of healing.
If we fail to act now, if we allow these walls to remain unchallenged, we are not just failing Gaza—we are failing humanity itself. Let us not wait for the walls to come down before acknowledging the horrors they hide. Let us speak and act now, for the promise of ‘Never again’ demands no less.
References
• Amnesty International (2024). Gaza: Unreachable Bodies and the Systematic Blockade. Available at: www.amnesty.org.
• BBC News (2024). US Military Aid to Israel. Available at: www.bbc.com.
• Blumenthal, M. (2015). The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza. New York: Nation Books.
• Human Rights Watch (2024). UK Arms Sales to Israel. Available at: www.hrw.org.
• ICRC (2024). Proportionality and International Law in Armed Conflict. Available at: www.icrc.org.
• UN (1948). Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Available at: www.un.org.
• UNICEF (2024). Children in Gaza: A Generation Traumatised. Available at: www.unicef.org.
• UN OCHA (2024). Casualty Figures in Gaza Escalation. Available at: www.unocha.org.
• Wall Street Journal (2024). US Approves $680 Million Arms Sale to Israel. Available at: www.wsj.com.
• Glazer, J. (2023). The Zone of Interest. Film. A24 (US), Film4 Productions (UK)