By Mustafa Makumba

Two years have passed since October 7, 2023, a date that set Gaza on fire and the world’s conscience to sleep. What was framed as a “war on terror” has turned into one of the most brutal episodes of collective punishment in modern history. The United Nations has now called Israel’s actions for what they are: genocide. And still, the killing goes on.

More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since the bombardment began. Nearly half were children. Entire bloodlines have vanished in seconds, families erased from official records and from memory. Gaza’s cities are hollowed-out skeletons of concrete. Hospitals that once treated the wounded have become graves. Schools that once taught hope are piles of broken desks and dust.

Over two million people are displaced, scattered in tents and ruins. They move from one bombed zone to another, chasing the illusion of safety. Starvation has become a weapon; aid convoys are blocked or attacked; the sea and air are sealed. Gaza is not just suffering it is being deliberately annihilated.

What makes this tragedy unbearable is not only its cruelty, but the world’s indifference to it. Nations that speak of human rights have looked away. Powerful governments that once vowed “never again” now supply the bombs and veto the ceasefires. The double standards are so stark that they no longer need explanation.

The Qur’an reminds humanity: “Whoever kills a soul—unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land—it is as if he has killed all mankind” (5:32).

It also warns against the arrogance of oppression, when truth is crushed by power and fear. The Prophet Muhammad once said, “Beware of oppression, for oppression will be darkness on the Day of Judgment.” Those words echo painfully across Gaza today.

This is not a conflict between equals. It is an occupation defended as self-defence, and a siege presented as security. Israel’s campaign has crossed the line between war and annihilation, a deliberate attempt to break a people’s will and erase their place in history.

But history keeps its own record. One day, when the rubble is cleared and the survivors tell their stories, the world will be forced to admit what it allowed to happen. Gaza will stand as both a scar and a mirror, showing us what becomes of humanity when silence becomes easier than justice.