The situation in Gaza today starkly highlights Israeli exceptionalism. Israel is employing the starvation of 2 million Palestinians in the blockaded and devastated Gaza Strip as a tactic to extract political concessions from Palestinian groups operating there.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs last month described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “the worst it has been” since the outbreak of war in October 2023. Despite the severity of such pronouncements, they often appear to be treated as routine, eliciting little concrete action or substantive discussion.

Israel’s violations of international and humanitarian laws regarding its occupation of Palestine are well-established facts. A new dimension of exceptionalism is emerging, as reflected in Israel’s ability to deliberately starve an entire population for an extended period, with some even defending this approach.

The population of Gaza continues to endure immense suffering, having already experienced the loss of about 10 percent of its number due to deaths, disappearances and injuries. The Gazans are confined to a small, largely destroyed area of about 365 sq. km, facing death from treatable diseases and lacking access to essential services, even clean water.

Despite these conditions, Israel continues to operate with impunity in what seems to be a brutal and protracted experiment, while much of the world........

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