The destruction of Gaza is not just a humanitarian catastrophe — it is a legal and moral reckoning for the global order. Far from being a remote conflict, Israel's war on Gaza has become the ultimate stress test for international law, humanitarian norms and the credibility of the so-called rules-based order the West claims to uphold.

For decades, the United States and its allies have championed this order — an architecture built on the Geneva Conventions, the UN Charter and the Genocide Convention, meant to constrain state violence after the horrors of World War II. But since October 7, 2023, these norms have unraveled, not simply through Israeli actions, but through Western complicity, selective enforcement and political paralysis.

The facts on the ground are irrefutable — over 52,000 Palestinians killed, including more than 18,000 children; over 90% of Gaza's homes destroyed; 84% of hospitals and virtually every school obliterated; and two million forcibly displaced. The United Nations has warned of impending famine, with Israel's deliberate obstruction of aid delivery under review at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a case brought by 45 countries. These are not unfortunate byproducts of war — they are large-scale, systematic violations of international humanitarian law.

And yet, instead of enforcing accountability, the West has enabled impunity. UN resolutions have been vetoed, International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations delayed or undermined, and military aid continues to flow. As the Atlantic Council has pointed out, Israel's claim to have........

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