Gaza: The Crime of Crimes Against Humanity

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By Taher Alassar, Gaza

Subtitle:
Ecocide, domicide, econocide, and genocide — in Gaza, all the great crimes against life converge, day after day.

Across human history, words have been forged to describe the gravest crimes against life:

Ecocide — the destruction of nature,

Domicide — the destruction of homes,

Econocide — the destruction of economies,

and the greatest of all, Genocide — the destruction of an entire people.

Each of these words captures a dimension of devastation. But what happens when all of them unfold at once, systematically inflicted upon a single population, day after day, for over 18 months?

This is exactly what is happening in Gaza.

A Land Stripped Bare
Gaza’s environment — once a narrow, fertile coastal strip — has been systematically destroyed.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), over 45% of Gaza’s agricultural land has been damaged or rendered unusable by bombardment [1]. Water sources have been contaminated; more than 97% of Gaza’s freshwater is now undrinkable [2]. The coastline is heavily polluted, leaving the vital fishing sector crippled.

This is ecocide — the deliberate destruction of nature and the means to sustain life.

A Home Reduced to Dust
The destruction of homes in Gaza has been staggering.
UNRWA reports that over 70% of Gaza’s residential infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed [3]. Entire neighborhoods like Shujaiya, Beit Hanoun, and Khan Younis have been leveled, some turned into what rescue workers call “complete ghost towns.”

Today, over 1.4 million people — nearly two-thirds of Gaza’s population — are internally displaced, many without any safe shelter [4].

This is domicide — the destruction of homes on an industrial scale.

A Shattered Economy
Gaza’s economy, already strangled by a 17-year-long blockade, has been utterly devastated.
According to the World Bank, Gaza’s GDP has plummeted by more than 85% since late 2023 [5]. Unemployment now exceeds 80%, and more than 85% of the population relies on humanitarian aid to survive [6].

Factories, shops, farms, and fishing ports — the lifelines of self-reliance — have been systematically destroyed.

This is econocide — the deliberate crushing of a people’s economic life.

A People on the Brink
The loss of human life is overwhelming.
As of early 2025, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry and UN OCHA reports, more than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed, including over 15,000 children [7]. Tens of thousands more are wounded, many suffering amputations, burns, and untreated infections due to the collapse of the healthcare system.

At least 70% of hospitals and medical facilities have been destroyed or rendered non-functional [8].
Starvation is now widespread: the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warns that over 500,000 Gazans face famine-level hunger [9].

This is not an accident. This is not collateral damage.
This is genocide — the targeted destruction of a people’s ability to survive.

Beyond Statistics: A Call to Imagination
Statistics can never convey the true human cost.
Numbers blur. Reports desensitize. Political speeches sanitize the horror.

But imagine — truly imagine — your home, your family, your future reduced to dust.
Imagine carrying your child through bombed streets, with no hospital left to treat them.
Imagine pleading for water, for food, for medicine — and finding only silence.

For Gaza, this is not a thought experiment. It is their daily existence.

The Test of Our Humanity
History will ask:

Where were you when Gaza cried out?

What did you do when a people’s existence was being erased?

The destruction unfolding in Gaza is not just an assault on Palestinians. It is an assault on humanity itself.

The greatest crime is not only the destruction of a people — it is the destruction of our shared humanity if we allow it to happen.

About the Author:
Taher Alassar is a writer from Gaza who bears witness to the destruction of his homeland, and speaks for those whose voices are being silenced under the rubble.

References:
[1] UNEP Gaza Environmental Damage Report, February 2025.
[2] UN OCHA Water Crisis Update, January 2025.
[3] UNRWA Infrastructure Damage Assessment, March 2025.
[4] UNRWA Humanitarian Situation Report, April 2025.
[5] World Bank Economic Impact Assessment, February 2025.
[6] UNRWA Employment and Aid Dependency Brief, March 2025.
[7] UN OCHA Gaza Casualty Update, April 2025.
[8] World Health Organization (WHO) Gaza Health System Collapse Report, February 2025.
[9] IPC Famine Risk Alert for Gaza, March 2025.

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