Gaza Is Not Just a War. It Is a Humanitarian Catastrophe.

As Palestinians continue to face displacement, destroyed schools, unsafe water and the loss of civilian life, the world must confront what is happening in Gaza—and what it means to call for an end to the violence.

There is something deeply disturbing about watching the suffering in Gaza continue while the rest of the world debates what words should be used to describe it.

For Palestinians living through this crisis, the words are not abstract. They are families without homes. Children without classrooms. Parents searching for clean water. Hospitals struggling to function. People who have been displaced repeatedly and are still being forced to survive in conditions that no human being should have to endure.

I believe what is happening to Palestinians in Gaza must be confronted as a possible—and, according to Amnesty International, an ongoing—genocide. Amnesty's investigation concluded that Israel's conduct meets the legal definition of genocide, citing killings, serious physical and mental harm, mass displacement, destruction of civilian infrastructure and the deliberate creation of conditions of life that the organization says are calculated to bring about Palestinians' physical destruction.

That conclusion is contested by Israel, and the International Court of Justice has not yet issued a final judgment determining whether Israel has committed genocide. South Africa brought the case against Israel under the Genocide Convention, and the ICJ has issued provisional measures while the case proceeds.

But regardless of what the eventual legal ruling says, the humanitarian reality in Gaza is impossible to ignore.

A childhood without a normal childhood

Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of this crisis is what it has done to children.

According to UNICEF, approximately 700,000 children between the ages of 4 and 17 had missed almost three consecutive school years of formal in-person education as of April 2026. Nearly 98 percent of school buildings had been damaged, while more than 93 percent required major rehabilitation or complete reconstruction. About 420,000 children had no face-to-face learning at all.

Think about what that means.

A child who should be learning mathematics is instead worrying about where their family will sleep.

A teenager who should be thinking about graduation may not even have a functioning school to attend.

A young child who should be learning how to read is growing up surrounded by destruction.

Education is not a luxury. It is one of the foundations of a child's future. When schools disappear, an entire generation's future becomes harder to rebuild.

UNICEF reported that nearly nine out of 10 children consulted in Gaza during the first half of 2026 needed psychosocial support. Since October 2025, 277 children had reportedly been killed despite the ceasefire agreement announced that month.

These are not simply statistics. They are children who had names, personalities, families, dreams and futures.

Water should never be a privilege

Another crisis receiving far too little attention is water.

In early July, 90 percent of Gaza's population was experiencing moderate-to-high water insecurity, according to a survey cited by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

An earlier joint assessment found that 63 percent of surveyed households were receiving less than six liters of drinking water per person per day. Seventy-four percent were relying directly on water trucks, often under irregular and unsafe conditions.

Water is not political.

Water is not a weapon of ideology.

Water is something every human being needs to survive.

When people cannot reliably access clean water for drinking, cooking or washing, the consequences spread into every part of life. Disease becomes easier to spread. Families have fewer opportunities to maintain basic hygiene. Children become especially vulnerable.

And yet Palestinians continue trying to survive under these conditions.

What does shelter mean when there is nowhere safe to go?

For many Palestinians, home has become a memory.

OCHA reported in August that most people in Gaza remained internally displaced and were living in harsh conditions while exposed to continuing military strikes. Humanitarian organizations were still providing tents, tarpaulins, mattresses and other emergency supplies because so many families lacked adequate shelter.

Aid organizations are doing everything they can, but humanitarian assistance cannot substitute for a functioning society.

A tent is not a permanent home.

A temporary classroom is not the same as a school.

A truck delivering water is not the same as having a reliable water system.

A humanitarian aid package cannot replace the infrastructure that has been destroyed.

That is why the conversation cannot simply be about sending more emergency supplies. The international community has to confront the conditions that are creating the humanitarian crisis in the first place.

The argument over Israel's actions

I am not writing this to suggest that Israeli civilians do not matter. They do.

The attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023, killed Israeli civilians and resulted in hostages being taken. Those actions were horrific and should not be excused.

But condemning Hamas does not require accepting the suffering of Palestinian civilians.

And supporting Palestinian civilians does not require supporting Hamas.

Those two ideas can—and must—exist at the same time.

The Israeli government has argued that its military campaign is necessary for national security and the elimination of Hamas. But the question the world must continue asking is whether the methods used to pursue those objectives are proportionate, lawful and compatible with the protection of civilian life.

When children are unable to attend school, families cannot reliably obtain water, homes are destroyed and millions of people face displacement, the international community cannot simply look away.

And what about American money?

This is where the debate becomes personal for many Americans.

The United States has provided Israel with substantial military assistance for decades, and American taxpayers therefore have a legitimate reason to ask how that assistance is being used.

I believe the United States should reconsider military assistance that could contribute to violations of international humanitarian law.

That does not mean abandoning Israeli civilians.

It does not mean abandoning Jewish Americans.

It does not mean ignoring Hamas or the trauma experienced by Israeli families.

It means recognizing that American foreign policy should be based on human rights and the protection of civilians—not simply on political alliances.

If American money helps support actions that result in civilian suffering, Americans have every right to demand accountability.

This cannot become normal

Perhaps the most frightening part of Gaza is the possibility that the world will become accustomed to it.

Another photograph.

Another displaced family.

Another destroyed school.

Another child killed.

Another emergency humanitarian report.

Another political argument.

And then everyone moves on.

We cannot allow human suffering to become background noise.

Palestinians deserve the right to live. Israeli civilians deserve the right to live. Jewish people deserve safety. Palestinians deserve safety. Children on both sides deserve the opportunity to grow up without being defined by war.

But peace cannot be built by pretending that the suffering of one population does not matter.

Gaza needs more than temporary relief. It needs safety, clean water, functioning hospitals, education, homes and the ability for families to rebuild their lives.

Most importantly, Palestinians need to be treated as human beings whose lives have the same value as anyone else's.

I cannot look at what is happening and simply accept it as normal.

I cannot look at children losing their schools and say that this is just politics.

I cannot look at families struggling for water and shelter and decide that their suffering is someone else's problem.

And I cannot believe that the answer to decades of conflict is for more innocent people to die.

The world has spent generations saying that it learned from the worst atrocities in human history.

Now is the time to prove it.