Gaza genocide: 'There is nothing to occupy. The city itself no longer exists'

Israel's policy of total annihilation is destroying life as we know it - but what survives from this will shape our global future

A Palestinian boy uses a wheelchair to transport plastic bottles in Gaza City on 24 August 2025 (Omar al-Qattaa/AFP)

A Palestinian boy uses a wheelchair to transport plastic bottles in Gaza City, on 24 August 2025 (Omar al-Qattaa/AFP)

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Gaza is not being “occupied”- it is being erased. The tanks are not entering to control, but to destroy. What happened in Rafah and Beit Hanoun is now being repeated in central Gaza: in recent days, the neighbourhoods of Tuffah, Sabra and Zeitoun have become remnants and ruins.

When people speak of the “occupation of Gaza City”, it is a term meant to deceive the world. For nearly two years, the Israeli military has been on Gaza’s territory, yet there is no form of military governance in place.

Instead, there is a policy of total destruction, aiming to erase what remains of the city and its inhabitants. In practice, one of the world’s oldest cities is being wiped off the map.

The process of erasure unfolds through air strikes and indiscriminate shooting, alongside bulldozers digging and destroying entire blocks. Infrastructure, electricity, water, hospitals, and schools no longer exist.

The destruction is absolute, to the point that residents say, “There is nothing to occupy. The city itself no longer exists.”

This is the annihilation of both human life and the land; the extinguishing of every living breath. The rhetoric of “occupation” is intended to obscure the reality of genocide. The goal is not to manage the city, but to render it uninhabitable.

In this way, Gaza has become a global example of how the political language of control can serve as a veil for a policy of destruction.

Raw violence

Even if Israel attempts to portray Gaza’s destruction as a victory, the true outcome will be the opposite, with heavy political and existential costs. Against such large-scale annihilation, even diplomatic “successes” will not survive.

All masks have fallen. The Zionist project, which for decades wrapped itself in slogans of “democracy” and “enlightenment”, has been stripped bare. What remains is raw violence: military and racial supremacy, enforced through expulsion, uprooting and land appropriation. These are its cornerstones.

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What is happening in Gaza is not just a historical moment in our lives. It is a global milestone, confronting us with the essence of a colonial project aimed at erasing an entire city, along with its inhabitants and the survivors of its existence. This comes as the rights of refugees have been blocked for generations through denial and erasure.

Gaza has become a mirror, exposing Zionism without filters: total destruction, the erasure of human lives, the annihilation of society. This campaign of violence and extermination against Palestinians highlights the moral responsibility of every Israeli citizen with regard to the settler movement, to the power it holds, and to the homeland whose true historical context they refuse to acknowledge.

In this way, Gaza is a historical test, compelling Israelis to confront moral questions over the lives that have been erased and the history that has been suppressed.

Even sharing a can of peas with a street cat - this is life. What survives from the city, what manages to escape the ashes of destruction, will not vanish with the smoke

Those who still speak of “peace” when nothing remains are missing the point. Israeli existence has always relied on systems of power and control that ensure the state’s continued dominance. These systems are often disconnected from historical responsibilities.

Every Israeli citizen has a duty to confront this dependence and to free themselves from the position that allows denial and marginalisation. Every organisation, agency or individual who has not cried out for Gaza has failed.

Life takes on a different meaning in Gaza: the hungry family who gives a handful of flour to a widowed neighbour; the person who collects bones, then wraps and buries them; those who survive shootings near “aid” centres, then share among neighbours the flour they managed to escape with; these are snapshots of life.

Even sharing a can of peas with a street cat - this is life.

What survives from the city, what manages to escape the ashes of destruction, will not vanish with the smoke. What survives from Gaza will continue to grow around the world, in new liberation movements and struggles for justice. It will speak with a strong, clear voice: there’s nowhere to hide when reality has become a continuous crime against humanity.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.

Israel's genocide in Gaza

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Gaza genocide: 'There is nothing to occupy. The city itself no longer exists'

Gaza genocide: 'There is nothing to occupy. The city itself no longer exists'

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