No More Neutrality: Gaza, Global Opinion, and the Collapse of the Liberal World Order

Since October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has escalated far beyond claims of retaliation or military necessity. What is unfolding is the systematic dismantling of an entire society: tens of thousands have been killed, including large numbers of children; entire neighbourhoods lie in ruins; hospitals and schools have been deliberately targeted; and essential resources, electricity, water, and humanitarian aid have been cut off. Starvation is being weaponised.

The intent is evident in the scale and nature of the assault. Genocide is not just a legal term; it is a process. That process is now underway in Gaza.

Israel’s scorched-earth campaign has obliterated large parts of Gaza, forced the displacement of nearly all of its more than 2 million residents, and the emergence of what a global hunger monitor describes as a growing famine.

Famine is not a byproduct of crisis or even the war – it is the direct result of sustained, large-scale military aggression and a deliberate policy. Doctors Without Borders calls it dehumanisation by design – a deliberate strategy that amounts to ethnic cleansing through starvation.

More than a thousand Palestinians have died desperately seeking food through the so-called Humanitarian Foundation, a body that circumvents United Nations agencies, which have been systematically blocked from delivering aid to starving Palestinian civilians and children.

Collapse of the liberal international order

Israel’s relentless assault on Gaza over the past 22 months has cast serious doubt on the credibility of international law and the foundations of the liberal international order. The steadfast support extended to Israel by the West, even as it openly contravenes core principles of international law, has accelerated the erosion of that order.

This breakdown began with the international community’s failure to curb Israel’s actions in Gaza. Today, a strategy of total war aimed at asserting full control over Palestinian territory appears to be official Israeli policy. Yet, it proceeds without consequence.

Gaza has torn away the moral façade of the liberal international order. The credibility of the multilateral system has been corroded by double standards and a culture of impunity. Increasingly, international law is perceived not as a neutral set of principles, but as a tool wielded by the powerful, invoked against adversaries, ignored when politically inconvenient.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Western governments swiftly invoked international law, the sanctity of sovereignty, and the obligation to protect civilians. Yet in Gaza where the scale of death and destruction surpasses that of many recent conflicts, those same governments not only fail to intervene to stop the violence, but actively shield Israel from accountability in the UN Security Council and other international forums. They continue to supply arms, block ceasefire resolutions, slash funding to vital humanitarian agencies like UNRWA, and undermine institutions that dare to speak out.

The International Criminal Court’s 2024 decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders and officials represented a rare display of institutional resolve. In response, the United States threatened the court with sanctions, while several European states sought to delegitimise its authority.

The episode underscored a familiar truth: the limits of international justice are shaped less by legal principles than by geopolitical power. Far from being universally applied, international law often bends to the interests of powerful states when it suits their political agendas. Around the world, millions recognize this double standard for what it is.

The tide of public opinion is shifting

As Israel’s war on Gaza persists, global public opinion is turning sharply, exposing the double standards and failings of the liberal international order. The global response to Gaza reveals not just a diplomatic failure, but a deeper collapse in the credibility of liberal norms and institutions. From the streets to social media, public sentiment on Gaza is forcing a reckoning with the limits of Western liberalism.

For decades, Western narratives have systematically marginalised Palestinians, framing their resistance as terrorism while shielding Israeli aggression from scrutiny. But this dynamic is shifting. A growing divide has emerged between Western political elites and a broader public increasingly outraged by what they see as ethnic cleansing and the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinians.

The scale and frequency of global protests mark a powerful turning point. On June 1, 2025, more than 5 million people marched across 100 cities in what became the largest global protest for Palestine in modern history. Just weeks later, on August 3, tens of thousands filled the streets and marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in protest against Israel’s continued assault on Gaza.

While New South Wales (NSW) police estimated the crowd at 90,000, organisers claimed it reached closer to 300,000. From New York and London to Jakarta and Sydney, the message was unmistakable: Gaza is not merely a war zone; it is a genocide unfolding in real time, broadcast live on our screens.

Unlike much of the world, India has not seen large-scale mobilisations in response to the crisis in Gaza. Though a handful of scattered demonstrations have taken place, they are modest compared to the mass protests witnessed across the US, Europe, Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Why is India so conspicuously silent?

This disparity prompts a pressing question: why has India, a nation with a long-standing tradition of supporting justice and liberation movements remained so conspicuously silent? Part of the answer lies in state-imposed restrictions and a pervasive climate of fear, but restrictions in other countries have not stopped people from rising in protest.

More significant is the deliberate reframing of the Palestinian cause as a solely Muslim issue – an assertion that is both inaccurate and reductive. At its core, Palestine is a human rights issue, a struggle for justice that transcends religion or identity. Yet in India, public discourse has increasingly sidelined it as a sectarian concern – a framing that is not only misleading, but also dangerous.

Despite Israel’s increasing international isolation and a noticeable shift in global public opinion toward supporting Palestine, the violence continues unabated and with impunity. The policymakers and elites who hold the reins of power remain largely unmoved.

Yet, the growing outcry is beginning to have an impact. Several European governments have expressed support for a two-state solution in the absence of a ceasefire. But if there is genuine political will, why haven’t these same countries taken stronger actions such as imposing sanctions or enacting arms embargoes against Israel now?

What is urgently needed is decisive international action to compel Israel to end its relentless bombardment of Gaza, the forced displacement of its population, and the deliberate denial of basic necessities. As long as the United States, Israel’s primary supplier of advanced weaponry, remains insulated from public pressure, the Israeli war machine will continue largely unchecked, enabling its expansive campaign toward the full occupation of Gaza.

Arab nations must assume greater responsibility by imposing meaningful consequences for Israel’s ongoing assault, including leveraging their diplomatic and economic ties with the U.S. to demand a fundamental shift in its policy on Israel and Palestine. Likewise, India must do more to confront and help bring an end to the devastating effects of Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Zoya Hasan is Professor Emerita, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

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