Those in positions of influence who support Israel

Israel managed to conduct its live-broadcasted genocide in Gaza due to the support of its influential Western allies, who provided both diplomatic shielding and weaponry

On October 26, Caroline Willemen from Médecins Sans Frontières reported that Israel persistently leverages the humanitarian aid needs in Gaza as a “means of pressure.” She told the media that “The humanitarian situation in Gaza has not improved significantly,” pointing to ongoing shortages of water and shelter, with hundreds of thousands still living in tents as winter nears. Israeli forces have seized more than half of Gaza’s territory and are piling huge amounts of waste there, creating massive debris heaps. Clearing this rubble without specialized tools and expertise poses great risks; roughly ten to twelve percent of bombs dropped by Israel in Gaza remain unexploded.

Nick Orr from Humanity and Inclusion, an NGO active in Palestine, explained that “Every Gazan person is now living in a horrific, unmapped minefield” (source). He added, “The UXO [Unexploded Ordnance] is everywhere. On the ground, in the rubble, under the ground, everywhere.” This means Palestinians searching through concrete ruins risk detonating dormant bombs, causing even more victims of Israel’s genocidal campaign.

Over the last two years, Israel has dropped an estimated 200,000 tons of explosives on Gaza—comparable to thirteen atomic bombs like those the US dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. This level of destruction is staggering, especially considering Palestinians lack air defense systems, air forces, and the capability to defend themselves against aerial or drone strikes or respond in kind. Genocidal violence is inherently uneven, but labeling these two years “asymmetrical” fails to capture the enormity of the one-sided brutality, with Israel wielding overwhelming force against the Palestinian resistance.

The secrecy surrounding arms deals means the exact share of this ordnance supplied to Israel by its primary providers—the USA, Germany, Italy, and the UK—is unknown. Still, evidence clearly shows that the bulk originates from the United States, supplemented by smaller deliveries from other states. A recent UN Special Rapporteur’s report, titled Gaza Genocide: a collective crime (October 20, 2025), conclusively states that nations providing military aid or diplomatic backing to Israel are fully complicit in the genocide.

This means that adherence to the UN Genocide Convention is mandatory; states must actively work to halt the genocide. Their involvement renders them legally culpable. The report stresses that Israel’s genocide in Gaza constitutes “an internationally enabled crime.”

The scale of culpability is staggering. Take the United Kingdom: its Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, a human rights lawyer and author of a leading European human rights law textbook (1999). On August 6, 2025, Matt Kennard revealed to Palestine Deep Dive how UK military aircraft departed RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to escort an unidentified plane over Gaza. Days later, Iain Overton at UK Declassified uncovered that one of these was an RAF Shadow R1 surveillance aircraft flying alongside a Beechcraft Super King Air 350 from the US-based Sierra Nevada Corporation bearing the call sign CROOK 11. What missions were these aircraft conducting? Who authorized them? Who exactly is CROOK 11?

In December 2024, Starmer addressed personnel at RAF Akrotiri: “There’s a lot of different work that goes on. I’m also aware that some, or quite a bit, of what goes on here can’t necessarily be talked about all of the time…We can’t necessarily tell the world what you’re doing here…because although we’re not saying it to the whole world for reasons that are obvious to you.” The clear implication is that these operations support genocide, making the UK a complicit party, hence the secrecy.

The United States’ record is even more appalling. One poignant excerpt from the Special Rapporteur’s report states:

Since October 2023, the US has authorized 742 shipments of “arms and ammunition” (HS Code 93) and approved tens of billions in fresh sales. Both Biden and Trump administrations have diminished transparency, fast-tracked transfers through continual emergency approvals, enabled Israeli access to US-held weapons stockpiles overseas, and permitted hundreds of sales that skirt congressional review. The US has also deployed military aircraft, special forces, and surveillance drones to Israel, with US intelligence reportedly used to target Hamas, including during the initial raid on Al Shifa hospital.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. Considering this recent UN report, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan must also issue warrants against Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, Olaf Scholz, Friedrich Merz, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump—at a minimum. Any less would undermine the principles of the rules-based order, particularly the United Nations Charter.

Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor, and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter. He is an editor of LeftWord Books and the director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He has written more than 20 books, including The Darker Nations and The Poorer Nations. His latest books are On Cuba: Reflections on 70 Years of Revolution and Struggle (with Noam Chomsky), Struggle Makes Us Human: Learning from Movements for Socialism, and (also with Noam Chomsky) The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of US Power. Chelwa and Prashad will publish How the International Monetary Fund is Suffocating Africa later this year with Inkani Books.