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What has been happening in Gaza since 7 October is not just a war, but a process in which humanitarian values are being systematically disregarded. Hospitals bombed, schools destroyed, children pulled from the rubble. The claim that ‘civilians are not being targeted’ is no longer tenable. According to data from UNICEF, more than 1,300 children lost their lives between March and June 2025 alone. In total, more than 50,000 children have been killed, or injured. In northern Gaza, 15.6% of children under the age of two are suffering from severe malnutrition, and 3% are at risk of death.
This picture points to a systematic process of annihilation of civilians, which goes beyond war. However, explaining the crisis solely through Israel’s aggressive policies is insufficient. The same silence reigns within the Iranian regime in the same region.
The social backlash that began with the death of Mahsa Amini, who was detained for ‘improperly wearing her headscarf,’ was suppressed by the Iranian state’s repressive apparatus. In 2024, at least 975 people were executed, 31 of whom were women. During the Amini protests, 524 people were killed, 71 of whom were children. Over 19,400 people were detained. In June 2025, Mojahed Kourkouri was executed based on a confession obtained by torture.
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As seen in both Israel and Iran, behind this destruction lie not only weapons but also systematic political choices.
Israel systematically blocks access to food, medicine, fuel and clean water in Gaza. Palestinians’ property rights are being seized through settlement policies. Illegal settlements in the West Bank are expanding every day. Within Israel, freedom of expression is severely suppressed; protests against the government are violently dispersed, and journalists and human rights defenders are constantly being targeted.
Similarly in Iran, the legal mechanism becomes an instrument in methodically suppressing the freedom of expression. Discrimination and violence against the regime’s opponents, particularly women, and other social groups and minorities are systematic. Confessions obtained by torture are used in courts, and defendants are denied the right to defence.
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Israel’s policies of extermination, carried out under the pretext of ‘security,’ and Iran’s repressive rule, legitimised by its ‘anti-imperialist’ claims, do not constitute valid excuses for human rights violations. Both recognise human rights only insofar as they serve their own ends. In one case, civilians are bombed; in the other, the people are forced to defend themselves against their own state. Both regimes recognise international law only to the extent that it serves their own interests.
In the shifting balance of power in the Middle East today, the concepts of peace and freedom are once again being ignored. Yet, peace is not a security project, and freedom is not an order that can be established solely by the ruling classes. The women in Iran, the children struggling to survive in Gaza, the refugees crossing borders in search of life, the human rights defenders who are being silenced… They are clinging to life with determination and perseverance, continuing their struggle.
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International legal mechanisms are either silent, or aligned with the powerful. The International Criminal Court, the United Nations, and other institutions are either too late, or have become dysfunctional. This silence is not merely a moral failure; it constitutes complicity in a crime.
Therefore, in a situation as such, the rhetoric of impartiality means remaining silent in the face of human rights violations. This is no longer a matter of conscience; it has become a legal and political responsibility.
As the maps of the Middle East are being redrawn, the real issue is not borders but rights. Peace can only be established through the voices of civilians. Freedom can only be meaningful through the struggle of women. Justice can only be achieved by protecting children’s right to life.
But at this stage, it is not only the Middle East but the whole world that is undergoing a process of restructuring with the establishment of new power balances. In this equation, it is not only Gaza, Lebanon, or Iran that stand out as one of the hottest fault lines, but also the India-Pakistan line. In this era of multipolar uncertainty, Cyprus is becoming a geography that is open to being positioned as a tool in the regional policies of powerful states.
Precisely for this reason, efforts for a solution in Cyprus are not merely a ‘compromise,’ but also the foundation for the will and establishment of the future against external interventions. The strengthening of the political will of Turkish Cypriots is one of the most important pillars for achieving peace, justice, and true equality. Achieving this with the current leadership and mindset is not possible. Change is essential, first in the presidential elections in October, and then in the parliamentary elections.
This article was originally published on 17.06.2025
Source: THE TRUTH CAUGHT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND IRAN: WE MUST STAND FOR LIFE
