Why Gaza? Understanding the Silence Behind the Violence
There is a question that refuses to go away, no matter how hard the world tries to ignore it.
If Israel truly considers Palestine its enemy, then why is Gaza punished again and again? Why does destruction return to Gaza with such force, while other Palestinian territories are targeted differently? And why, within Gaza itself, is North Gaza almost always the epicenter of devastation?
Gaza is not separate from Palestine. It is not an accident on the map. So the question remains â why Gaza?
To understand this, we must look beyond slogans, beyond headlines, and beyond the language of âsecurity.â We must look at history, geography, and interests that are rarely spoken out loud.
The Turning Point: The Suez Canal
The story does not begin in Gaza. It begins in 1956, when Egyptâs president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, nationalized the Suez Canal.
At first glance, the Suez Canal may seem like just another waterway. In reality, it is one of the most powerful arteries of the global economy.
The canal connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. Without it, ships traveling from Asia or the Middle East to Europe would be forced to sail around the entire African continent, passing through the Cape of Good Hope.
That detour is not symbolic â it is devastating.
It means higher fuel costs, longer delivery times, disrupted supply chains, and inflated prices across the world. Global trade, as we know it, slows down without the Suez Canal.
Today, around 12% of global trade passes through this single canal. Egypt earns roughly 9 billion dollars every year from it.
Control over the Suez Canal is not just economic power. It is geopolitical leverage.
Why Israel Felt Trapped
Between 1948 and 1950, Egypt blocked Israeli vessels from using the Suez Canal. For Israel, this was not a minor inconvenience â it was an economic chokehold.
Later, during the 1960s, the canal was shut down for nearly eight years. Once again, Israel found itself exposed, vulnerable, and dependent on decisions made by others.
For a state built on uninterrupted trade, military logistics, and global integration, this was unacceptable.
If access to the Suez Canal could be denied, then Israelâs economy could be strangled.
This fear planted a dangerous idea.
The Dream of an Alternative Canal
During the 1960s, Israeli planners began discussing the possibility of an alternative waterway â often referred to as the Ben-Gurion Canal.
The original concept was cautious. A curved route that would avoid heavily populated Palestinian areas. Technically complex. Financially massive. But ethically less destructive.
It would cost billions of dollars and take years to complete.
And that is where the calculation changed.
To save time. To save money. To gain strategic advantage.
A new idea emerged â a straight canal, running directly through the Gaza Strip.
Gaza Becomes a âProblemâ
On a map, Gaza is narrow. Flat. Coastal.
From an engineering perspective, it is âconvenient.â
From a human perspective, it is home to millions.
A canal through Gaza would mean one thing above all else: the removal of Gazaâs people.
Entire neighborhoods would need to disappear. North Gaza, lying along the most feasible route, would need to be cleared first.
And clearing, in this context, does not mean negotiation. It means bombardment. It means displacement. It means the destruction of hospitals, schools, homes, and lives.
Seen through this lens, Gaza is no longer just a battlefield. It becomes an obstacle.
And obstacles, in the language of power, are removed â not reasoned with.
A Pattern, Not an Accident
This is why Gaza is attacked differently. More brutally. More repeatedly.
What is often framed as âself-defenseâ begins to look like something else entirely â a long-term strategy where geography matters more than human life.
The world sees bombs. But behind those bombs are blueprints.
The Global Trade Angle
There is a reason canals matter so much to powerful interests.
The Panama Canal handles about 5% of global trade. The Suez Canal handles around 12%.
Together, they influence a massive portion of world commerce.
Control over alternative trade routes means leverage over economies, governments, and futures.
This is not conspiracy. This is how empires have always worked.
Why This Truth Is Dangerous
This perspective is rarely discussed because it is uncomfortable.
It shifts the narrative from âsecurityâ to strategy. From âdefenseâ to design. From âconflictâ to calculated ambition.
And it forces a harder question:
How many innocent lives are considered acceptable in the pursuit of economic and geopolitical dominance?
A Question for the Future
These truths matter, especially when voices begin to rise calling for normalization, recognition, and silence.
When that moment comes â in any country, in any society â people must remember Gaza. They must remember that what happened there was not sudden. It was not accidental. And it was not unavoidable.
Silence, in such moments, becomes complicity.
Because this is not only about Gaza. It is about how power treats the powerless â and whether the world still has the courage to say no.