In recent months, global attention has been heavily tilted toward the Russia–Ukraine war.
Conferences, summits, and high-level meetings keep revolving around Ukraine, as if it were the only humanitarian crisis worth urgent diplomacy.
Meanwhile, Gaza continues to endure catastrophic losses, and the world’s hesitation to act decisively is very disturbing.
Let us step away from headlines and just compare verifiable statistics; the picture is sobering:
By almost any measure, Gaza has seen far more civilian and especially child deaths in a much shorter period of time than Ukraine.
Why the Disparity in Global Response?
The reasons are not hard to trace. Ukraine involves Russia, a nuclear power, and therefore
threatens NATO’s eastern flank.
Energy security, grain supplies, and European stability are all on the line. Western governments see Ukraine as a systemic conflict, not just a humanitarian one, which explains the flood of diplomatic and financial resources.
By contrast, Gaza is often treated as a regional crisis. Israel is a close ally of the United States and several European states.
This makes governments far less willing to push for accountability, even in the face of staggering civilian losses. Instead, the crisis is reduced to debates over aid deliveries rather than the kind of peace negotiations that dominate discussions on Ukraine.
A Troubling Imbalance
This imbalance says something uncomfortable about the way international diplomacy works. It
is not guided first by humanitarian urgency but by geopolitical and economic stakes.
Ukraine threatens global security architecture; Gaza threatens the moral conscience of the world. And
yet, only one of these drives leaders into emergency summits.
Nobody deserves to die in either conflict, and for that reason President Trump deserves credit
for the speed and energy with which he is pursuing diplomacy in Ukraine.
Yet, when tens of thousands of children are being killed or maimed in Gaza, the silence of global powers becomes impossible to defend. If the purpose of diplomacy is truly to save lives, then Gaza should be the
first place where the world gathers.
Author: Dr. Nana Yaw Akwada
Email: nenyaw@gmail.com
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are presented in my personal capacity. They do
not represent the official stance, policy, or position of the Bureau of Public Safety or any other
institution with which I am affiliated.
About the Author
