Hiroshima's shadow over Gaza: what have we learned?

The Advertiser

5 days ago

On August 6, the world pauses to remember. We think about the blinding flash over Hiroshima, the mushroom cloud that became a symbol of human destruction, and the immense suffering of people.
We said "Never Again". We observe another Hiroshima Day amid the ongoing devastation in Gaza, the connections between 1945 and 2025 are striking.
Similarities lie in the systematic erasure of civilian humanity. The atomic bombings weren't just military attacks, they were acts of mass destruction aimed at entire populations. The logic prioritised strategic goals over the value of innocent life.
In Gaza, we see a similar calculation using conventional weapons. The civilian death toll, more than 46,000 Palestinians killed, mostly women and children, shows this is not about isolated accidents. It reflects a relentless campaign in populated areas. Homes, hospitals and vital infrastructure destroyed. Collateral damage, a term often used to dehumanise civilians caught in a war zone.
Before Hiroshima, propaganda portrayed the Japanese as subhuman fanatics. Narratives to destroy empathy, making the intolerable appear acceptable. Palestinians in Gaza experience a similar process. Grouped together, stripped of individual stories and pain, reduced to numbers or abstract threats. Their suffering is downplayed, their deaths justified, and their right to exist questioned. This dehumanisation creates the emotional distance necessary for inflicting and accepting immense suffering. The faces of children pulled from rubble resemble the haunting images of burned children in Hiroshima, the moral disconnect should shatter this distance. Yet, too often, it hasn't.
The destruction the weaponisation of the environment is another similarity. Hiroshima was more than a bombing, it was an environmental disaster, leaving radioactive scars for generations. Gaza now faces a man-made environmental crisis. Basic necessities, food, water, medicine, are a daily struggle. It's not just warfare; its a violation of human dignity.
Hiroshima Day urges us to confront the risk of unchecked power. The bomb symbolised technological dominance used without effective restraint.
Today we look on, paralysed, as one of the most powerful militaries operates in Gaza with impunity. Calls for ceasefires ignored, UN resolutions unenforced, rulings from the ICJ demanding the prevention of a genocide disregarded.
The frameworks established after World War II to stop atrocities and uphold humanitarian law appear weak, if not completely broken. The lesson that absolute power needs absolute accountability remains unlearned.
Hiroshima is a stark warning about nuclear weapons. Unlike Hamas, Israel has a significant undeclared nuclear arsenal. The existence of these weapons casts a long shadow. The potential for escalation, the temptation in extreme situations, and the terror they induce raise the stakes dramatically.
Remembering Hiroshima is not just about looking back, it's a plea to prevent any future use of these weapons of destruction. The ongoing violence in Gaza, fuelled by deep trauma and unresolved injustice, emphasises how dangerously close the world remains to the brink that Hiroshima revealed.
What does Hiroshima Day call for today?:
1. An immediate, sustained ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access. The killing must stop.
2. Violations of international humanitarian law by any party must be thoroughly investigated, and consequences imposed. Justice is essential for any future peace.
3. International Humanitarian Law must be defended and it must be strengthened.
4. Lasting peace requires tackling the ongoing injustices: occupation, blockade, displacement, and the denial of Palestinian self-determination.
5. Australia must sign the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The victims of Hiroshima were sacrificed at the end of a war. The victims of Gaza are being sacrificed in an endless conflict, with the same toxic mix of dehumanisation and unchecked power.
Hiroshima Day honours our past. Its also a critique of our failures.
The images from 1945 and 2025 aren't separate tragedies, they are parts of our struggle to recognise humankind's sacred value.
"Never Again" is not just a memorial statement. It is a call to act before Gaza becomes another Hiroshima in our shared conscience.
On August 6, the world pauses to remember. We think about the blinding flash over Hiroshima, the mushroom cloud that became a symbol of human destruction, and the immense suffering of people.
We said "Never Again". We observe another Hiroshima Day amid the ongoing devastation in Gaza, the connections between 1945 and 2025 are striking.
Similarities lie in the systematic erasure of civilian humanity. The atomic bombings weren't just military attacks, they were acts of mass destruction aimed at entire populations. The logic prioritised strategic goals over the value of innocent life.
In Gaza, we see a similar calculation using conventional weapons. The civilian death toll, more than 46,000 Palestinians killed, mostly women and children, shows this is not about isolated accidents. It reflects a relentless campaign in populated areas. Homes, hospitals and vital infrastructure destroyed. Collateral damage, a term often used to dehumanise civilians caught in a war zone.
Before Hiroshima, propaganda portrayed the Japanese as subhuman fanatics. Narratives to destroy empathy, making the intolerable appear acceptable. Palestinians in Gaza experience a similar process. Grouped together, stripped of individual stories and pain, reduced to numbers or abstract threats. Their suffering is downplayed, their deaths justified, and their right to exist questioned. This dehumanisation creates the emotional distance necessary for inflicting and accepting immense suffering. The faces of children pulled from rubble resemble the haunting images of burned children in Hiroshima, the moral disconnect should shatter this distance. Yet, too often, it hasn't.
The destruction the weaponisation of the environment is another similarity. Hiroshima was more than a bombing, it was an environmental disaster, leaving radioactive scars for generations. Gaza now faces a man-made environmental crisis. Basic necessities, food, water, medicine, are a daily struggle. It's not just warfare; its a violation of human dignity.
Hiroshima Day urges us to confront the risk of unchecked power. The bomb symbolised technological dominance used without effective restraint.
Today we look on, paralysed, as one of the most powerful militaries operates in Gaza with impunity. Calls for ceasefires ignored, UN resolutions unenforced, rulings from the ICJ demanding the prevention of a genocide disregarded.
The frameworks established after World War II to stop atrocities and uphold humanitarian law appear weak, if not completely broken. The lesson that absolute power needs absolute accountability remains unlearned.
Hiroshima is a stark warning about nuclear weapons. Unlike Hamas, Israel has a significant undeclared nuclear arsenal. The existence of these weapons casts a long shadow. The potential for escalation, the temptation in extreme situations, and the terror they induce raise the stakes dramatically.
Remembering Hiroshima is not just about looking back, it's a plea to prevent any future use of these weapons of destruction. The ongoing violence in Gaza, fuelled by deep trauma and unresolved injustice, emphasises how dangerously close the world remains to the brink that Hiroshima revealed.
What does Hiroshima Day call for today?:
1. An immediate, sustained ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access. The killing must stop.
2. Violations of international humanitarian law by any party must be thoroughly investigated, and consequences imposed. Justice is essential for any future peace.
3. International Humanitarian Law must be defended and it must be strengthened.
4. Lasting peace requires tackling the ongoing injustices: occupation, blockade, displacement, and the denial of Palestinian self-determination.
5. Australia must sign the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The victims of Hiroshima were sacrificed at the end of a war. The victims of Gaza are being sacrificed in an endless conflict, with the same toxic mix of dehumanisation and unchecked power.
Hiroshima Day honours our past. Its also a critique of our failures.
The images from 1945 and 2025 aren't separate tragedies, they are parts of our struggle to recognise humankind's sacred value.
"Never Again" is not just a memorial statement. It is a call to act before Gaza becomes another Hiroshima in our shared conscience.
On August 6, the world pauses to remember. We think about the blinding flash over Hiroshima, the mushroom cloud that became a symbol of human destruction, and the immense suffering of people.
We said "Never Again". We observe another Hiroshima Day amid the ongoing devastation in Gaza, the connections between 1945 and 2025 are striking.
Similarities lie in the systematic erasure of civilian humanity. The atomic bombings weren't just military attacks, they were acts of mass destruction aimed at entire populations. The logic prioritised strategic goals over the value of innocent life.
In Gaza, we see a similar calculation using conventional weapons. The civilian death toll, more than 46,000 Palestinians killed, mostly women and children, shows this is not about isolated accidents. It reflects a relentless campaign in populated areas. Homes, hospitals and vital infrastructure destroyed. Collateral damage, a term often used to dehumanise civilians caught in a war zone.
Before Hiroshima, propaganda portrayed the Japanese as subhuman fanatics. Narratives to destroy empathy, making the intolerable appear acceptable. Palestinians in Gaza experience a similar process. Grouped together, stripped of individual stories and pain, reduced to numbers or abstract threats. Their suffering is downplayed, their deaths justified, and their right to exist questioned. This dehumanisation creates the emotional distance necessary for inflicting and accepting immense suffering. The faces of children pulled from rubble resemble the haunting images of burned children in Hiroshima, the moral disconnect should shatter this distance. Yet, too often, it hasn't.
The destruction the weaponisation of the environment is another similarity. Hiroshima was more than a bombing, it was an environmental disaster, leaving radioactive scars for generations. Gaza now faces a man-made environmental crisis. Basic necessities, food, water, medicine, are a daily struggle. It's not just warfare; its a violation of human dignity.
Hiroshima Day urges us to confront the risk of unchecked power. The bomb symbolised technological dominance used without effective restraint.
Today we look on, paralysed, as one of the most powerful militaries operates in Gaza with impunity. Calls for ceasefires ignored, UN resolutions unenforced, rulings from the ICJ demanding the prevention of a genocide disregarded.
The frameworks established after World War II to stop atrocities and uphold humanitarian law appear weak, if not completely broken. The lesson that absolute power needs absolute accountability remains unlearned.
Hiroshima is a stark warning about nuclear weapons. Unlike Hamas, Israel has a significant undeclared nuclear arsenal. The existence of these weapons casts a long shadow. The potential for escalation, the temptation in extreme situations, and the terror they induce raise the stakes dramatically.
Remembering Hiroshima is not just about looking back, it's a plea to prevent any future use of these weapons of destruction. The ongoing violence in Gaza, fuelled by deep trauma and unresolved injustice, emphasises how dangerously close the world remains to the brink that Hiroshima revealed.
What does Hiroshima Day call for today?:
1. An immediate, sustained ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access. The killing must stop.
2. Violations of international humanitarian law by any party must be thoroughly investigated, and consequences imposed. Justice is essential for any future peace.
3. International Humanitarian Law must be defended and it must be strengthened.
4. Lasting peace requires tackling the ongoing injustices: occupation, blockade, displacement, and the denial of Palestinian self-determination.
5. Australia must sign the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The victims of Hiroshima were sacrificed at the end of a war. The victims of Gaza are being sacrificed in an endless conflict, with the same toxic mix of dehumanisation and unchecked power.
Hiroshima Day honours our past. Its also a critique of our failures.
The images from 1945 and 2025 aren't separate tragedies, they are parts of our struggle to recognise humankind's sacred value.
"Never Again" is not just a memorial statement. It is a call to act before Gaza becomes another Hiroshima in our shared conscience.
On August 6, the world pauses to remember. We think about the blinding flash over Hiroshima, the mushroom cloud that became a symbol of human destruction, and the immense suffering of people.
We said "Never Again". We observe another Hiroshima Day amid the ongoing devastation in Gaza, the connections between 1945 and 2025 are striking.
Similarities lie in the systematic erasure of civilian humanity. The atomic bombings weren't just military attacks, they were acts of mass destruction aimed at entire populations. The logic prioritised strategic goals over the value of innocent life.
In Gaza, we see a similar calculation using conventional weapons. The civilian death toll, more than 46,000 Palestinians killed, mostly women and children, shows this is not about isolated accidents. It reflects a relentless campaign in populated areas. Homes, hospitals and vital infrastructure destroyed. Collateral damage, a term often used to dehumanise civilians caught in a war zone.
Before Hiroshima, propaganda portrayed the Japanese as subhuman fanatics. Narratives to destroy empathy, making the intolerable appear acceptable. Palestinians in Gaza experience a similar process. Grouped together, stripped of individual stories and pain, reduced to numbers or abstract threats. Their suffering is downplayed, their deaths justified, and their right to exist questioned. This dehumanisation creates the emotional distance necessary for inflicting and accepting immense suffering. The faces of children pulled from rubble resemble the haunting images of burned children in Hiroshima, the moral disconnect should shatter this distance. Yet, too often, it hasn't.
The destruction the weaponisation of the environment is another similarity. Hiroshima was more than a bombing, it was an environmental disaster, leaving radioactive scars for generations. Gaza now faces a man-made environmental crisis. Basic necessities, food, water, medicine, are a daily struggle. It's not just warfare; its a violation of human dignity.
Hiroshima Day urges us to confront the risk of unchecked power. The bomb symbolised technological dominance used without effective restraint.
Today we look on, paralysed, as one of the most powerful militaries operates in Gaza with impunity. Calls for ceasefires ignored, UN resolutions unenforced, rulings from the ICJ demanding the prevention of a genocide disregarded.
The frameworks established after World War II to stop atrocities and uphold humanitarian law appear weak, if not completely broken. The lesson that absolute power needs absolute accountability remains unlearned.
Hiroshima is a stark warning about nuclear weapons. Unlike Hamas, Israel has a significant undeclared nuclear arsenal. The existence of these weapons casts a long shadow. The potential for escalation, the temptation in extreme situations, and the terror they induce raise the stakes dramatically.
Remembering Hiroshima is not just about looking back, it's a plea to prevent any future use of these weapons of destruction. The ongoing violence in Gaza, fuelled by deep trauma and unresolved injustice, emphasises how dangerously close the world remains to the brink that Hiroshima revealed.
What does Hiroshima Day call for today?:
1. An immediate, sustained ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access. The killing must stop.
2. Violations of international humanitarian law by any party must be thoroughly investigated, and consequences imposed. Justice is essential for any future peace.
3. International Humanitarian Law must be defended and it must be strengthened.
4. Lasting peace requires tackling the ongoing injustices: occupation, blockade, displacement, and the denial of Palestinian self-determination.
5. Australia must sign the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The victims of Hiroshima were sacrificed at the end of a war. The victims of Gaza are being sacrificed in an endless conflict, with the same toxic mix of dehumanisation and unchecked power.
Hiroshima Day honours our past. Its also a critique of our failures.
The images from 1945 and 2025 aren't separate tragedies, they are parts of our struggle to recognise humankind's sacred value.
"Never Again" is not just a memorial statement. It is a call to act before Gaza becomes another Hiroshima in our shared conscience.