### Pascal Boniface: “Our humanity is questioned”
In a context of exacerbated tensions in the Middle East, the lighting provided by specialists such as Pascal Boniface is of great importance. Invited to the program “At the heart of the news”, Boniface, director of the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), highlighted the recent developments in the Gaza Strip, a region all in complexity and pain where human suffering is palpable.
#### The aborted truce: a failure of diplomacy
The recent truce attempt in the Gaza conflict, which failed, underlines the chronic difficulty in peace efforts. This type of failure is not only limited to a series of without success, but it has immediate and disastrous consequences for the civilian population. As Boniface pointed out, humanitarian efforts, which are crucial in times of crisis, seem to appear as responses in droppings, and this observation is both overwhelming and destabilizing. What does this unavailability of aid mean in a region where needs are, on the contrary, exponential?
It is essential to examine the responsibility of the international community in this context. Political decisions and interventions or the absence of interventions by major world players have a deep impact on local developments. How could the international community reassess its strategies in order to guarantee a more adequate and faster response to the deterioration of the living conditions of civilians?
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Boniface’s analysis raises a crucial question: how far is our humanity actually questioned in this conflict? When we talk about “apocalyptic scenes”, it is imperative not to lose sight of the faces behind these descriptions. Each figure represents human lives, devastated families, individuals who aspire to a normality that they have never known. Dehumanization, which can occur when we only see victims as statistics, is a major concern on a global scale.
Boniface also highlights the weight of this climate of despair on the regional or even global scale. The question is therefore to know how what collapses in Gaza could also lead to a new dynamic of chaos at the global level. At a time when regional conflicts have an international impact, it seems essential to promote dialogue and cooperation, rather than yielding to division and exclusion.
#### Rethinking the debate: the role of civil society
In his latest work, “allowed to kill”, Boniface addresses the complexity of an enlightened debate on questions as sensitive as conflicts. This title evokes both the legitimacy of military actions and the ethical responsibilities which result from it. At a time when information circulates quickly, how to promote a debate that is both nuanced and constructive?
Education for empathy and intercultural understanding can be essential. The votes of civil society, whether artistic, academic or community, must occupy a preponderant role in the establishment of informed citizenship aware of complex realities. This could give birth to a less polarized discourse and more focused on humans, capable of transcending traditional cleavages.
#### Conclusion: the roads to follow
The reflections of Pascal Boniface invite a deep question on our humanity and how we understand and respond to crises around the world. Rather than adopting a qualification posture, the moment seems conducive to promoting listening, solidarity, and the search for lasting solutions.
The urgency of collective awareness and concrete initiatives is undeniable. The situation in Gaza, but also elsewhere, calls for an answer which transcends national and geopolitical interests to embrace a more global, human and united vision. Beyond pain, there is an opportunity: that of reinventing our way of approaching peace, support for victims, and collective responsibility in the face of human suffering.