Necro-politics and the Decline of Dasein in the Geography of the Siege of Gaza

Introduction
The 2023 conflict in Palestine, particularly following the events of October 7, transcends conventional warfare, manifesting itself as a systematic exercise of necro-politics that redefines the existential conditions of Palestinian life. Drawing on Achille Mbembe's concept of necro-politics, this study frames the Israeli occupation as a regime of death, where life is suspended in a liminal state between existence and annihilation. By integrating Martin Heidegger's notion of Dasein (being-there), the research examines how Palestinian subjectivity is eroded through structural violence, economic blockade, and technological surveillance. This existential suspension—characterized by the obliteration of agency and temporality—transforms Palestine into a necropolitical space where death governs life. The study interrogates how Israel's calculated strategies, including targeted airstrikes, resource deprivation, and infrastructural destruction, disrupt the ontological foundations of Palestinian being, reducing Dasein to a state of perpetual precarity. Through a philosophical lens, the research posits Palestine not merely as a geopolitical conflict zone but as a site where the boundaries of life and death are strategically manipulated to negate Palestinian agency. This inquiry seeks to illuminate the mechanisms of ontological domination and their implications for subjectivity under occupation, offering a novel perspective on the intersection of necro-politics and existential philosophy in contemporary conflicts.
 
Methodology
This study employs a qualitative, interpretive approach, integrating Foucauldian genealogy, Ricoeurian hermeneutics, and Deleuzian philosophy of becoming to analyze the necropolitical dynamics in Palestine. Foucauldian genealogy uncovers hidden discourses of power, tracing the historical and structural evolution of death as a tool of governance. Ricoeur's hermeneutics interprets the lived experience of Palestinians, focusing on the suspension of meaning and agency. Deleuze's framework examines power as fluid, molecular flows that disrupt subjectivity. Data are drawn from library sources, including UN reports and academic literature, to contextualize the 2023 conflict and its existential impacts.
 
Results and Discussion
The findings reveal that Israel's necropolitical regime in Palestine, intensified in 2023, systematically dismantles Palestinian Dasein through structural violence and temporal disruption. The blockade—imposed in various forms since 1948 and significantly tightened after 2007—restricts access to essentials such as water and medicine, rendering life precarious and survival contingent. UNRWA reports indicate that over 80% of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank rely on humanitarian aid, underscoring a state of "suspended life" in which existence is reduced to bare survival. Targeted military operations, such as "Operation Cast Lead" in 2009 and the 2023 airstrikes, coupled with advanced surveillance technologies, transform death into a calculated instrument of control, stripping Palestinians of agency.
Heidegger's Dasein, defined by authentic being-toward-death, is here inverted: death becomes an imposed, omnipresent condition rather than a chosen horizon. This suspension of temporality—wherein the future is erased and the present becomes a cycle of insecurity—aligns with Mbembe's notion of necro-politics, in which life is managed through death. Resistance, embodied by groups such as Hamas, emerges as an existential reclamation of Dasein, challenging the necropolitical order.
Regionally, Iran's strategic support for certain resistance movements reframes Palestine as a symbol of anti-colonial struggle, destabilizing Israel's dominance and fostering transnational solidarity. This dynamic underscores a broader geopolitical shift, in which necro-politics provokes existential resistance, redefining subjectivity in the face of annihilation.
 
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that the 2023 Palestine conflict is not merely a military struggle but a necropolitical project that obliterates Palestinian Dasein. Israel's strategies—blockade, infrastructural devastation, and surveillance—construct a death-driven order, suspending life in a liminal state of precarity. By merging Mbembe's necro-politics with Heidegger's Dasein, the research reveals how Palestinian subjectivity is eroded, transforming individuals into objects within a matrix of control. The systematic denial of agency and temporality renders Palestine a necropolitical laboratory where death governs existence. Yet resistance movements, supported by Iran, challenge this order, reasserting Palestinian subjectivity as a global symbol of liberation. This analysis underscores the need to move beyond purely political or legal frameworks, advocating for an ontological lens to understand the profound existential violence of occupation. Palestine thus emerges as a critical site for rethinking justice and agency in the face of modern colonial domination, urging a philosophical reevaluation of power and resistance in global conflicts.