International “Peace” Day in the Catastrophic Era of Genocide and the Savage Massacre of Innocent People of Palestine
Statement of the Democratic Organization of Iranian Women
September 21 is designated in the United Nations calendar as the International Day of “Peace.” This day was recognized by the UN in 1981 as the “International Day of Peace,” with the aim of stopping war and violence and launching educational and public campaigns related to promoting a culture of peace, rejecting violence, and working to establish ceasefires in war-torn regions—even if only to the extent of a temporary ceasefire on this day.
This year, on this day the world has been witnessing, relentless, unprecedented wars, bloodshed, and tensions that exploitative imperialist powers—especially U.S. imperialism, NATO, and their dependents across the globe—have created. From blood-soaked Palestine and the tense Middle East—where the vultures of war circle in the skies—to Ukraine, Sudan, and elsewhere, this has led to unprecedented insecurity and a threat to global peace and human life.
Writing about the International Day of Peace is not easy under conditions in which the world and progressive humanity are witnessing, at every moment, genocide and the merciless, horrific killing of civilians—especially children and women—in blood-soaked Palestine and other conflict-ridden regions. The disregard shown by Israel and the United States for international law, UN resolutions and warnings include the brazen aggression on Iran and the bombing of its territory, in which more than 1,000 innocent people of our homeland were killed, was also a blatant violation of our national sovereignty. Alongside these was the savage attack of the Israeli regime on Qatar and the assassination of the team that were negotiating for a Gaza ceasefire. These are not only a continuous and brazen violation of international law, but also serve to create more global insecurity, to expand war, and to block any negotiations for peace in the Middle East.
On October 7 of this year, two years since the brutal war that—under the pretext of responding to Hamas’s catastrophic attack—was launched by the fascistic Netanyahu regime and its backers. Two disastrous years in which one of the main objectives has been to cleanse the Gaza Strip of Palestinians and to annex it to Israel—an aim even shamelessly proclaimed by Israel’s fascistic officials. For example, Israel’s finance minister brazenly declared: “Gaza is a massive real estate asset, and Israel will share it with the Americans!” Such shameless remarks lay bare the mindset of the Zionist regime as an occupation force alongside its imperialist supporters, in the drive to occupy all of Palestine, including Gaza and the West Bank.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, due to Israel’s systematic destruction of the health sector, every 40 minutes a child is killed in Gaza (ISNA, August 18, 2025). The Palestinian Ministry of Health also announced on September 7, 2025, that the total number of deaths from Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip from October 7, 2023, to the present has reached 64,368, and the number of injured is at 162,776. Between October 2023 and June 2025 alone, the Israeli army dropped about 85,000 tons of bombs on Gaza—roughly equivalent to 233 tons per square kilometer!
While people in many countries are protesting the Israeli regime’s acts of aggression, on the evening of Thursday, September 18 U.S. imperialism vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution that called for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and for lifting all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave. This is the sixth time the U.S. has used its veto in the Security Council to support and protect this criminal fascist regime and to perpetuate war and killing—even as the UN’s Commission of Inquiry recently stated explicitly: “Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza” (Euronews, September 16, 2025).
Alongside condemning Israel’s genocide in occupied Palestine and demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a halt to illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, world public opinion and progressive forces are striving to support the formation of a Palestinian state and its full recognition at the United Nations. Progressive, peace-loving forces worldwide believe that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, based on UN resolutions, is the inalienable right of the long-suffering Palestinian people. In their countless protests progressive and peace-loving forces are pressing for the establishing of a lasting ceasefire, compelling Israel to break the siege of Gaza and an end to the starvation of Gazans and denying them medicine, alongside the expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland.
The recent U.S. veto of the Security Council ceasefire draft resolution indicates that, as international pressure increases on Israel to end the war and genocide in occupied Palestine, the support of US and its allies for Israel’s right-wing, fascist government remains a principal obstacle to the adoption of ceasefire resolutions at the United Nations.
Solidarity with the heroic, long-suffering people of Palestine and joining a broad struggle to force the repressive Zionist regime to lift the siege and occupation of Gaza, and to bring about the formation of an independent Palestinian state based on UN resolutions is not only an urgent necessity but also vital for the future of humanity.
Toward a world free of war and bloodshed, and toward building a peaceful world!
“Democratic Organization of Iranian Women”
September 20, 2025
