A Critical Discourse Analysis of Arab and Western Leaders' Responses to Gaza Starvation (2025): Constructing Silence, Evasion, and Moral Responsibility

In recent years, political discourse has increasingly shaped humanitarian crises. The Gaza starvation crisis is among the most serious humanitarian emergencies in the contemporary world and is characterised by acute food insecurity and widespread malnutrition due to complex political and structural factors. Political discourse, in this context, shapes how the crisis is perceived by privileging humanitarian concern and concealing accountability. Although the crisis is severe, limited scholarly attention has been paid to the linguistic construction of responsibility in political discourse during humanitarian crises. To fill this gap, the current study aims to examine how selected Arab and Western leaders construct silence, evasion, and moral responsibility in response to the Gaza starvation crisis through linguistic patterns and discursive strategies. The study adopts an eclectic model based on Halliday's (1994) transitivity analysis, van Dijk's (2006) ideological-rhetorical strategies, and Reisigl and Wodak's (2001) discourse-historical approach within the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis. Through a qualitative research design, this study analyses 10 official speeches delivered in 2025, five by Arab leaders and five by Western leaders. The findings indicate that the examined leaders employ specific transitivity patterns, ideological-rhetorical strategies, and discourse-historical strategies to negotiate responsibility. These patterns and strategies construct silence by masking the responsibility of Israel, enact evasion by diverting attention from it, and project moral responsibility by foregrounding the leaders' humanitarian assistance. Within the historical and political context, this reflects the leaders' diplomatic, political, economic, and security interests with Israel and its major ally, the United States.