Editor’s Word: All knowledge and quotes on this article are drawn from public sources, together with official statements by the Singapore Authorities, UN businesses, and worldwide media as of Oct 15, 2025, and are attributed accordingly. This text presents data and viewpoints for the aim of civic and journalistic dialogue, and doesn’t endorse any political place, overseas entity, or motion.
A struggle hundreds of kilometres away that impacts us
In a hyper-connected world, conflicts hundreds of kilometres away now not really feel distant. The devastation in Gaza has develop into an ethical and emotional flashpoint for some Singaporeans, who’re grappling with empathy, restraint, and the boundaries of expression in a multiracial, multireligious society. For them, it has develop into much less about politics than about humanity—testing how compassion can exist inside a framework of order and nationwide cohesion.
For the reason that outbreak of the Israel-Hamas Struggle on Oct 7, 2023, multiple pro-Palestinian protests have taken place all around the world. Again residence, Singaporeans have responded in several methods—some with empathy, others with detachment, seeing it as a distant geopolitical concern.
This range of responses displays broader questions of civic engagement: how world conflicts intersect with Singapore’s values, and what types of expression are applicable in a tightly regulated society. Understanding various Singaporeans’ responses requires each authorities actions—by assist, diplomacy, and civic schooling—and the way residents have mobilised on the bottom to specific solidarity with Palestine.
The federal government’s strategy: precept, pragmatism, and public order
Singapore has been dubbed a “friend of all, enemy of none” as a consequence of its long-held stance of non-interference in its overseas coverage. As such, the nation’s place on the continued state of affairs in Gaza is guided by three rules: humanitarian concern, cautious diplomacy, and nationwide cohesion.
The federal government emphasises that foreign policy must serve national interests, not partisan or identity-based alignments. Officers have repeatedly burdened that Singapore’s diplomacy goals to be principled but pragmatic—displaying empathy with out jeopardising home stability.
Furthermore, Singapore’s historical past with the state of Israel dates again to our independence, marked by deep financial and navy ties by a special relationship cemented by formal diplomatic relations in 1968. In 2022, total trade volume between the two countries reached US$3.8 billion. These longstanding ties—notably Israel’s position in serving to construct the Singapore Armed Forces in its early years—stay a delicate but enduring cornerstone of bilateral relations.
In consequence, Singapore has been urging either side to come back to a two-state solution while providing humanitarian relief and capacity-building for Palestinians to organize for statehood, performing as a mediator quite than taking sides. This displays the nation’s choice for engagement over confrontation and the idea that long-term peace should come by dialogue and growth quite than unilateral motion.
To this point, Singapore has delivered 10 tranches of humanitarian aid totalling over S$23 million, together with meals, medical provides, and shelter gear by NGOs just like the Rahmatan Lil Alamin Basis, Singapore Purple Cross, and Mercy Reduction. These efforts, centered on meals, medical provides, and shelter, are according to Singapore’s broader humanitarian commitments worldwide.
Conditional recognition of Palestine, introduced in Might 2024 and reaffirmed in 2025, displays Singapore’s cautious diplomacy: it’s going to happen provided that a professional Palestinian authorities accepts Israel’s proper to exist and renounces terrorism, and Israel doesn’t take steps to undermine the two-state answer.
In Parliament, Overseas Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan mentioned that Singapore has consistently affirmed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and their very own state, as evident from its voting report within the UN. In 2024, the nation additionally voted in favour of several resolutions that expressed assist for Palestine’s admission as a UN member and affirmed Palestinian’s proper to self-determination.
Since final yr, the Ministry of Education has integrated the Gaza conflict into Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) lessons at residence to assist college students strategy world crises with empathy, vital pondering, and sensitivity to range.
Then-Training Minister Chan Chun Sing burdened the significance of serving to college students course of data and feelings with out assigning blame. This transfer marks one of many few occasions Singapore has woven an ongoing worldwide battle into its ethical schooling curriculum—signalling recognition that world occasions form nationwide consciousness.
The battle additionally got here to the forefront of Singapore’s politics in the course of the Apr 2025 common elections. The opposition Workers’ Party included recognition of Palestine in its manifesto, whereas Prime Minister Lawrence Wong condemned former NMP Calvin Cheng’s social media post defending Israel’s navy actions. This politicisation of Gaza marked a uncommon second when overseas battle seeped into native electoral discourse, displaying how the dealing with of overseas points can resonate domestically.
Based on Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Associate Professor Faishal Ibrahim, the federal government recognises the variety of views amongst residents. Nevertheless, it notes that delicate matters like Gaza carry the danger of heightening communal tensions and triggering identity-based politics, doubtlessly threatening Singapore’s social cohesion.
He emphasised that the federal government continues exploring methods to interact Singaporeans constructively in assist of Palestinians, whereas avoiding division and violence. “In Singapore, overseas coverage hinges upon the nationwide pursuits of a multiracial, multireligious Singapore inside a Southeast Asia context,” he added.
Just lately, in Sept 2025, Singapore has additionally reiterated that it’ll not be “held hostage” by its defence ties with Israel. Whereas condemning Israel’s military actions and supporting aid, but not cutting ties, it continues to prioritise neutrality and social cohesion. Singapore officers have mentioned this strategy ensures consistency with the nation’s long-standing precept of participating all companions, no matter world tensions.
Grassroots response: civic motion, humanitarian work, and scholarships
Whereas the federal government navigates diplomacy, abnormal Singaporeans have expressed solidarity in numerous methods.
At a Lianhe Zaobao–Berita Harian roundtable dialogue convened on Sept 9, individuals emphasised that empathy ought to transcend borders. Some highlighted the ethical crucial to behave: “Feelings are what make us human—the query is how we channel them productively,” Nanyang Technological College (NTU) Affiliate Professor of Political Science Walid Jumblatt Abdullah mentioned.
Others mirrored on Singapore’s worldwide obligations. “If international locations can willy-nilly break worldwide guidelines, it places Singapore in a extra precarious state,” famous political observer and NTU lecturer Dr Felix Tan.
These conversations recommend that for a lot of Singaporeans, concern over Gaza additionally displays anxiousness about sustaining a rules-based worldwide order that small states like Singapore depend upon.
Campus and civic activism
Singaporean campuses have develop into websites of dialogue and occasional controversy. In Mar 2024, posters on the NTU campus that illustrated the college’s alleged funding of Israel’s struggle in Gaza sparked debate and a police probe.
In Jan 2025, Nationwide College College students (NUS) college students held a memorial occasion at NUS and referred to as for Singaporean universities to rethink their ties with Israeli establishments. Six people were later investigated by the police for holding a public meeting with out a allow.
Past campus grounds, civic activism has additionally taken form. In Feb 2024, three girls who, in a bunch of about 70 individuals, delivered letters on the Palestinian trigger to the Prime Minister’s Workplace on the Istana, calling for presidency motion. They were charged by police under the Public Order Act for organising a procession in a prohibited space.
In consequence, discussions have taken place over social media about how civic expression can remain within legal limits while allowing for humanitarian advocacy. These incidents spotlight tensions between civic expression and sustaining order, which has come to tread a fragile line in Singapore—and outline a lot of the Gaza discourse regionally.
Humanitarian efforts and scholarships
Many Singaporeans have additionally channelled compassion into humanitarian work. Social activist Gilbert Goh’s Love Aid Singapore has raised over S$5.3 million from the general public since 2023—funding soup kitchens, clinics, and rehabilitation for amputees.
However, Dr Ang Swee Chai, an orthopaedic surgeon and co-founder of Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), has additionally offered medical provides and long-term healthcare assist, advocating for the rights and dignity of Palestinians dwelling below occupation or as refugees. Such initiatives mirror a rising curiosity amongst Singaporeans in contributing to humanitarian causes overseas whereas remaining unbiased of state coverage.
Training has additionally been a spotlight.
In 2024, a grassroots motion raised over S$510,000 by the Palestinian Scholarship Initiative (PSI) to assist Palestinian college students in Singapore. This citizen-led effort developed into formal assist, with students now pursuing postgraduate and undergraduate research at NUS, Singapore College of Social Sciences, and the Singapore Institute of Administration. PM Lawrence Wong lauded the cause and highlighted that it “complements the government’s efforts.”
Organisers described it as an apolitical gesture of schooling and empowerment—providing long-term help past quick aid. These ground-up efforts spotlight how humanitarianism has develop into a strong avenue for Singaporeans to supply assist in occasions of crises.
Ethical company and requires secure areas to debate political points
Acts of solidarity—from starvation strikes to scholarship programmes—have prompted reflection on Singapore’s civic panorama. Some residents have referred to as for secure areas the place individuals can focus on worldwide points with out worry of investigation.
Just lately, many Instagram pages displaying solidarity with Palestinians have popped up in Singapore and garnered a powerful following. This consists of @sgacadboycott and @sgpforpalestine48, every having amassed hundreds of followers.
It may be famous that youthful Singaporeans more and more use digital platforms to specific empathy by artwork, analysis, and storytelling quite than road activism—adapting civic expression to native realities.
As Audrey Yang, a member of the PSI and participant on the Lianhe Zaobao-Berita Harian roundtable dialogue, put it, Singapore mustn’t “disguise behind being small.” She referred to as for recognising the State of Palestine, ceasing to show Israeli arms on the Singapore Airshow and Nationwide Day Parade, and permitting peaceable acts of solidarity.
Her feedback mirrored a sentiment amongst some youthful Singaporeans that small states can nonetheless take stronger ethical positions inside diplomatic limits. Nevertheless, officers and analysts have cautioned that any symbolic strikes have to be weighed fastidiously to keep away from unintended diplomatic repercussions.
Gaza’s humanitarian collapse and Singapore’s reflection
Since Mar 2025, the UN reported that Israel had blocked aid from entering Gaza while food trucks lay waiting at the borders for more than two months, till worldwide stress led Israel to permit “minimal amounts” of aid into the war-struck enclave. Israeli authorities mentioned these measures had been obligatory for safety causes. PM Wong additionally highlighted that whereas Singapore has all the time mentioned that Israel has the precise to defend itself, it has “gone too far and its actions have caused a terrible humanitarian disaster.”
Israel additionally launched the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Basis (GHF) led by Israelis and People to exchange the UN meals distribution system. According to UN reports, 100 people were killed every day through shootings at the checkpoints, although Israeli officers have denied duty for these incidents.
In late Aug, the UN confirmed that a famine had struck Gaza, claiming it to be a “man-made catastrophe” that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied.
Lower than a month later, the International Association of Genocide Scholars and the UN Commission of Inquiry additionally said there have been grounds to imagine that alleged acts amounting to genocide could have occurred in Israel’s conduct of struggle, which Israel has dismissed and referred to as the claims “distorted and false.”
Since Oct 7, 2023, Israel has said that the Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people, whereas the present official toll by the Palestinian Ministry of Health quantities to greater than 67,000 Palestinians killed and greater than 170,000 injured. Israeli officers have disputed these figures.
Nevertheless, an ex-Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) commander shared with the Guardian in Sept 2025 that “more than 200,000 people” had been injured or killed—out of which greater than 80% lifeless had been civilians—an estimate that’s vital as it’s near the present figures offered by Gaza’s well being ministry, which Israeli officers have ceaselessly dismissed as Hamas propaganda.
These developments have renewed world debate over humanitarian duty and prompted Singaporeans to mirror on the bounds of neutrality.
A number of Singaporeans acknowledged that discussing Gaza has additionally uncovered a deeper drawback: political disengagement at residence. Members on the roundtable spoke of the necessity to “broaden our circles” and have interaction even the ambivalent or unaware. They emphasised fostering empathy as a type of civic schooling whereas serving to Singaporeans perceive how world conflicts intersect with home society, with out entering into heated, unproductive debates.
“Politics impacts each a part of our lives—as soon as we develop into snug speaking about it, every part else will observe,” Dr Walid mirrored.
Most lately, regardless of current ceasefire talks, a bunch of Singaporeans from Singapore Hunger Strike 4 Gaza, will maintain starvation strikes for 3 weekends from Oct 11 to Oct 26.
Members mentioned their actions aimed to “present solidarity” with civilians affected by the battle and mirror on the struggle. Their strike calls for embrace requires Singaporeans to face in solidarity and appeals to the federal government to take firmer motion to chop diplomatic and financial ties with Israel.
Authorities didn’t take motion towards the group however reiterated that any public demonstrations should adjust to the Public Order Act.
When interviewed by Vulcan Publish, a participant within the starvation strike, Nurul mentioned, “We’re not below the phantasm that these starvation strikes will transfer the state’s coronary heart. What issues is displaying that even when some understand the state as complicit, there are Singaporeans who don’t really feel the identical method.”
Her phrases, echoed by others, present some youthful Singaporeans view neutrality as an inadequate ethical response, whereas others see it as prudence.
As Mardhiyah, an NTU scholar, mentioned on the roundtable dialogue: “As Singaporeans, we have now loads of entry to channels of knowledge. So with that entry comes a sure duty to behave on the data we have now about what’s occurring round us, even when it’s not in our nation. As a result of as people, we naturally would empathise with what fellow people are going by.”
Her view captures a generational shift—the place world consciousness is seen as suitable with, as an alternative of being contradictory to, Singapore’s civic values.
A mirror of ourselves
Trying again, the Gaza battle has prompted a quiet evolution in Singapore’s civic id. On one aspect lies state pragmatism centered on stability; on the opposite, a public more and more conscious of world humanitarian points. Each are pushed by the identical intuition—to take care of compassion with out compromising concord.
Singapore’s overseas assist, CCE classes, and assist by native charities exhibit institutional empathy, whereas citizen-led initiatives—donations, fasting, and scholarships—prolong that compassion from the bottom up. The query shouldn’t be whether or not Singaporeans care, however how they categorical it responsibly throughout the nation’s distinctive social framework.
In the end, Singapore’s expertise exhibits that compassion and cohesion can coexist. By encouraging knowledgeable dialogue, supporting lawful expression, and sustaining humanitarian assist, the nation could proceed to stability empathy with order—a stability important for small states navigating a turbulent world.
Audrey mirrored that understanding the problem “places issues into perspective,” instructing kindness, empathy, and generosity—qualities important to sustaining social cohesion.
“Some could not know the complete historical past or politics,” she mentioned, “however they’ve empathy—and that’s the place it begins.”
Featured Picture Credit score: SG Starvation Strike 4 Gaza/ Wake Up Singapore
