By Anees Teladia
The start of the sacred month of Ramadan has been marred by devastation in Gaza, as Palestinians once again come under attack by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). Israeli airstrikes have rained down on Palestinians since Friday, with Palestinian factions launching retaliatory rockets towards towns and cities in Israel. On Monday, the Gaza health ministry said the death toll stood at 23, with more than 120 Palestinians injured. Among them are a pregnant woman and her one-year-old daughter. Palestinian officials said an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire agreement began on Monday at 04:30am.
Gaza journalist Wafa Al Hudaini told VOC Breakfast Beat that the current situation has Palestinians feeling like they are in a “gulag”.
“The scenes are so horrible here and there’s such one-sided media coverage…We can say that everything here is a gulag. The economic situation as well as the health situation. It’s not the first aggression on the Gaza people here,” said Hudaini.
“The Palestinians in Gaza are suffering from the blockade.”
Hudaini says that there have been countless more injuries suffered in the recent attacks by Israel. The people of Palestine do not have sufficient medical resources to withstand such brutal attacks.
“Since Sunday morning, Israeli occupation warplanes have carried out massive airstrikes against Gaza. Nearly 25 Palestinians were brutally murdered including two pregnant women and over 150 were injured…several cases are in a critical condition,” said Hudaini.
“Others have also been targeted on motorbikes and so forth. All of this happens after the Israeli forces took a ceasefire agreement.”
Hudaini feels that the Palestinians have no choice but to resist and fight.
“Of course it’s a fruitless ceasefire. The Palestinian resistance has to fight back…the people of Gaza are calling for freedom with their protests.”
“The [medical] help here is suffering from a lack of medicine and other things that are needed for operations and surgeries. They are just dealing with the injured with what they have. Israel closed all the borders yesterday so we can’t even get help from outside,” said Hudaini.
National Director for operations for the Al-Quds Foundation (SA), Shaykh Ebrahim Gabriels says that the former Apartheid regime of South Africa pales in comparison to what the Palestinian people are suffering through daily.
“It’s really sad to witness what’s happening in Gaza for the last two to three days…I’m lost for words. We had a terrible time here in South Africa during the dark days of Apartheid, but it’s really nothing in comparison to what’s happening in Palestine and more specifically in Gaza right now,” said Shaykh Gabriels.
“What’s worse is that the world is silent. The international community is silent. We are so happy that at least the Voice of the Cape is speaking about it.”
“The whole world was rightfully shocked and in pain when we saw the massacre in New Zealand, but what’s so different about Gaza?”
Shaykh Gabriels added that because we, as Muslims, might be more aware of the truth in the Palestinian struggle, it is in fact our crucial duty that we share our knowledge with non-Muslims.
“All of us know what’s happening in Palestine. It’s crucial that we share this with non-Muslims as well. Zionist and Israeli propaganda is so strong,” said Shaykh Gabriels.
“Hamas is an Islamic resistance movement. They are not terrorists. The founder of Hamas said, ‘we are not fighting because they are Jews. If my own cousin were to steal my house or land, I’d stand up against my own Muslim cousin as well. We were living with Christians and Jews in Palestine. Some of the Jews were our own ministers. We respected them. That’s not the issue. They have stolen our land and our houses. We have got the right to stand up and fight for our rights and our country’.”
Shaykh Gabriels asks that everyone make special duah for the Palestinian people.
VOC