“The world is watching Palestinians die like in a horror movie – raise your voice to help us”

An Islamic Relief worker* and father reports on the horror facing Palestinian families in besieged Gaza as the world looks on. 

I am more frustrated than ever. In Gaza we have been living in hell for 24 days, but still there has been no significant action from the international community to stop this massacre of Palestinian families. 

Attention has been focused on getting a handful of aid trucks into the enclave. We desperately need the food and water onboard, but it all feels futile when bombs are killing so many every day. We are now forced to resort to burying our dead in mass graves.

Has the world forgotten that the people of Gaza are human beings like any other? It seems no one cares if we live or die. My readers, I am sorry for my anger, but I cannot see an end to this cycle of violence, and I know no one in Gaza with the power to stop this madness. 

Those who have the power to stop this are indifferent and ignorant. 

Israel is still bombing civilian houses every day. Palestinians are ordered to evacuate their homes, then are killed when they do, for no apparent reason.

Some 2.2 million Palestinians are besieged. Unchecked and in contravention of International Humanitarian Law, Israel is blocking us from getting food, water, and fuel – even cutting off our lines of communication with the outside world.

Palestinians in Gaza face a torrent of horror and misery

I can’t even share every piece of news that I hear, as there’s just so much. Whenever I manage to get an internet connection, I receive a stream of notifications… a house destroyed in the south, artillery bombing, someone who passed away, a new military escalation, images of dead women, dead children, infants without parents, bodies shrouded in white cloth. 

Oh Allah, I can’t breathe. Death will bring comfort. There’s no solace for the living in Gaza today.

I am heartbroken about the future awaiting my children in this place. Will they be able to go to school? Will they be able to see their friends? Will they trust there is fairness and justice in the world? How can I tell my children about equal rights and international laws that apply to everyone?

Today, I learned about the targeting of the Jabalia refugee camp in the north of Gaza, in a series of attacks condemned by Islamic Relief as ‘yet another instance of innocent civilians paying the price.’

I have many friends and relatives who live in Jabalia. Hours before the attack all communications were cut in the north. Hours after the attack I’m trying to contact them, but no one can answer my calls.

After hundreds died when the Baptist hospital in Gaza was bombed, I struggle to make sense of this new horror. It is shocking news, and provokes a question in my mind: How many more massacres are required before the world will say that is enough and stop this violence?

I think the world is getting used to seeing us being killed live on TV. 

Finally, we hear that my wife’s sister, who lives in Jabalia, is okay. Alhamdulillah. I pray I can say the same about everyone else, as I wait for news.

One of my university friends, who is now a professor in the USA, informs us that his grandfather’s house is in the targeted area, saying, “We do not have any confirmed information. We do not know anything about my grandfather.” Imagine not knowing if your loved ones are alive or not, not knowing whether to mourn them or to pray for their recovery, not being able to pay tribute or to say farewell. 

It’s a package of horror now familiar to many Palestinians. One of my relatives is a medic and tells me there are dead bodies everywhere in the streets. People are stepping over dead bodies. But this is not Hollywood – this is Gaza. A place filled with true Halloween scenes, live for the world to see. 

Palestinian families need your help to stop the violence

The main question everybody is asking here is, “How are you?”. We say we are fine Alhamdulillah, but we are not. We are not okay. 

We are exhausted, we are mourning, we are desperate, we are innocent. 

I am angry and frustrated at the world, the United Nations, the governments, and all who agree to see us killed. 

But still in my heart there remains a strong belief that our true friends are refusing this injustice.  I am sure our friends around the world, including Islamic Relief colleagues and supporters, are knocking on every door to tell people about our suffering.

I am sure you can do this and stop this violence. You can change the world. You can help bring about the ceasefire we so desperately need. I dream of the day all people in the world are equal, and I know this dream can come true only when people around the world raise their voice for Gaza.

*This blog is anonymised to protect the safety and security of our colleague.

Read the full series of blogs here.

Editor’s note: This blog was submitted amid a fast-changing situation on the ground, which has since continued to deteriorate. This information was correct as of the afternoon of Wednesday 1 November.