A voice from Rafah, Gaza - Stop the Killing

We are human beings with names, lives, beloved ones, memories, and ambitions: A plea from Rafah, Gaza

The following video message from Rafah, Gaza was shared on January 25, 2024 by a long-term partner of Peace Boat and humanitarian worker in Gaza, Zaher, prior to the ground invasion of Rafah. It was originally screened at a policy roundtable held at the Parliamentarians' Office Building in Tokyo, co-hosted by the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) as 50 peacebuilders from around the world gathered in Japan for the network's International Steering Group Meeting.

Video message from Zaher in Rafah, Gaza

Dear friends, ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you all to let me deliver my message in this event; a message across borders, which indicates that there remains a human spirit.

I am so sorry to send my message like this, due to internet and mobile communication cut-off for ten times during this war.

They are exposed to unprecedented aggression in the modern human history. 110 days of deliberate targeting of civilians, civilian infrastructure and homes of civilians. This brings so far 2,119 massacres committed by the Israeli forces.
25,295 Palestinians have been killed and reached the hospitals.
Among them 11,000 children, 7,500 women, 337 medical crew, 190 journalists
In addition, 7,000 people remain missing under the rubble of their homes, 70% of whom are children and women
63,000 people have been injured. Among them 11,000 need an urgent referral abroad due to serious injuries or to save lives.

Remember, the Palestinian Gazans are not just numbers.
We are human beings with names, lives, beloved ones, memories, and ambitions.
Each person in Gaza has a unique journey filled with moments of heartbreaks and moments of joy, like me and you.

Dear sisters and brothers.
Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip with over 65,000 tons of explosives since the 7th of October.
That’s over 1.5 times more than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombs combined, resulting in about 70,000 housing units totally demolished and 290,000 units partially damaged.

Three months ago there were 36 hospitals in Gaza.
Now, 30 of them are out of service.
All have been bombed by Israel, the same country that claimed at the International Court of Justice that they would never attack hospitals.

Before one week, I lost my close friend, more than brother. Abu Al-Adib.
My partner in humanitarian work.
He suffered for three days and passed away because he was not able to access medical services in the north of Gaza.

The people there are suffering from starvation and pandemics.

Again, unbearable. During this war, I lost a number of my relatives.
And my sister Yosra.
My sister and her husband’s family, 43 persons, were forced under the threat of the Israeli army to be displaced, like hundreds of thousands of people, to the south part of Gaza, where the Israeli army claimed to be a safe area. She sheltered at the city of Deir al Balah.
On December the 2nd, 2023, an Israeli airplane bombed her shelter, and the entire family was killed except my sister’s two daughters, Maria and Lana – they got out from under the rubble after four days, alive.

Dears.
As a refugee, the idea of refugee or displacement frightens me so much.
My wife Nisreen and I worked hard all our lives to prevent our kids from living the same experience. But despite our will, they lived through displacement twice.
The first was when our home was totally destroyed by the Israeli airstrike on May 12, 2021. Since that day, we repaired our home and it was just finished at the end of July 2023.
We moved to the new home after two years and two months of displacement. Unfortunately, my new home was destroyed once again in this war.

Since the 7th of October, we left our home seeking a safe shelter. We sheltered in Jabalia Camp, and then we were forced by the Israeli army to displace to the south part of the Gaza Strip, in Khan Younis, then to Rafah.
The population of Rafah was 300,000 people. Now the people in Rafah are 1.3 million. 1 million Gazans displaced seeking safety.

They are living in a miserable situation. The diseases spread out among them, especially Hepatitis A, due to overcrowding.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Gaza is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe due to the ongoing act of genocide by the Israeli occupation.
The people in Gaza are dying. They are dying not only from bombs and strikes. Many more will die from the consequences of the situations posed in the Gaza Strip.
Basic services have collapsed, medicine has run out, food and water are running out. And the international aid entering Gaza is modest, not satisfying the basic needs.

Imagine for a moment what it is like to wake up everyday in a place where decent drinking water, food, electricity, and medical services are daily struggles.
In Gaza those basic necessities often feel like distant dreams. The people here have been enduring hardship for long days, and it will worsen over time.

Dears.
When I think for a while about the future and the dreams of my children.
Dreams are no different from those of any child around the world.
They dream of a better future, a world of opportunities, and the chance to make their mark.
But their innocence is replaced by fear. And their hopes are overshadowed by the grim reality of war.

The Gazans wish for their children’s safety, security, education.
They dream of a time when their children can live without concerns, fear and conflict.
And when they can access clean water, nutritious food, and healthcare without worry.

Dear friends.
The free voices are louder than the voices of war.
And I strongly believe that the price of peace is cheaper than the price of war.
I am calling you, and the free world and the international community, for a permanent action to halt the act of genocide and stop killing and targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in the ongoing collective punishment, which turned Gaza into a disaster zone, and to pressure for implementation of the UN resolutions regarding the Palestinian issue.