Eid under occupation
As Muslims around the world gathered with their families to celebrate Eid, Palestinians in Gaza marked the auspicious occasion under a sky filled with drones and gunfire. Over the last few days, more than 100 lives have been lost. The death toll rises as families dig through rubble instead of sharing wholesome meals. Eid in Gaza is not a celebration, but a cry for survival.
Israeli strikes have pounded areas across the besieged enclave, from the shattered remnants of Jabalia refugee camp to the so-called "safe zone" of al-Mawasi in Khan Younis - now yet another graveyard of civilians. In the face of global calls for restraint, the Israeli military's unrelenting campaign continues unabated. The seizure of the Madleen aid ship, which carried not weapons but rice and baby formula, reflects the cruelty of the total blockade now entering its third month. Its passengers - including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and French MEP Rima Hassan - were detained, and now face deportation. Their only 'offence' was attempting to deliver food to a starving population. Meanwhile, the West Bank is no sanctuary. Israeli forces have conducted widespread arrests across occupied towns, only deepening the fear that now place in Palestinian territories is truly safe. This Eid, nearly 1.95 million Palestinians - 93% of Gaza's population - are trapped in severe food insecurity. One in five is facing starvation. The international community, while occasionally vocal, remains largely ineffective in the face of such open defiance of humanitarian law.
No religious holiday, no moral code, no system of international law should allow the mass starvation and slaughter of civilians to continue unchecked. This war is no longer about defence; it is about domination and total annihilation - and the world must call it what it is.
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