Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za
3-minute read | 08 October 2025 | 11:45 CAT

📸 A man mourns over a loved one in Gaza as the death toll nears 66,000 amid relentless Israeli attacks.

As Gaza endures relentless bombardment and siege, the staggering civilian death toll continues to haunt the conscience of the international community. More than 66,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, with some reports suggesting the real figure could exceed half a million when accounting for those still buried under rubble.

Speaking to Radio Islam International, Cape Town Sociologist and Veteran Activist Na’eem Jinnah described the Gaza situation as “a genocide in which the perpetrators have mainly targeted civilians.” He noted that “whole neighbourhoods, homes, hospitals and mosques have been flattened,” while Gaza’s people endure repeated displacement within a confined 360 square kilometre area. “Some have been forced to move up to ten times,” he said, highlighting that Israel’s blockade has cut off basic necessities, “literally starving the population for months.”

Recent weeks have also seen the Global Samud Aid Flotilla, carrying humanitarian volunteers including Nelson Mandela’s grandson, violently intercepted in international waters. Dozens of peace activists were detained and allegedly mistreated by Israeli forces. “These attacks on peaceful aid ships are clear violations of international law,” said Jinnah, arguing that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) act “with complete impunity, backed by the silence or complicity of global powers.”

He further condemned what he called “the hypocrisy of international law,” pointing to how Western nations swiftly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine yet remains “content to watch a genocide unfold in Gaza.” Jinnah said the legal and moral double standards are “rooted in the racist history of international law,” which was “designed to serve Europeans, not the global south.”

Tracing decades of impunity, Jinnah reminded listeners that “the Zionist project’s violations of law began long before 1948,” citing historical massacres such as Deir Yassin, where he said atrocities were committed “on the blood and bodies of Palestinians.”

As the world bears witness to Gaza’s ongoing annihilation, activists insist that solidarity movements must intensify pressure for justice. “Even the notion of human rights,” Jinnah warned, “was historically shaped by those who never intended it for all humanity.”

The Gaza genocide remains a searing reminder that the promise of “never again” still rings hollow for much of the global south.

Listen to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Na’eem Jinnah.