Neelam Rahim | neelamrahim0@gmail.com

3-minute read
19 May 2025 | 09:46 CAT

Amid renewed Israeli ground and air assaults, Gaza reels under intensified bombardment — hospitals under siege, neighbourhoods flattened, and over 500 Palestinians martyred since Friday alone.

A renewed ground offensive by Israeli forces has unleashed fresh devastation in Gaza, sparking alarm as the death toll continues to climb and international sentiment begins to shift. Speaking to Radio Islam on the weekly Palestine Report, Moulana Ebrahim Moosa detailed the unfolding catastrophe and emphasised the urgent need for global awareness and action amidst what he called a return to “the earlier days of the genocide.”

Over the past few days, more than 500 Palestinians have been martyred, with targeted massacres in Beit Lahya, Jabalia, and Mawassi. According to Moulana Moosa, “It’s absolute mayhem, absolute carnage from all conceivable angles.” He reported that roughly 200 individuals remain trapped under rubble, with civil defence teams unable to reach them.

One of the most harrowing developments is the targeting of Gaza’s medical infrastructure. The Indonesian Hospital has been rendered non-operational, and its ICU was directly struck. Medical teams are unable to provide even basic care, prompting urgent blood donation calls across the Gaza Strip.

Residents, especially in camps like Sharply (Beach Camp), are being psychologically tormented by the repeated issuance and withdrawal of evacuation orders — a tactic Moulana Moosa described as “designed to keep residents in a state of constant anxiety.”

In the north of Gaza, Israeli airstrikes were followed by the detonation of remote-controlled explosive vehicles, adding another layer of destruction.

On the diplomatic front, attempts at negotiation continue. Hamas’s release of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander was framed as a gesture of goodwill, aimed at prompting U.S. pressure on Israel to ease the blockade. Yet, according to Hamas leader Bassem Naim, “The United States threw the deal into the trash and didn’t live up to its part of the bargain.”

Western media and political discourse are now showing signs of fracture. Journalist Jonathan Cook described this as “the first cracks” in previously unwavering Western support for Israel. Moulana Moosa highlighted a range of recent shifts:

• The Economist, The Independent, and Financial Times published pieces critical of Israel.
• The BBC, long criticised for bias, aired 12 minutes of a powerful UN address condemning the humanitarian catastrophe.
• UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths asked, “What more evidence do you need to act?”
• A UK Conservative MP renounced his pro-Israel stance, while President Macron of France and the Italian Prime Minister both condemned the blockade as “unjustifiable.”

While Moulana Moosa welcomed this apparent shift, he urged caution: “We have every reason to doubt the intentions of these politicians… they are getting their excuses in before it’s too late.” He emphasised that regardless of motivation, “the changing tide is real, and we should embrace it.”

One heartbreaking story that underscores the depth of trauma Palestinians are enduring is that of Lana Sharif, an eight-year-old from Gaza whose hair has turned grey due to the psychological stress of war. Once a healthy child, Lana suffered a panic attack following an airstrike and was later diagnosed with vitiligo. “People stare at me. The neighbors ask why my hair is gray like an old person. It makes me cry,” she said.

Reflecting on this, Moulana Moosa evoked a verse from Surah Al-Muzzammil: “A day that will make children grey-haired.” He noted, “Palestinians are saying that they are witnessing the horrors of the Day of Qiyamah unfold before their eyes.”

As the onslaught intensifies, Moulana Ebrahim Moosa calls on the Ummah to remain informed, amplify these stories, and make earnest dua for the people of Gaza. “We ask Allah to be with the Ummah,” he concluded, “and we sincerely ask all our listeners to remember our brothers and sisters in Palestine.”

Listen to the Palestine Report on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Ebrahim Moosa.