Unmute Gaza
As I viewed puffs of smoke rising in the distance the signs of bombs raining down on Gaza, I was reminded of the wisdom of David recorded in 2 Samuel 24:14 and 1 Chronicles 21:13. “Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
Gaza is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is twice the size of Washington D.C., and smaller than the Republic of Barbados. It is one of two territories that make up the State of Palestine, the other being the West Bank. It was possibly one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
However, it has fallen into the human hands of its’ surrounding neighbour, the State of Israel. The evidence is clear for the blind to see that the actions being taken by the State of Israel against the State of Palestine have gone far beyond a fit of anger sparked by the atrocities of February 7, 2023. This is a deliberate continuous embargo and war meant to obliterate the Palestinian people off the face of their land. Gaza is the centre of this humanitarian catastrophe.
Who pressed the mute button so that we are unable to hear the cries of Gaza’s babies, the sick, the aged, the hungry, and the prisoners? Gaza has been muted! We have to ask now what has so desensitised the international community that we have become comfortable with our complicity in the destruction of the people in the Palestinian-Occupied Territories.
It is not complicated, as we are being told. What is at play is a series of political arrangements by power brokers in high places who are using our complacency and complicity to gain a military and economic advantage in the region. The State of Palestine is in its way.
So, in the most technological age in human history, we are not hearing the cries coming out of Gaza, as 86% of its population faces food insecurity. One million, eight hundred and forty thousand (1,840,000) people are facing high levels of acute food insecurity.
With internet images of Israel greening the desert, two-thirds of Gaza’s population are consuming less than 16 fluid ounces of water, the internationally recommended amount of drinking water for good health.
Less than 20 miles away from some of the most advanced medical innovating companies in the world, access to the most basic health care for a child in the West Bank and Gaza has deteriorated.
Elaborate high-rise accommodations are flying up into the skies all across Israel, while 90% of its Palestinian population has been displaced from their homes since October 7, 2023.
The United Nations agencies, Non-Governmental Humanitarian Organizations, and independent press services are being squeezed out of the contested zones, which is tantamount to silencing the weakened voices of the Palestinian people.
This is ethnic cleansing at its finest, a present-day example of apartheid, and akin to the months before the Rwanda genocide, the silence is deafening. Israel’s extensive use of explosive and incendiary weapons over the past thirteen months has resulted in mass casualties, including the killing of many multi-generational families. The figures should speak for themselves: 41,870 persons have died, which is 1 in every 55 persons living in Gaza. These faceless and voiceless numbers include 16,756 children and 11,346 women.
What we are hearing through the general media is that the victim is Israel, and the enemy is the tyrants of February 7, 2023, led by Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Extreme Islamic forces. Israel has extended its natural justice claim to defend itself through its invasion of Gaza, carpet bombing the territory, and mass detention of civilians, as we talk about being fair.
If there is not some radical change at an international level, what we can expect is mass starvation of Palestinians, increased annexation of Palestinian land, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees pouring into the surrounding nations, and almost total denial of any wrongdoing by Israel and its Western supporters.
Where are the prophetic voices like Jeremiah or the apostolic writers like Matthew to amplify the message “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” Let us unmute Gaza. Using God’s merciful words, God spoke up and said, ‘Enough! Withdraw your hand! Israel and your Western supporters, Stop the War’!
With Love and Lament,
