On October 27th, as the United Nations was discussing a ceasefire, Israel decided that it was the perfect time to cut off all means of communication for the Palestinians in Gaza. This means that Palestinians no longer have access to the internet, or national or international phone calls, and hence the atrocities on people will go unnoticed.

I have 2 friends from Gaza. Noor, 28 years old, who I couldn’t reach after the war started, and Zainab, 23 years old, whose replies keep getting more heartbreaking each day.

Zainab’s replies moved from “there’s no place safe for us. We keep moving from one place to another”, to “I’m alive, but not okay”, until she recently stated, “I’m alive for the moment”. Each time I text her, I fear not hearing a reply from her. She’s a bright girl; one of the smartest you can meet, and an activist who I’m confident would make the world a better place if given the chance.

Noor, on the other hand, has been missing. She got her MBA this year. She has a sweet 2-year-old girl and a loving husband. She has a whole life ahead of her. The only thing I found myself capable of doing for her was praying, wishing that she and her family were safe.

Now that you know the type of “human animals” (as Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, stated) Israel is killing, let me give you a context of what’s happening.

On October 7th, Hamas launched an attack on Israel. They took around 200 hostages and killed at least 1400 people, most of whom were soldiers (308 soldiers and 58 police officers) according to a report by Al-Jazeera. Israel retaliated by killing more than 7703 people, at least 3,595 of whom are children; and the number keeps increasing as I write this article.

Israel took another step as well. They cut fuel, water, food, and electricity from Gaza. This means that if people there did not die from the numerous missiles dropped on them, they would eventually die of hunger and thirst or because of diseases coming from drinking polluted water. It is worth noting that Israel allowed the entrance of only 20 trucks of humanitarian aid to Gaza, a very limited number compared to the 2.3 million people in Gaza.

Israel has been targeting residential buildings, hospitals, universities, shelters, churches, and mosques, as proven by statistics published by Al-Jazeera which also published a list of all the buildings destroyed by the never-ending Israeli missiles. Maybe this was Israel’s way of affirming that this is not a religious fight since both Christians and Muslims are attacked. Mind you, all of the above-mentioned buildings should be protected during wars; and any attack on them is a violation of international law.

What also proves that what is currently happening in Palestine is not related to religion is the fact that the Jews are condemning it. They used their social media to state “not in our name”, started riots, and went to the streets supporting Palestine and demanding a ceasefire, as it is reported by Jewish Voices for Peace.

Another report by Amnesty International proved that Israel has been using white phosphorus, an internationally prohibited weapon, the use of which is also a violation of international law.

If Israel’s aim was to release hostages taken by Hamas, their actions proved otherwise. If its aim is to kill as many Palestinians as possible, they are on the right track. They are even provided with more money and with unconditional support from the USA in order to be able to do so.

Israel spread the rumour of 40 beheaded children without providing any proof or images. Nevertheless, we could see images of Palestinian children who were pulled from under the rubble, beheaded, limbs lost, or body parts shattered.

A recent video captured by Motaz Azaiza, a Palestinian journalist from Gaza, shows a boy, probably 9 years old, who lost both of his legs and half of his face from the explosion. Throughout all of that, he was still alive, feeling every ounce of pain until he died. That scene is haunting and tormenting for everyone; yet I wonder, would it haunt the Israelis that killed him or the USA and the EU that supported them in doing so?

Over the silence of world leaders and the blatant support of the genocide committed against Palestinians, people from around the world went to the streets in order to show their support for Gazans and resorted to social media to showcase all these brutal images. At least two weeks have passed so far without calling for a ceasefire until October 27th, when the UN approved a truce.

The world failed Palestinians. It failed all the people who are dying every single day and supported Israel that violated numerous international laws. If anything, this war showed, it only revealed that Israel is above international law and Palestinians are “collateral damage”.