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We have lived 300 days of sorrow and suffering in Gaza
As Palestinians mark 300 ‘nightmare’ days since the escalation began in Gaza, an Islamic Relief aid worker* describes fear, trauma, and fading hope.
300 days of this nightmare. Can you imagine the feeling of being trapped in a horrifying dream, even for a couple of minutes? We Palestinians in Gaza have been feeling like that for the last 300 days.
We have spent our days and nights feeling like death is just around the corner. I have been feeling like an airstrike will bury me under the rubble. I have been feeling like my family will be wiped out and our house will be destroyed. I have been traumatized, crippled by fear, and distraught for 300 terrible days. I can’t function as a normal human being. I can’t breathe properly.
I can’t tell you more about the horrors that we have lived during this time: no matter how much I wrangle the words, I fail to describe the situation here in Gaza. It is beyond comprehension.
Heartbreaking last moments of Mohammed Bhar
The latest heart-rending story is that of Mohammed Bhar, a young man with Down’s Syndrome and autism, whom Islamic Relief had sponsored since he was a baby. The young man could not have fully understood what was happening when a combat dog, brought by the Israeli army to his family’s Gaza home, began mauling him. Reportedly, as the dog attacked Mohammed, he screamed and patted the animal’s head, pleading, “Khalas, ya habibi” (enough, my dear).
After the Israeli army forced his family from the home at gunpoint, Mohammed died of his injuries, his bloodied body left on the floor for his heartbroken relatives to find when they were eventually able to return. Oh Allah, I can’t imagine how his mother felt as she waited for the army to withdraw from the area, knowing Mohammed was alone, not knowing if he was alive or dead.
Palestinian families subject to brutal conditions in Gaza
There is no shortage of sorrowful and painful stories here. For example, my sister-in-law lives in Al Burej Refugee Camp. Her family were told to evacuate – to just go anywhere. This is the third or fourth time they have had to move. It is so hard on them: her father-in-law recently lost his leg in an airstrike and her mother-in-law suffers heart problems.
People do not know what to take with them. How do they choose from among their sentimental items, their clothes and belongings? People are tired of restarting their lives again and again. People want to rest. This war is not armies fighting each other – it is a war waged against the people, attacking their food, shelter, their water supplies, clothes, medication and land.
For the last 300 days, we have witnessed the most brutal conditions.
My children missed their entire school year. Their schools are being destroyed – I just watched a video of a school blown up with dynamite. Why? How much longer must my children be denied their education?
How about health services? My friend’s father has a problem with his blood, but doctors cannot diagnose him because the devices used for biopsies are unavailable in Gaza. Nobody is allowed to leave Gaza for treatment, and medical supplies are not allowed in. The man faces a death sentence, staved off only temporarily by painful interim treatments while he waits desperately for a diagnosis.
The Israeli army is intentionally depriving people of medical care. They are intentionally denying food to people in the north, purposefully preventing vaccines from entering Gaza so polio spreads, and deliberately stopping families from getting water.
I fear Gaza will never recover from 300 days of sorrow and trauma
What is this? Why this silence, world? I can’t understand it. I have lost faith in this world, which allows all these atrocities and injustices. I have started to think that death will be the only chance to rest.
I am sorry, my dear readers, that I am sharing all this sorrow and misery with you. But I can’t write anything good about our life in Gaza now. Yes, we love, we laugh, we dress, we go out and try to help others who need us – but we are destroyed inside. We are traumatised, irreversibly damaged.
Even if the war stops now, we will never be the same. As I said to my wife, our old life is gone forever. I told her I’ve started forgetting the daily routine which was so familiar just over 300 days ago. I have forgotten what time we used to wake in the morning. I do not remember my favourite perfume or my best clothes – my wife reminded me, “You had a green t-shirt that looked good on you”, but I do not recall that one. I do not recollect the restaurants we liked, the places that sold nice street food. My beloved city is falling out of my memory, and returning home is an ever-distant dream.
All we want is to rest. To take a breath. To break this cycle. To stop the war.
Please help Islamic Relief support people in desperate need in Gaza: Donate to our Palestine Appeal now.
*This blog is anonymised to protect the safety and security of our colleague and others mentioned. Read the other blogs in this series here.
300 Days of Conflict in Gaza
Islamic Relief heartbroken and appalled at killing of Mohammad Bhar
Islamic Relief is utterly heartbroken to confirm that Mohammad Bhar, the young man in Gaza with Down’s syndrome and autism who was mauled to death by an Israeli military dog, was part of Islamic Relief’s orphan sponsorship programme.
We are appalled at the horrific nature of Mohammed’s killing, which is shocking even amidst the daily atrocities in Gaza. Islamic Relief is calling for an independent international investigation into his death, and for all responsible to be held accountable.
Mohammad, 24, was killed during Israel’s recent attack on the Shujaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City, where he and his family lived. Mohammad’s mother, Nabila, told Islamic Relief that Israeli soldiers forced their way into the family’s home and the military dog started mauling a terrified Mohammad, tearing at his body as he screamed in agony and pleaded for the attack to stop. With Mohammad severely bleeding, the Israeli soldiers moved him to another room on his own, despite the fact that his illness meant his family was usually with him for support at all times. The soldiers refused to allow Mohammad’s mother or sister to enter the room to comfort him or bring him water, and shortly afterwards forced the women to leave the house at gunpoint while he was still alive. Mohammad was left alone in the dark room, critically wounded, scared and thirsty, until he died. His body was only recovered a week later when the Israeli military withdrew and his family and neighbours were able to rush to the house to find his remains.
Waseem Ahmad, CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide, says:
“After so many months of atrocities it is hard to be shocked any more by news from Gaza. But the killing of Mohammad reached new depths of horror and everyone at Islamic Relief is utterly heartbroken. This was a truly horrific killing and the level of cruelty and suffering has shocked millions of people around the world. We can only imagine the fear and panic that Mohammad must have felt as he died alone and wounded, without his family beside him. All our prayers are with Mohammad’s family and friends. There must be accountability for such acts, and there must be an immediate ceasefire to finally bring the massacre in Gaza to an end.”
Mohammad and his mother have received support through Islamic Relief’s orphan sponsorship programme for more than 20 years, since his father died when Mohammad was just 2 years old. During Israel’s attacks over the past 9 months the family has been forcibly displaced from their home multiple times, like most families in Gaza.
The orphan sponsorship programme provides regular cash payments to help vulnerable families pay for healthcare, education, shelter and other essentials. Islamic Relief currently sponsors 15,700 orphaned children and youth in Gaza. Sponsorship begins when children are under 18 years old but can be continued later while they remain in school or if they are particularly vulnerable.
At least 117 children and young people cared for by our Orphan Sponsorship Programme are known to have been killed during Israel’s attack on Gaza over the past 9 months.
Memperkukuh peranan kemanusiaan, sumbangan Islamic Relief kepada komuniti dunia
Tahun 2024 menandakan satu pencapaian penting bagi keluarga besar Islamic Relief Worldwide (Islamic Relief) apabila organisasi ini meraikan ulang tahun ke-40 penubuhannya pada 17 Januari.
Islamic Relief diasaskan oleh Dr. Hany El-Banna bersama sekumpulan mahasiswa perubatan University of Birmingham, UK pada tahun 1984 sebagai tindak balas terhadap isu kebuluran di Afrika Timur ketika itu.
Hari ini, Islamic Relief telah menjadi antara NGO terbesar di dunia yang menyediakan bantuan kemanusiaan dan pembangunan lestari kepada komuniti memerlukan di lebih 40 buah negara.
Sejak ditubuhkan, Islamic Relief telah menghadapi pelbagai cabaran dan rintangan dalam usaha mencapai matlamatnya untuk mengurangkan kemiskinan dan meringankan penderitaan golongan rentan.
Dari bencana alam hingga ke krisis kemanusiaan, cabaran-cabaran ini sama sekali tidak menghalang Islamic Relief daripada terus menjalankan kerja-kerja bantuan di seluruh dunia dengan penuh dedikasi dan komitmen.
Melalui kerjasama erat dengan komuniti setempat dan sokongan para penyumbang, Islamic Relief tetap teguh menjayakan visi untuk mewujudkan dunia yang prihatin di mana komuniti diupayakan, tanggungjawab sosial dilaksanakan, dan masyarakat bersatu untuk meringankan penderitaan golongan yang memerlukan.
Pengiktirafan Islamic Relief
Hasil usaha keras selama bertahun-tahun, kualiti kerja Islamic Relief telah diiktiraf dan diperakui oleh Piawaian Kemanusiaan Teras (CHS), satu piawaian dan tatakelakuan yang diiktiraf di peringkat antarabangsa dalam sektor kemanusian.
Sehingga kini, Islamic Relief merupakan satu-satunya NGO Islam di UK yang memegang pensijilan itu. Islamic Relief percaya bahawa kelulusan CHS selaras dengan nilai-nilai Islam yang dipegang iaitu Ikhlas, Adil, Rahmah, Amanah, dan Ihsan.
Status Islamic Relief sebagai ahli penuh Piagam Akauntabiliti INGO, penandatangan kepada Tatakelakuan Palang Merah dan pengamal kepada Kod Amalan Terbaik People in Aid menandakan pengiktirafan kecemerlangan Islamic Relief dalam memastikan ketelusan, melaksanakan tadbir urus yang baik dan menjalankan tanggungjawab sosial dalam gerak kerjanya.
Pada tahun 2017, berdasarkan senarai yang dikeluarkan oleh NGO Advisor, Islamic Relief telah tersenarai dalam 20 NGO terbaik daripada 500 NGO terkemuka di dunia. Islamic Relief telah dinilai melalui tiga kriteria berkaitan impak, inovasi dan tadbir urus di dalam kategori kanak-kanak & belia, pemerkasaan ekonomi dan kecemasan; krisis, pelarian, tempat tinggal dan keadilan sosial.
Berdasarkan kepada kepercayaan serta nilai-nilai Islam, Islamic Relief dipandu oleh kerangka Maqasid Syariah yang menekankan kesucian kehidupan dan maruah setiap individu serta hak mereka untuk keselamatan, kesihatan, persekitaran yang mampan, makanan, tempat tinggal, dan air bersih. Pendekatan ini adalah teras kepada gerak kerja Islamic Relief untuk membantu golongan rentan di seluruh dunia.
Empat dekad menabur bakti, keupayaan Islamic Relief untuk mencipta impak positif dalam komuniti yang disantuni telah mendapat kepercayaan daripada para penaja, penyumbang, rakan kerjasama, media, sukarelawan, ikon kemanusiaan dan pihak berkepentingan yang lain.
Komitmen Islamic Relief dalam misi kemanusiaan 2023
Menyoroti tahun 2023, kita menyaksikan pelbagai peristiwa penting yang menggoncang dunia antaranya gempa bumi di Turkiye, Syria, Maghribi, Afghanistan, banjir besar di Libya dan krisis peperangan di Sudan dan Gaza, Palestin.
Di Yaman, Afghanistan dan negara-negara Tanduk Afrika seperti Somalia dan Ethiopia, isu kebuluran terus membelenggu rakyat. Krisis iklim yang kian memuncak meningkatkan lagi ancaman terhadap penduduk di sesetengah negara.
Bagi Islamic Relief, tahun 2023 merupakan tahun yang paling mencabar dalam memberikan tindak balas terhadap bantuan kecemasan berskala besar seperti gempa bumi dan peperangan di Gaza yang berlarutan sehingga kini.
Dalam menghadapi cabaran-cabaran ini, Islamic Relief terus komited memberikan bantuan tanpa mengira bangsa, agama, atau negara selari dengan prinsip kemanusiaan yang didokong sejak dahulu.
Sumbangan berterusan yang diterima daripada pelbagai pihak membolehkan Islamic Relief menyediakan bantuan dan memberi impak kepada 16.8 juta orang di 39 negara melalui pelaksanaan 827 projek kemanusiaan dan pembangunan.
Daripada jumlah tersebut, sebanyak 327 projek bantuan kecemasan telah dilaksanakan sehingga dapat membantu 8.7 juta orang manakala 334 projek pembangunan yang dijalankan pula telah memberi impak kepada 4.6 juta orang.
Melalui program bermusim, sebanyak 890,000 orang di 32 negara menerima sumbangan pek bantuan Ramadan manakala lebih 3.5 juta orang di 28 negara mendapat bantuan daging korban.
Antara lain, bantuan makanan dan keselamatan memberi manfaat kepada 10.2 juta orang, bantuan sektor air, sanitasi dan kebersihan memberi impak kepada lebih 967,000 orang dan projek penajaan anak yatim telah membantu lebih 91,900 kanak-kanak.
Selain itu, Islamic Relief turut menghulurkan bantuan kepada mereka yang menghadapi cabaran perubahan iklim, meningkatkan bantuan terhadap penjagaan kesihatan dan keselamatan nyawa, serta mengagihkan bantuan musim sejuk.
20 Tahun Islamic Relief di Malaysia
Bertapak di Malaysia sejak tahun 2004 bagi meneruskan misi bantuan di Rantau Asia-Pasifik, Islamic Relief turut berbangga apabila meraikan ulang tahun ke-20 di Malaysia pada 25 Jun lalu.
Perjalanan selama dua dekad Islamic Relief di Malaysia dihiasi dengan usaha gigih dan keazaman untuk membantu golongan yang terpinggir, memperkasa komuniti, serta mempromosikan keadilan sosial.
Memenangi The BrandLaureate CSR BrandLeadership Award bagi kategori bantuan kemanusiaan pada tahun 2018, pengiktirafan itu memberi impak yang besar kepada Islamic Relief Malaysia, meningkatkan kredibiliti dan kepercayaan masyarakat terhadap usaha kemanusiaan yang dijalankan.
Biarpun berdepan pelbagai cabaran, ia tidak mematahkan semangat pejabat cawangan itu untuk terus menghulurkan bantuan kepada rakyat Malaysia dan juga penduduk di beberapa buah negara yang lain.
Bagi tahun 2023 sahaja, Islamic Relief telah memberi bantuan dan merubah kehidupan 49,178 penerima manfaat di seluruh Malaysia.
Daripada jumlah tersebut, program bantuan Ramadan mencatatkan jumlah tertinggi bantuan yang memberi manfaat kepada 42,556 orang di seluruh semenanjung, Sabah dan Sarawak. Antara bantuan yang diagihkan ialah pek makanan, baucar tunai, barangan keperluan asas dan baju raya.
Islamic Relief turut memberikan bantuan kecemasan pasca banjir dan kebakaran kepada 3,195 orang di Johor, Sabah dan Sarawak.
Bagi sektor pendidikan pula, 620 orang pelajar dan ahli keluarga mendapat manfaat daripada projek Cheer to School (CTS) dan INSPIRE yang dijalankan.
Islamic Relief turut berperanan untuk meningkatkan taraf hidup masyarakat dengan menjalankan projek kehidupan mampan bagi menambah sumber pendapatan keluarga. Sebanyak 1,057 mendapat impak daripada pelaksanaan projek Gift of Hope (GOH) di Pulau Pinang, Growth Entrepreneurship Assistance Programme (GRAP) di Selangor dan agihan sumbangan bantuan tunai di Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Pulau Pinang, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Sarawak.
Melalui bantuan sektor makanan dan nutrisi, Islamic Relief telah mengagihkan bantuan makanan yang memberi manfaat kepada 1,750 orang di Sabah dan Sarawak.
Misi global Islamic Relief Malaysia
Untuk bantuan di peringkat antarabangsa, daripada dana sumbangan orang ramai melalui pejabat Malaysia, Islamic Relief memberi fokus kepada empat sektor bantuan iaitu kecemasan, kehidupan mampan, air, sanitasi dan kebersihan serta program bermusim sehingga berjaya membantu lebih 53,994 orang dengan pelaksanaan 9 projek.
Islamic Relief telah memberi tindak balas kecemasan terhadap krisis kemarau di Somalia dengan menjalankan projek yang memberi manfaat kepada 900 orang.
17,465 orang pula mendapat manfaat melalui sektor kehidupan mampan dengan pelaksanaan projek ternakan dan pertanian di Syria serta projek bantuan anak yatim di Indonesia.
Di Somalia dan Bangladesh, pembinaan kompleks sistem bekalan air dan telaga tiub telah memberi sinar baharu buat 3,780 penduduk kerana mereka dapat mengakses dan menikmati sumber air bersih dengan lebih mudah.
Selain itu, bagi program bermusim, 12,225 orang menerima sumbangan pek makanan Ramadan, 18,802 orang menerima bantuan pek daging korban dan 665 orang menerima bantuan musim sejuk.
157 anak yatim juga mendapat manfaat melalui projek Penajaan Al-Yateem oleh penyumbang dari Malaysia.
Islamic Relief komited tabur bakti
Selama 40 tahun beroperasi, walaupun menghadapi cabaran dan kesulitan, biarpun jarak bantuan jauh beribu batu, walau apapun bentuk kecemasan yang terjadi, Islamic Relief terus menabur khidmat dan tetap bersedia menghulurkan bantuan demi memastikan bantuan kemanusiaan tiba kepada mereka yang memerlukan.
Islamic Relief Malaysia pula kekal komited untuk terus melaksanakan projek-projek kemanusiaan yang bermakna dan berimpak tinggi bagi tahun 2024. Dengan sokongan berterusan daripada pelbagai pihak, termasuk penyumbang, sukarelawan, dan komuniti terlibat, Islamic Relief tekad untuk membawa perubahan positif kepada mereka yang memerlukan.
Dalam tempoh 10 tahun akan datang, Islamic Relief berhasrat untuk mencapai 3 objektif utama; menyelamatkan nyawa dan mengurangkan penderitaan terhadap krisis kemanusiaan, memperkasa komuniti untuk menangani kemiskinan dan penderitaan, serta menyokong perubahan sistem bagi menghapuskan punca kepada ketidaksamaan global dan tempatan.
Terima kasih kepada semua yang bersama Islamic Relief sepanjang tempoh ini dalam mencipta dunia yang lebih baik dan lebih adil buat semua.
Islamic Relief is horrified at the massacre of dozens of civilians at one of the school shelters where we have been distributing daily hot meals to displaced families.
Today’s attack at al-Tabeen school in Gaza City is the deadliest on a school shelter yet, with reports of 80-100 people killed and many more injured as Israeli missiles tore through classrooms and the prayer room during dawn Fajr prayers. Around 2,000 young children, women and men have been sheltering at the school after the Israeli military ordered them to leave their homes. The nearest hospital is overwhelmed with casualties, with many badly burnt or bleeding severely from shrapnel wounds, and it does not have the medical supplies to treat them all.
We are horrified but we are no longer shocked by such massacres, as Israel continues to bomb people’s shelters almost daily with complete impunity and disregard for international law. 85% of all schools in Gaza (477 out of 564) have now been damaged by bombing.
Tufail Hussain, Director of Islamic Relief UK, says: “It is appalling that yet another school where families have been told to go, and where they hoped they could find some food and refuge, has been bombed. Our staff and local partners have been working tirelessly to provide food to people in this school shelter and are heartbroken at the death and destruction this morning. People in Gaza have become moving targets. Israel’s policy of constantly forcing civilians to move from one place to another, then denying them aid and attacking the schools and camps where they are ordered to go is completely inhumane.”
The school is one of many across Gaza where Islamic Relief and partner agencies have been providing daily cooked meals to families – often the only meal they get to eat each day as famine conditions and starvation have spread. Islamic Relief has also conducted psychosocial activities such as games and entertainment for displaced children at the school. No Islamic Relief staff or partners were present at the time of the bombing.
This latest massacre brings the death toll in Gaza to almost 40,000 Palestinians, with around 92,000 injured. An astounding 1 in every 17 people in Gaza has now been killed or wounded in just over 10 months, with every single person affected.
Tens of thousands more people have been ordered to move yet again over the past few days, with the Israeli military herding people into small areas that are now extremely overcrowded and rife with starvation and disease. Many families have now been displaced 9 or 10 times over the past 10 months and the amount of aid being allowed into Gaza has reduced to little more than a trickle.
The international community has completely failed the people of Gaza. World leaders must use all the pressure they can to demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to the constant forced displacement and attacks on fleeing civilians, and ensure accountability for such actions.
Please help us to continue our vital work supporting people in desperate need in Gaza, donate now.