The 130th day has elapsed since the ongoing genocide in Palestine. When describing one of the greatest atrocities in human history, enumerating casualties can normalize the deaths. Therefore, I do not want to speak of Palestinian martyrs as a mere total.
Each casualty individually affects our hearts, but unfortunately, there is no other way to convey the magnitude of the massacre.
In 122 days, 27,365 people have been martyred in the Gaza Strip, with over 11,500 of them being children. Approximately 8,000 Palestinians are missing, their whereabouts unknown. The number of injured stands at 66,630, including 8,663 children. According to figures released by the United Nations, since Oct. 7, the count of orphaned and destitute children has surpassed 17,000. The Israeli airstrikes have devastated over 70,000 buildings in the Gaza Strip.
Israel, initiating a massacre in the northern Gaza Strip after Oct. 7, compelled the Gazan population to migrate southward to the city of Rafah near the Egyptian border, by promising them safety. However, as the people of Gaza moved southward, the Israeli administration expanded its occupation into those regions. By the end of December, 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million population had been displaced for the third or fourth time.
Recently, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that they will target Rafah. In other words, Israel, having already confined Palestinians to Rafah, did not hesitate to publicly declare on Thursday that it will conduct a mass massacre by bombing that region.
It cannot be said that the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) ruling on Israel regarding taking measures to prevent genocide against the Palestinians and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza has had a significant impact on Tel Aviv. On the contrary, it has intensified the violence of the massacre through military operations and started using political pressure tools on Western countries. Last week, 12 countries announced the withdrawal of their support for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), which provides assistance to Palestinian refugees.
While Israel issues international threats, stating that the war will not end until UNRWA is completely dissolved, the United States, which provided the highest donation of $343.9 million to UNRWA in 2022, has once again demonstrated its support to Israel by becoming the first country to cut off its donation. As of last week, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria and Romania have also ceased financial support to the U.N. agency responsible for aiding Palestinians.
The European Commission, on the other hand, announced that funding for UNRWA will not be provided until the end of February and will be reassessed thereafter. Only three Western countries have opposed this decision. Spain, Ireland and Norway courageously declared their official commitment to continue financial support, emphasizing the critical role of UNRWA in delivering food and in-kind assistance to Palestine
Palestine finds itself increasingly isolated as global public backlash against Israel intensifies, yet the diplomatic isolation of Palestinians persists among nations. On top of occupation, relentless airstrikes and bombardments, any potential source of aid to Palestinians, who have been grappling with hunger, thirst and cold for an extended period, is being cut off.
In this critical period, it is our responsibility to resist the normalization and trivialization of the genocide and massacre occurring in Palestine, affirming to the Palestinians that they are not alone.
To forget Gaza is a betrayal of humanity.
