Al-Shifa reminds that Gaza is not fighting a genocidal enemy in spite of its survival, but for its survival. Al-Shifa reminds that dropping one’s arms in the face of genocide does not expedite its end but fashions grounds for the more leisurely genocide Israel is looking for… Israel would rather carry out the genocide without the nuisance of improvised devices and Kalashnikovs.
“…the disbelievers would dearly like you to be heedless of your weapons and baggage, in order for them to take you in a single assault…”[1]
An eerie twilight cast over the war-torn streets of Gaza City. The bustling thoroughfares were now quiet, save for the distant rumble of Zionist military vehicles prowling the outskirts. The IDF marauders had at long last departed from the grounds of Al-Shifa Hospital complex.
The scene was one of total destruction, as described by Mohammed Mahdi, one of the returning residents,[2] recounting the charred remains of several buildings and the sense of desolation that pervaded the hospital grounds.
The stench of death hung heavy in the air, mingling with the acrid scent of smoke and burning debris. The ground was littered with twisted metal and shattered glass, the remnants of the Israeli raid that had torn through the hospital.
The largest medical complex in Gaza that once boasted an imposing façade, optimistically called ‘the Cure,’ was decimated. Its grounds, to where thousands camped in hopeful search for refuge had become a mass graveyard. Medical teams, their faces drawn with exhaustion and grief, worked tirelessly under the harsh glow of floodlights, their hands caked with dirt as they unearthed scores of bodies, each bearing the unmistakable signs of execution. Some were patients, still bearing their bandages, and others, catheters.[3] Just days later, hundreds of bodies were likewise uncovered from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, including elderly men, women and young men.[4] These were the latest victims of Israel’s irritated bloodlust and insatiable thirst for annihilating hospitals.
Al-Shifa has shattered the veneer of the fascist entity. The halls of healing testify to its savagery, where doctors and patients alike fell victim to intentional execution. Their crime; providing solace amidst the man-made famine, and premeditated genocide. Their feeble attempt to justify the massacre with CGI footage of ‘military installations’ was exposed as a brazen forgery,[5] a desperate ploy to deflect attention from their savagery.
The massacre at Al-Shifa was never about weapons or military installations; it was about the ruthless extermination of a resistive population. After all, there are no civilians in Gaza, according to Zionist President Hertzog – only targets.[6] They are instead, a nation of human shields, according to these fascists. ‘Shields’ and targets, at the same time. They are the willing accomplices in their own demise.
Al-Shifa reminds that Gaza is not fighting a genocidal enemy in spite of its survival, but for its survival. Al-Shifa reminds that dropping one’s arms in the face of genocide does not expedite its end, as claimed by the sycophantic pro-Zionist liars, but fashions grounds for the more leisurely genocide Israel is looking for. Let us say it plainly, Israel would rather carry out the genocide without the nuisance of improvised devices and Kalashnikovs.
Were there really a Kalashnikov under the incubator, would the Zionist coward have dared to kill the child?
Sabra and Shatila Speaks
“If Hamas surrender, the war will end tomorrow…”[7] – Eylon Levi – Former Israeli Government Spokesman.
Sabra and Shatila’s scars of 1982 remind that in the crucible of Israeli onslaughts, the decision to disarm becomes fatal naivety.
As Israeli forces closed in on Beirut, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was pressed by the US, in what reflects its contemporary coercion tactics with Gaza, to evacuate its combatants from the besieged city. A ‘Multinational Force’ was set up to ostensibly provide security for the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
Under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, the PLO dispersed, surrendered, gullible to the promise of an end to war. Israeli control tightened around West Beirut, including the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. The suffocating siege killed thousands, 80% of whom were civilians.[8]
In the wake of the assassination of Lebanese President-elect Bashir Gemayel, a staunch ally of the Phalangist militia, Israel, breaking the terms of the US brokered ceasefire, invaded Western Beirut, opening the floodgates for the Phalangists to enter the refugee camps. Some 3,500 Palestinians were slaughtered… Today the US repeats the same ‘Multinational Force’, post-Hamas jest with Gaza[9] – no thank you.
Srebrenica Recounts
During the Bosnian War in July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, attacked the UN-declared ‘safe area’ of Srebrenica, which was supposed to be protected by, you guessed it, peacekeeping forces.
Prior to the massacre, Bosnian Serb forces, who were besieging the town, assured the Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) population that they would be safe if they surrendered and sought refuge in the UN-designated safe area – the same old story.
However, once the Bosnian Serb forces entered Srebrenica, they proceeded to separate men and boys from women and children. In the following days, more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were systematically killed by Bosnian Serb forces in what became the Srebrenica Genocide, as recognized by international courts. These were the worst mass killings on European soil since World War II.
Gaza Knows that Bravery does not Kill, nor does Cowardice Prolong One’s Life
“A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. It seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.”[10]
-William Shakespeare
Amidst the unfolding genocide in Gaza, many bystanders have already succumbed to psychological defeatism, circulating the absurd idea that resistance is what bears the culpability for the death and suffering endured by Gaza.
To deal with this mythical notion, consider, a story that occupies just half a verse. The Qur’an recounts the account of a huge group of people, numbering in their thousands, who once fled imminent death, abandoning their city. Exegetes say this was likely due to an encroaching adversary, unspecified in the Qur’an, such as plague, famine, or war.
As they fled, Allah decreed, “Die,” and they perished en masse:
“[Prophet], consider those people who abandoned their homeland in fear of death, even though there were thousands of them. God said to them, ‘Die!’ and then brought them back to life again; God shows real favour to people, but most of them are ungrateful.”[11]
Then, miraculously, Allah granted them a second lease on life. This profound experience underscored that death lies not in the hands of their adversaries but in the providence of their Creator. Life is not preserved through flight but by the decree of Allah. The narrative concludes with a reminder of Allah’s boundless benevolence toward humanity, despite their ingratitude.
The significance of this narrative, however, lies in the divine exhortation that immediately follows, urging the believers to fight for Allah’s cause, knowing that He hears, sees, and comprehends our circumstances. This is to tell us that though one associates fighting or resistance with death, it is Allah Who ultimately brings life and death, even if one exhausts every avenue to extend their life or otherwise:
“Fight in God’s cause and remember that He is all hearing and all knowing.”[12]
While the genocidal entity undoubtedly bears culpability for its heinous crimes, it is crucial to recognize that its murderous campaign only claims those whom Allah has preordained to leave the world. Surrendering would not prevent those whom Allah has destined to depart from death. In fact, the Qur’an asserts fighting as a cause for ending oppression, and oppression is an evident catalyst of suffering and death:
“Why should you not fight in God’s cause and for those oppressed men, women, and children who cry out, ‘Lord, rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors! By Your grace, give us a protector and give us a helper!’?”[13]
And in another, Allah says:
“Fight them until there is no more persecution, and worship is devoted to God. If they cease hostilities, there can be no [further] hostility, except towards aggressors.”[14]
Up to the verse:
“Spend in God’s cause[15]: do not contribute to your destruction with your own hands, but do good, for God loves those who do good.”[16]
This is to say that surrender, submission, and docility are, in the face of a morally bankrupt enemy, an invitation to murder and destruction by one’s own hands and choosing.
Instead of blaming the Gazans for causing death by applying the biological, moral, and societal imperative of armed resistance to genocide, blame them for desiring to live dignified. Blame them for refusing to lick the boots of their oppressors.
Blame them for wanting to live as lions. The lion, though arguably the most perilous animal, has no predator! While the innocuous, docile, amicable sheep enjoys being the prey to almost everything else.
If you choose to lower your head before a genocidal entity, prepare to lose it. Gaza has chosen to resist.
References:
[1] Qur’an 4:102
[2] https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/4/1/the-destruction-of-gazas-al-shifa-hospital
[5] https://www.democracynow.org/2023/11/20/muhammad_shehada
[6] https://thewire.in/world/northern-gaza-israel-palestine-conflict
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irAtxi1P8EM
[10] William Shakespeare’s – Julius Ceasar
[11] Qur’an 2:243
[12] Qur’an 2:244
[13] Qur’an 4:75
[14] Qur’an 2:193
[15] Exegetes including al-Tabari note that spending in the way of Allah here refers specifically to military spending.
[16] Qur’an 2:195
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