South Africa – This morning, Dr Mads Gilberts touched down in South Africa for his eagerly anticipated Gaza Tour. His aim is to educate, raise awarness and dispel any misinformation currently being pushed out by the Israeli government about their genocide being carried out in Gaza.
Main Event: Lakewood Conference Centre
“We need to know the facts, we need to know the numbers and we need to confront our leaders with the numbers. One child is being killed every 10 minutes, around the clock; killing, killing, killing.We need action and we need solidarity.” – Dr Mads Gilbert
Dr Mads Gilbert showed the audience chilling visuals coming out of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Tens of thousands of displaced civilians are crammed in a strained hospital, with no electricity, water and very little food. Reminding them the true heroes are those medical personal still there, fighting to save lives while under bombardent with little to no resources.
“Doctors there are carrying our dignity on their shoulders because they are fighting for the value of every life in their community. The local Palestinian staff are the heroes who never give up, never give in.”
Gilbert – “What’s wrong with the media? Can’t they see the pattern? Can’t they see this is deliberate? They’ve been attacking healthcare, systematically, over the last forty years. Their goal, I think, is to pressure, scare and intimidate so much that they can push Palestinian people into Sinai and Jordan. It will never happen!”
Gilbert – “It took less than a week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine before Europe and the US imposed sanctions on Russia. These double standards are frightening because it shows us that the world is much more racist than we thought.”
Gilbert – “It’s not about Hamas, it’s about Palestinian resistance.The solidarity with Palestine is not a Muslim cause, not a Catholic cause. It is a human cause for everyone…. If you look at the number of hospitals over the last four weeks, we see day by day they are attacking more and more hospitals. It’s about attacking the social fabric of Palestinian society.”
– Shamima Kolia, humanitarian who works to deliver aid to Gaza, explained what a difficult process it can be to get aid into Gaza because of the Israeli government.
“The only way to get aid into Gaza right now is through Egypt. 30km away from the Rafah border is a town (el-ʻArīsh) housing enough aid to go into Gaza. At the moment, there seems to be a bit of a backlog… Every truck of aid that enters into Gaza has to be checked by Israel. They tell us what can go in and based on what they allow in is what goes in. We get an updated list every day from the healthy ministry in Gaza, telling us what they need. We’ve sent in medical equipment, medicine and food, but it’s unpredictable. Yesterday, zero trucks went in.”
– Naazim Adam, from the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance, called for people to continue boycott Zionist companies and companies that aid Israel.
“We in the BDS movement have identified a number of campaigns which we are recognising and supporting. For example, a campaign to picket after Africa Padel in Sandton… It is not acceptable that in a democratic free SA there are people who promote racism. The Zionist state is nothing but a dictatorship of the Netanyahu clan. There is no space for anyone to say they support this in a free SA. “
– Mametlwe Sebei, president of the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA).
“When Israel says they want to destroy Hamas, the reality is that objective itself at this point is nothing short of Holocaust in Palestine. We have got to call it for what it is…. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) are the people who supported Israel as it was arming SA to develop a nuclear bomb. Who do you think a nuclear bomb was aimed for? It was aimed at you!”
“This is the biggest crime since the Holocaust. I come from a Jewish background and I can tell you how insidious these people can be. This is horrendous, it’s ethnic cleansing, it’s genocide, it’s murder.” – Former South African intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils
Kasrils: “How is it that the world came down on apartheid South Africa, but today they still allow Israel the green light to do what Israel wants? The US, the leading butcher in the world, and the others give the green light… Zionism is like Afrikaner nationalism, it’s extremism. “
– Inayet Wadee, Salaamedia presentor and host, started the event by reminding everyone of the atrocities being carried out in Gaza at this very moment.
“This is a distressing reality where children, women, civilians, homes and hospitals have all become deliberate targets by employing the most lethal weapons that an army can possess… Gaza is being transformed from a concentration camp into an extermination camp. We see this carnage unfolding with arrogance. No adjectives are sufficient to describe this horror of all horrors. “
Dr Mads Gilbert with the Salaamedia team
Dr Mads Gilbert interview with SABC
Dr Gilbert passionately implores Western leaders, directly calling out President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urgently pleading for an immediate end to the heart-wrenching massacre of the Palestinian people.
“This is not a difficult conflict. This is a difficult illegal occupation.”
“What Israel is doing in Palestine is to occupy, expand the occupation year by year, new settlements, new colonies and it is to deprive the Palestinian people of any decent human rights. They are treated like not second hand but fifth hand citizens.”
Dr Mads Gilbert speaks to Sophie Mokoena, Foreign Editor for SABC, on what he has heard from his colleagues in Shifa Hospital. He also dispels the rumours of Hamas having a command centre inside the hospital.
Dr Mads Gilbert interview at eNCA
Dr Mads Gilbert speaking to Tumelo Mothotoane on how Israel has targeted the Gaza healthcare system.
“They are systematically going after healthcare. This is nothing new and Shifa is nothing new to them. They didn’t need the excuse of a Hamas command centre to bomb the Turkish Cancer Hospital, Oncology centre, the eye hospital, the psychiatric hospital, Al Quds Hospital. It has been a systematical all out war on the heathcare system in Gaza.” – Dr Mads Gilbert with Tumelo Mothotoane on eNCA
Dr Mads Gilbert’s first words after touching down in South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport
Dr Mads Gilbert speaking about Shifa Hospital and it being stormed by the Israeli Occupation Forces.
Dr Mads Gilbert has arrived to South Africa ready to travel across the country to reveal the true reality of what’s happening in Gaza
