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South Africa – Dr Haidar Eid, who recently returned from Gaza to South Africa, is among those brave souls in Gaza who are exposing the harsh realities on the ground. In an interview with Salaamedia, he provides a sombre and heart-wrenching account of the plight of the Palestinians.
While Israeli forces claim to issue warnings before bombings, even designated safe zones and areas are not spared from their savagery. Dr Eid described entire residential areas, buildings and infrastructure in Gaza reduced to rubble to the extent that children, including his own, feared being trapped beneath it.
“Rubble is the most hated word in the Gaza Strip. My two little children kept saying to me, ‘We don’t want to be found dead under the rubble’.”
Dr Eid said that six out of the seven entry points in the area are controlled by Israel, rendering Gaza a kill box for the Israeli military. Despite the gradual inflow of humanitarian aid, the region still grapples with severe food, water, and electricity shortages.
“All seven crossings have been closed since day one … I remember spending nights crying because I couldn’t provide my two daughters with food. At night, they would say to me, ‘We are hungry’, and I wouldn’t be able to provide.”
During the course of Dr Eid’s interview, he received saddening news of a young girl who had died due to starvation.
“I’ve just received news … That a 14-year-old beautiful girl, who has just died. She has starved to death … I felt I had to tell you about her story because it tells you a lot about what is happening in Palestine. [Her] story is a microcosm of a much larger microcosm. She is Gaza, and Gaza is being starved to death by apartheid Israel.”
In concluding his testimony, Dr Eid criticised world governments and institutions for passively standing by and allowing these atrocities to persist. Simultaneously, he criticised the United States for consistently vetoing UN resolutions and supporting Palestinian genocide through arming Israel.
“The whole world is complicit, but the colonial West has been involved in the crimes against the Palestinians of Gaza … and all we ask for is fundamental basic human rights. Nothing less and nothing more.”
For months, the Israeli government and its Western allies have declared that their efforts in the Gaza Strip aim to eliminate Hamas with minimal destruction and civilian casualties.
However, at the onset of the conflict, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a forceful retaliation, with an IDF Spokesperson emphasising a focus on “damage and not precision.”
Subsequently, they have killed, displaced and committed acts of terror. They have violated international law by using white phosphorus weapons against Palestinian civilians. Israeli airstrikes also attacked densely populated schools, hospitals, and refugee camps housing Palestinians.
Despite the Israeli government’s attempts to maintain a narrative of denial, condescension, and gaslighting, the truth continues to emerge through accounts from civilians, doctors, and journalists on the ground, individuals who have not been targeted or killed yet.
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South Africa’s Moral Obligation
The scenes unfolding in the occupied Palestinian territories bear a striking resemblance to the historical horrors inflicted by the Apartheid government on non-white South Africans. Consequently, we, as a nation, have internalised and highlighted the pain, agony, and suffering experienced by the Palestinians.
Across racial, cultural, and religious divides, there has been a unification in our collective plea for decisive action against apartheid Israel. The South African government responded affirmatively by severing diplomatic ties with them.
Despite this condemnation and the referral of Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for an investigation into war crimes, Dr Eid asserts that South Africa has a moral imperative to do more. He contends that the country should assume a leadership role in a renewed anti-Apartheid movement in Palestine.
“South Africa has a hefty moral weight because of its history and legacy of activism and struggle against apartheid and white supremacy. It’s time for South Africa to take a much stronger stance against Israel and lead an anti-apartheid campaign against them.”
