Support for Palestine has increased in many countries, and history will no longer be kind to Israel, writes Ahmed Alnaouq. [GETTY]
As I listened to the announcement of the ceasefire deal in Doha—that Hamas and Israel had finally agreed to a truce to end the 15-month-long genocide against the Palestinian people—I felt huge sense of relief and disbelief. Deep down, I thought: Gaza has won! Yes, Gaza has emerged victorious, and Israel has been defeated. Some might think this perspective is unrealistic or overly optimistic coming from someone living in London, who is far removed from the scale of tragedy and horror the Palestinians have endured over the past year, but I don’t think I am.
Firstly, I am Palestinian. I was raised in Gaza, and I know exactly what has happened to my beloved home. I have lived through many wars in Gaza, endured the blockade, and experienced profound personal loss. I lost a brother in the 2014 war, and I lost my mother due to Israeli-imposed restrictions that prevented her from accessing treatment outside Gaza. In this most recent genocide, I lost the vast majority of my immediate family: my father, two brothers, three sisters, and all their children—21 loved ones—all killed in my home in just one minute.
Since then, I have lost other relatives, friends, and neighbours—so many that I stopped counting. I also lost my home.
In exile, I have endured unimaginable pain, threats, and smear campaigns against me by the Israel lobby in the UK. And yet, I remain deeply connected to Gaza and fully aware of the tragedy that has unfolded there. I have spoken relentlessly about it in the media and on my podcast, Palestine Deep Dive. I have described this genocide as the second Nakba, even going so far as to say that it is worse than the Nakba of 1948. I have referred to it as the most documented and live-streamed genocide in history, where tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians—women, children, and the elderly—were slaughtered and butchered on camera for the world to see.
Babies were shredded, beheaded, and terrorised. Tens of children starved to death. Millions of people were displaced, left to freeze in the cold of winter or burn under the scorching summer sun. We witnessed footage of people being buried alive, children with their heads ripped off, women humiliated and abused, and even prisoners raped to death. These have been fifteen months of horror, of unprecedented suffering and terrorism unleashed upon the impoverished, besieged, and displaced population of Gaza.
And despite all of this, I still believe that we have won—not because we suffered less than the Israelis or because the Israeli army is now weakened or destroyed, rather we have won because we have not been defeated.
When Israel started its genocide against my people, they declared some objectives and kept others hidden—which I believe were the true aims of the war. Israel stated that their goals were to destroy Hamas and its military wing, remove them from power, and release the hostages by force—meaning they would not agree to a prisoner swap deal. But their actual wider objectives were to reshape the map of Gaza, ethnically cleanse the people from the north of the Gaza Valley, and if possible drive all Gazans into the Sinai desert for good.
Another objective was to severely punish Gaza over Hamas’ actions on October 7.
They failed to achieve their declared objectives: we did not go to the Sinai, they did not build settlements in the north of Gaza, and they could not force their hostages out of Hamas’ grip even after over fifteen months of genocide.
It is true that the Israeli army achieved one of its objectives—punishing the people, inflicting as much suffering as possible, and destroying the entirety of Gaza’s infrastructure. But in doing so, Israel has made itself a pariah state, exposing its own brutality, savagery, and barbarism.
The Israeli army exaggerated its revenge to such a degree that it turned against their own interests. Now, the entire world has seen Israel’s capacity for pure evil and terrorism. No one can call Israel “the only democracy in the Middle East” anymore, and no one can claim the Israeli army is “the most moral army in the world.”
Israel is now under investigation for genocide and war crimes. Netanyahu and Gallant are wanted by the ICC for committing war crimes. Israeli soldiers are being prosecuted in international courts and fear traveling. Every day, more activists and prominent journalists join the Palestine solidarity movement.
Palestinian flags are seen on streets across Europe and the US, and protests have not stopped. The Palestinian movement has captured the hearts of students at the world’s leading universities and sparked encampments and activism around the globe.
Indeed, support for Palestine has increased in many countries, and history will no longer be kind to Israel.
Moreover, we are witnessing the collapse of the myth of Western hegemony over morality and human rights. Gaza has exposed the mainstream media’s bias, complicity, sheer racism, and cover-up of Israeli genocide. Some of the most powerful world leaders like ‘genocide Joe’ will never escape their legacy of enabling Israel’s crimes.
Most importantly, we are seeing increasing levels of consciousness and calls for justice in the West. Every day, we hear about the launch of new media outlets, watchdog groups, human rights organisations, and lobbying groups that are centring the Palestinian cause.
All of these achievements have come at a huge price – paid in the blood of my family and my people. But their death won’t have been for nothing, their sacrifice will serve the greater good of all humanity, not only Gaza.
I don’t seek to romanticise the future; Palestinians in Gaza will continue to suffer for many years until Gaza is rebuilt and the killing truly ends. In the meantime, international support for Palestinians must continue, and a united front must be rallied to apply the pressure needed to force Israel to fulfil its obligations under international law, respect the ceasefire deal, and to bring justice as well as an end to the occupation.
Ahmed Alnaouq is the co-founder and director of We Are Not Numbers. He has a Master’s degree in international journalism from Leeds University. He hosts a podcast at Palestine Deep Dive.
Follow him on Twitter: @AlnaouqA
Have questions or comments? Email us at: [email protected].
Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.
