“No more war… never again war” (Pope Leo XIV)
Blog by Dr. Toni Pyke
“No matter how scary it gets out there, don’t stop talking about Palestine. Don’t be buffooned into thinking that’s not right. Don’t be scared to think that it’s not OK.” (Grian Chatten, Fontaines DC)
Stark and brutal statistics stopped me in my tracks yesterday as I scrolled through my Instagram account. It made me cry. The image on the post is unforgettable as is the title: ‘Hopeless, starving, besieged’. There have been more than 600 days of non-stop bombardment, displacement and uncertainty in Gaza. An estimated 10% of the population has been killed, injured or are missing. Over 2 million displaced and 92% of housing units damaged or destroyed. A famine is looming.
I fail to understand how this real-life nightmare is allowed to continue.
No-one can claim that they do not know the reality on the ground for the people living in Gaza. We all have access to this ongoing, real-time and widely documented genocide. We’ve all seen the images of young children and babies crying for help under the rubble or trying to escape the fires. Some children in schools receive only minutes to vacate before Israeli soldiers and contractors bulldoze or burn down their school in front of their eyes. Are there any schools left? Then there are those who are starving to death as a result of the cruel and unnecessary prohibition by the government of Israel to facilitate access of food and basic needs into the area. This is without the many thousands of children and adults permanently wounded as a result of the bombardment from various military arsenal. Gaza has the worlds “largest cohort of child amputees in modern history” (OCHA). In January this year, Save the Children published a report revealing that some 15 children each day in 2024, experienced potentially lifelong disabilities. Compounding this suffering is that the only limb reconstruction and rehabilitation centre in Gaza hasn’t been able to operate since December 2023 given the lack of staff and availability of necessary supplies. That’s without the reality that there is no fully functioning hospital left in Gaza and those working for the health sector, as we have seen, are direct targets of the IDF. Doctors from across the world, including Ireland, are testament to this.
Last evening I attended the launch of a new book, Catastrophe: Nakba II by Fintan Drury, unveiled by the Ambassador of the State of Palestine in Ireland, Dr. Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid. It was here that I understood an additional sinister reality facing the people of Palestine. The scenes we see of Israeli forces and contractors erecting additional borders around Gaza is to keep the population contained. No-one can leave Gaza. It’s like one giant concentration camp.
This massacre must stop. Now.
“We cannot forget the brothers and sisters who suffer from wars. In Gaza, children, families, and elderly survivors are starving.” (Pope Leo XIV)
Many thousands of people across the world have taken to the streets demanding for an end to the onslaught, the release of hostages and a lasting, just peace for the people of Palestine. The Dominican Sisters Cabra once again took to the streets to demand peace as part of a national demonstration for Palestine on 17th May. The Tribunal for Gaza, an independent civil society initiative established as a “people’s tribunal,” is holding a four-day public assembly in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina to review and investigate reports, hear testimonies from witnesses and experts, and discuss a Draft Declaration. Many public figures are speaking out. While late in the day, some governments are finally beginning to speak out, although limited action is forthcoming. In Ireland, we are now close to facilitating the sought after Occupied Territories Bill, originally drafted by Senator Frances Black. While currently limited to a ban on imports that originate from the Palestinian Territories that are, under international law, illegally occupied by Israel. A ban on services, that would include corporations such as Airbnb (who bizarrely advertise ‘vacation rentals’ in the area), is yet to be agreed. While Ireland doesn’t necessarily trade much with the Occupied Territories, it is noteworthy that last year Ireland was the only state to review its Israel-EU trade agreement and today there are 19 member states seeking a review, along with the European Commission. There is of course a long way to go before the Bill would be passed, however, the wheels have been set in motion and the world knows that Ireland opposes this modern-day genocide.
The word ‘hopeless’ in the Instagram post noted above is understandable. How could one see hope in a hopeless situation, never knowing whether you will be alive tomorrow or even make it through today? Some of the young ‘influencers’ from Gaza that I used to follow are now dead. For example, young Yaqeen Hammad who posted survival tips for living in a war zone. She was only 11 years old. Or Medo Halimy a regular vlogger about daily life in Gaza. Both killed in airstrikes. Each day I check in on 11-year old Renad a young ‘chef’ and ‘youth ambassador’ and pray that the she has not become a statistic in Gaza’s rising death toll. I also follow updates from Father Gabriel Romanelli at Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza. Check out and follow his daily updates on Youtube and Instagram. And I write. I march. I speak out where I can. I will not be silent.
2025 is a Jubilee year of hope. Together we must all walk the pilgrim path for peace in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine and all the other active conflicts happening, right now, across the world. We must decide and act together to leave a world of peace for our future generations.
