Netizens say the struggle for Palestine ‘will not stop’ amid ceasefire in Gaza
Prominent voices from within Gaza and abroad expressed both hope and scepticism that the step would ease people's suffering.
Saleh Al-Jafarawi, the Gazan journalist known for going viral trying to make kids smile amid the horrors of war, was killed on Sunday in clashes in Gaza. It is being reported that his killers allegedly belonged to Israel-backed militia groups. Al-Jafarawi’s death has sent shockwaves across the internet, as friends, followers and supporters from within Palestine and abroad mourned the loss of a powerful voice.
Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a former legislator and the head of Pakistan’s delegation aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, announced the journalist’s death on X, saying, “[A] militia collaborating with Israel has silenced another Gazan voice forever.”
Indian journalist Mohammed Zubair shared a video of Al-Jafarawi playing with a baby who survived Israeli airstrikes. He laid the blame for his fellow journalist’s death squarely on Israel.
Laila Al-Arian, executive producer of Al Jazeera’s investigative journalism programme Fault Lines, shared the same clip and echoed Senator Khan’s claim that an Israel-backed militia killed Al-Jafarawi.
Author Fatima Bhutto said she was “numb with shock”. “They are showing us the next stage of their satanic plan — to arm thugs to do their killing for them. They are insatiable murderers, but they can never win,” she wrote.
Author Remi Kanazi shared a clip of the journalist announcing the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, lamenting the cruelty of the world, saying there was “no rest” and “no reprieve” for the people of Gaza.
Actor Zara Tareen said in an Instagram post that the fight wasn’t just about freeing Palestine anymore, it was about freeing humanity. She said there was only one right side in all of this.
Palestinian musician Nemahsis questioned why Al-Jafarawi had been killed if the genocide was truly over.
Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary and Palestinian-American businessman Mohamed Hadid, father of models Gigi and Bella Hadid, expressed their grief at the journalist’s death on Instagram stories.
Al Jafarawi’s Palestinian colleagues, Motaz Azaiza, Plestia Alaqad and Wael Al Dahdouh prayed for his soul upon hearing of his passing.
A prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel is currently ongoing as Palestinians released from Israeli prisons recount the dire conditions they’d been kept in. A peace summit is set to be hosted in Egypt, with US President Donald Trump, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the list of prominent leaders attending the event. Israel, Hamas and Iran have chosen to skip the moot.
Israel’s war on Gaza, which continued for two years from October 7, 2023, killed over 67,000 Palestinians in various violent acts as well as through starvation from a complete blockade enforced by the Israeli military.
Cover photo: Wael Al Dahdouh/Instagram