Israel denied two critically injured journalists to leave Gaza for life-saving treatments. Fadi Al-Wahidi and Ali Attar, two injured cameramen of Al-Jazeera TV, are fighting for their lives after they received serious injuries that required treatment outside Gaza. Israel refused repeated requests by Al-Jazeera and human rights groups to grant the journalists an urgent medical travel permit without offering a reason.
Now, the family of journalist Fadi Al-Wahidi has entered an open hunger strike to protest Israel's denial of his right to travel for treatment. His cancer-stricken mother made a passionate appeal for help to all news organizations, human rights groups, and public officials. She stated that she would take part in the hunger strike.
Under the rules of war and international humanitarian law, Israelis are obligated to treat the occupied people humanely and protect the wounded and the sick.
Both Fadi, 24, and Ali, 27, were intentionally targeted by the IOF while they were documenting the Israeli war crimes in Gaza. In addition, both journalists have the right to receive treatment.
Since October 7, the Israeli Death Forces (IDF) have killed at least 173 journalists in Gaza, but you wouldn’t know this shameful statistic by reading or watching U.S. mainstream media. At a time when there are so few journalists left in Gaza, the U.S. mainstream media has chosen to defend Crime Minister Netanyahu's genocidal policies, ignoring the assassination, torture, abduction, and detention of their colleagues in Gaza by Israel.
I should point out here that according to Wikipedia, "Journalists are supposed to gather information about the actions of people in government and inform the public to hold elected officials to account. I believe watchdog journalists are different from propagandist journalists in that they report from an independent, nongovernmental perspective."
Even sick children are not exempt from the IOF's cruel and unusual treatment. Case in point: last October, the IDF's HQ was lit up pink to commemorate #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth while 350 children among thousands of Gaza cancer patients were denied permission to get medical treatment abroad. Israel's excuse was for security reasons.
Take Action:
Concerned journalists, NGOs, and readers can help alleviate the suffering of Fadi and Ali by contacting the office of the PM of Israel office at @IsraeliPM and demanding that Israel allow Fadi and Ali to leave Gaza for life-saving medical treatment asap. You may also contact the nearest Israeli diplomatic post to your city.
Every person can make a difference, regardless of race, faith, age, or location. One person can make a difference in the world — but it’s not your job to change the world. It’s your job to stand up for justice because each of us can make a positive impact on the world around us.
Mahmoud El-Yousseph is a Palestinian freelancer for Islamicity.com, ColumbusFreePress.com, and The Ugly Truth.XYZ. He can be reached at elyousseph6@yahoo.com.