By Hiba Morad
Surrounded by debris of buildings destroyed in the Israeli regime’s shelling in the besieged Gaza Strip, Palestinian journalist Maha Shahwan said she and other Gazans might be killed any time but they stand firmly behind the resistance movement fighting the apartheid regime.
Speaking to the Press TV website, Shahwan said they are “willing to give up everything” for the Palestinian cause and for the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which has been repeatedly desecrated by Israeli settlers in recent months and was one of the triggers for the ‘Al-Aqsa Storm’ operation.
Since the operation was launched in the early hours of Saturday, more than a thousand Israeli regime soldiers and settlers have been killed and hundreds more are held as prisoners of war in Gaza.
The Israeli warplanes, in a knee-jerk reaction, have been indiscriminately pounding the civilian areas in the coastal strip, resulting in the killing of hundreds of civilians, mostly women and children.
The regime has also intensified its crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip, denying them basic supplies as well as water, gas and electricity, according to Palestinian media reports.
Press TV website spoke to several Palestinian journalists and activists in the besieged strip, who described the horror they are living and their unwavering determination to back the resistance.
“We are expecting death any moment amid the Israeli savageness and indiscriminate bombardment, our loved ones, family members, and friends are being killed here and there across Gaza,” said Shahwan.
“But the Israeli regime and its supporters must know that we are willing to give up everything, even our lives for the sake of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the cause of Palestine.”
Mohammad Atallah, a Gaza-based journalist, echoed the same sentiment in a conversation with the Press TV website, saying desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is unacceptable to Palestinians.
“This is something Israelis probably do not understand. Palestinians consider Al-Aqsa mosque as part of their sanctities, and sanctities are part of their belief and creeds,” he emphasized.
“This is not something we will ever be willing to give up on and this is what makes all Palestinians stand behind the resistance and support it unconditionally.”
Less than five minutes of sleep
On the situation inside the Gaza Strip amid the Israeli bombardment, Shahwan said the ear-splitting sound of shelling has kept them awake all these days and nights, but they aren’t afraid.
“I can tell you that we are able to sleep no longer than five minutes and the sound of explosions that take place literally in every street and every alley across the strip are keeping us awake,” she said.
“Internet connection is very weak and limited, electricity cuts reach up to 21 hours per day, so we only have power for 3 hours and scarce water supply,” she said with the sound of explosions in the background.
“So you see you can also hear the explosions as we speak, this is how it has been here,” she added, as the sound of explosions hitting residential buildings got louder.
Israeli strikes across Gaza have led to hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries to civilians.
According to Palestinian reports, the death toll in the Gaza Strip since Saturday has reached the 1,000 mark, with more than 250 of them being children, pointing to the Israeli savagery.
The Israeli assault on Al-Aqsa mosque before the resistance launched the operation was what angered and hurt all Palestinians, Shahwan noted, sounding furious.
“We will stand up for ourselves, young and old, armed and disarmed, fighters and civilians, and there is no room to surrender or retreat.”
Stronger and resolute
Touching on the role of the Palestinian resistance and the operations it has carried out, the Gaza-based journalist said all Palestinians are proud of the “mujahideen” as they resist the occupiers and usurpers.
“We are proud of the resistance and its operations against the Israeli occupying forces. It is true that the Palestinian resistance always surprises us with new moves, but this was unexpected,” she said in a detailed conversation with the Press TV website.
“To see our resistance fighters on occupied land, infiltrating and taking control of illegal settlements, engage with Israeli soldiers on the ground, take them as prisoners, and the images of hundreds of Israeli soldiers and settlers running away is unprecedented in the history of occupied Palestine.”
Shahwan described how the people of Gaza used to feel left out and abandoned most of the time, with little support from the outside world.
“This courage and resistance of our Palestinian fighters made us grow stronger again,” she exclaimed.
Speaking to the Press TV website, the editor of Quds News Network Youssef Abu Watfa pointed out differences in ethics at war that the Palestinian resistance and Israeli occupation army show.
“While Palestinian resistance fighters refuse to harm Israeli children and women, Israel has been randomly targeting houses, mosques, schools, residential and administrative towers, residential compounds and infrastructure, with videos showing children and babies killed in Israeli strikes,” she said.
“This is the difference between Muslim Palestinians and Zionist Israelis. We keep our ethics at war because our background is Islam; a religion of humanity and mercy.”
Painful scenarios on the ground
Youssef, who is also a photographer, said the scenes on the ground are very graphic and painful.
“There were dismantled body parts in the middle of the rubble as we were trying to save the victims of the Israeli airstrikes and pull out the corpses of the martyrs,” he told the Press TV website.
“You cannot but shed tears at the sight of tiny bodies covered with blood and dirt.”
Palestinian journalist Mohammad Atallah also maintained that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating due to non-stop Israeli bombardment across the coastal strip.
“Many Palestinians, especially women and children, rushed to UNURWA buildings which they thought could be a safe place for them. However, one of these buildings, a UNURWA school, was also hit by Israeli missiles,” Mohammad said over the phone as sounds of explosions echoed in the background.
“What we see on the ground is unbelievable. Civil defense and rescue teams have been working 24/7 since the first day of the war to pull survivors and dead civilians from under the rubble.”
According to Gazans who spoke to the Press TV website, Palestinians there are being randomly bombarded, with children and infants being among the casualties, dying under the piles of rubble as Israeli warplanes level entire residential compounds to the ground such as the al-Rimal neighborhood.
Hospitals in the besieged strip are packed with injured Palestinians and bodies of martyrs.
“A friend of mine, who is a surgeon at al-Shifaa Hospital, told me that last night more than 250 injured Palestinians arrived at the hospital at once and that ambulances are also targeted by Israeli warplanes,” Mohammad told the Press TV website.
He said hospitals lack the capacity as there is already a shortage of equipment and medicine and medical staff due to the ongoing siege on the Gaza Strip that the Israeli regime has imposed for years.
“Whatever it takes, we shall continue to resist because this movement is just,” he hastened to add.
