https://arab.news/c494t
- Malala’s statement comes after Israeli airstrike on hospital in Gaza City killed some 500 Palestinians on Tuesday
- Malala has in the past often spoken in support of Palestinians’ right of self-determination and against Israeli occupation
ISLAMABAD: Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai on Wednesday said she was directing $300,000 to charities working to help Palestinians in an escalating conflict since Oct. 7 when Israel launched an unrelenting bombing campaign on the occupied enclave.
Malala’s statement comes after an Israeli airstrike on a hospital in Gaza City killed some 500 Palestinians on Tuesday. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has described the attack as an “indefensible act of inhumanity” and urged the international community to take swift action to end the violence.
“I am here to add my voice to those from Palestine, Israel, and around the world crying out for peace. Collective punishment is not the answer,” Malala said in a video statement, reminding the world that half of Gaza’s population was under 18 years old.
“They should not be forced to live their entire lives under bombing and an unjust occupation. I am directing $300,000 to charities working to help Palestinian children and people in danger.”
Malala urged everyone watching her video to donate to organizations providing humanitarian aid and work together to push world leaders to ensure “an immediate cease-fire and an enduring peace.”
Malala has in the past often spoken in support of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and against Israeli occupation and military violence.
Tuesday’s airstrike on the hospital is the deadliest single incident since Israel launched an unrelenting bombing campaign on the occupied enclave on Oct. 7 in what it calls retaliation against a cross-border rampage by Hamas, which rules Gaza, against communities in southern Israel in which at least 1,300 people died.
Before Tuesday’s blast, health authorities in Gaza said at least 3,000 people had been killed in Israel’s 11-day bombardment that began after the Oct. 7 assault.