A NEW CONSCIOUSNESS: Gazans killed will pass the 180,000 mark.

A man is not hurt so much by what happens, as by his opinion of what happens. – Michel de Montaigne

A recent report by the Lancet Group estimates that up to 186 000 deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza – 8% of the total population.  (please pause, reflect, and read that again). 

This season demands of the church to become the visible and tangible tears of a compassionate God as He, and we, behold a community in ruins.  The people of Gaza have been relentlessly and mercilessly robbed of dignity;  deprived of all basic resources, dehumanised, and savagely killed.  It is time for Christians in the West to stand up and speak out.  Silence is complicity.  We need to shred ourselves of opinions and alliances, and start revealing the heart of a compassionate God; to weep with those who weep and embrace a theology of tears.  Like the Psalmist of old (Psalm 142:4) Gazans are crying out:  Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.

So, where do we start?

With FACTUAL and TRUTHFUL information.  Addressing the current situation in Gaza with integrity and transparency has become one of the major obstacles in seeking and finding truth.  Too many social media pundits with little insight but elaborate opinions are obscuring the reality of what is actually  happening.  Sadly, many Christians have also crossed the line between conviction and compassion.  The geographical, religious and political position of the nation of Israel, has placed the lives of thousands into oblivion.

The first departure point therefore, to any informed argument, should not be political, religious or geographical but substantial, proven and factual information.

So, to eliminate any further confusion, let’s turn to one of the oldest and most respected sources available in this regard:  THE LANCET GROUP.

The Lancet Group is a world-leading general medical journal that takes a neutral position with respect to territorial claims in published text and institutional affiliations.  Lancet journals have extensive global reach with more than 36 million annual visits and 108 million downloaded articles.  With over 180 000 annual mentions in news articles, research published in Lancet journals receives regular coverage in influential media such as the Associated Press, BBC, CNN, Financial Times, The Guardian, The New York Times, NPR, and The Washington Post.

In an article on July 05, 2024 published by the Lancet Group and written by Martin McKee, Rasha Khatib and Salim Yusuf, some staggering statistics were revealed.  Even though the official number of Gazans that have been killed as of 29 June 2024 stood on 37 396 people,  the numbers were far more understated than what seemed to be the case.

The authors of the article made special notice of the fact that collecting data has become increasingly difficult due to the destruction of much of the infrastructure.  The Gazan health ministry had to extend its usual reporting, based on people dying in its hospitals or brought in dead, with information from reliable media sources and first responders.  Even though some officials and news agencies have used this development, designed to improve data quality, to undermine the veracity of the data, the number of reported deaths is still likely to be an underestimate.

Furthermore, the UN estimates that, by Feb 29, 2024, 35% of buildings in the Gaza Strip had been destroyed,  so the number of bodies still buried in the rubble is likely substantial, with estimates of more than 10 000.  Today this number could most probably be quadrupled with more than 3 out of every 4 buildings being destroyed or damaged:

• 80% of commercial facilities
• 88% of school buildings
• 15 out of 35 hospitals are partially functioning
• 65% of road networks
• 267 places of worship

The Lancet Group reports as follows:

“Armed conflicts have indirect health implications beyond the direct harm from violence. Even if the conflict ends immediately, there will continue to be many indirect deaths in the coming months and years from causes such as reproductive, communicable, and non-communicable diseases. The total death toll is expected to be large given the intensity of this conflict; destroyed health-care infrastructure; severe shortages of food, water, and shelter; the population’s inability to flee to safe places; and the loss of funding to UNRWA, one of the very few humanitarian organisations still active in the Gaza Strip.

In recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from 3 to 15 times the number of direct deaths. Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37 396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Using the 2022 Gaza Strip population estimate of 2 375 259, this would translate to 8% of the total population in the Gaza Strip.”

FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

Our duty as Christians is, was, and always will be to seek the vulnerable, strengthen the weak, comfort the brokenhearted and show solidarity with the disadvantaged.  Isaiah 61 is the telling consecration of every follower of Christ:  … to proclaim good news to the poor… to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and to provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

No, as followers of Christ our mandate is not to swear allegiance to a nation but allegiance to a Kingdom:  A Kingdom that mourns the injustice of thousands – including those who died on 7 October in Israel – with a King that weeps for every soul that leaves earth without hearing the good news of salvation.

As believers – just like Jesus did – we need to keep on advocating on their behalf.  When Jesus entered the region of the Gerasenes (Mark 5), He didn’t go to the temple but He entered the tombs.  He didn’t visit the dignitaries, but He stopped at the demon possessed.  He didn’t teach the crowds but He touched the individuals.

Oh, may God have mercy on us.  As Christians, we need to reignite a Christian consciousness in order to reflect a Christ that came to redeem, rescue and release.

Benedictine Sister Macrina Wiederkehr (1939–2020) suggests a series of questions for a daily “Examen of Consciousness”:

• Have the ears of my heart opened to the voice of God?
• Have the ears of my heart opened to the needs of my sisters and brothers?
• Have the eyes of my heart beheld the Divine face in all created things?
• What do I know, but live as though I do not know?…
• Is there anyone, including myself, whom I need to forgive?
• When did I experience my heart opening wide today?…
• What is the one thing in my life that is standing on tiptoe crying, “May I have your attention please?”
• What needs my attention?

SOURCE

• https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext#articleInformation
• https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker