“STATISTICS IN GAZA DON’T BLEED” – Think again

“Statistics don’t bleed”, or at least, so the saying goes.  This is the sad reality of Gaza today.  For many Western observers, the war in Gaza is seen as a tragedy but still a matter of numbers.  Those who are displaced simply reflect the sad statistics of people who live far away and do not influence me in any way.  There is no skin in the game and little to move us beyond our conviction into a place of compassion and mourning.  It’s easy to protect my heart from feelings of empathy if I am only confronted with cold, impersonal facts and statistics.

“The fact that I am pro-Israel doesn’t mean I am anti-Palestine,” said one ministry leader recently in his monthly communication.  This reflects an intellectual laziness that should not be evident in the lives of those who follow the God of compassion.  Light does not choose sides, it penetrates darkness.  It’s not whether I am pro the one and not anti the other, it’s a deep realization that statistics do actually bleed; that God’s children are bleeding and suffering.  While people’s lives are being destroyed, we choose the luxury of aligning ourselves without placing ourselves in the shoes of the marginalised, the hurting, and the broken.  For Christ, this was His consecration:

Luke 4:18  “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the POOR. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the PRISONERS and recovery of sight for the BLIND, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

No, Jesus did not align with those at the top of society but with those at the bottom.  God, in His mercy, has assigned us to an upside-down faith; to care, to weep, to share the pain and to bear the burdens of those who cannot do so for themselves.  It has never been a matter of focussing on our alignment but rather obeying our assignment.

So how do we explain the enormity of the situation in Gaza without simply mentioning numbers?

Consider the following

THE STATISTICS

Israeli forces have killed: at least 27,400 people

THE REALITY

It will take 75 years to attend the funerals of every Palestinian killed in Gaza since October 7 if you attend a funeral every day.

THE STATISTICS

More than 11,500 children and 8,000 women have been killed.

More than 1,000 children have lost one or both legs since October 7

THE REALITY

One Palestinian child is killed every 15 minutes, or about one out of every 100 children in the Gaza Strip.

Do yourself one favour and have a look at the actual names of these children. More than 200 were 0 years of age.  If you doubt the statistics, read the names, pick one name, and pray for the families:  https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2024/israel-war-on-gaza-10000-children-killed/

THE STATISTICS

625,000 children have been out of school for 4 months.

THE REALITY

Gaza’s children have lost a combined 200,000 years of education since 7 October.

THE STATISTICS

Israel attacks have damaged or destroyed over 363,000 homes.

THE REALITY

It would take 995 years to rebuild every home in Gaza if you could rebuild one home every day.

THE STATISTICS

Israel’s destruction of homes created 8 million metric tons of rubble.

THE REALITY

It would take 22,000 years to remove all the debris in Gaza if one metric ton was cleared every day.

THE STATISTICS

Almost 1.9 million people, more than 85% of Gaza’s total population, have now been displaced since the beginning of the war between Hamas and Israel,

THE REALITY

It is difficult to comprehend what it means for 85% of a nation to be homeless and displaced.

If this was America, it would have translated to nearly 300 million people.

If it was South Africa, it would be 51 million people.

What makes Gaza worse is the population density with more than 5,500 people per square km.

THE REALITY

More than half of Gaza’s population has now gathered in Rafah after being displaced by more than 65,000 tons of explosives over the past 120 days – and equivalent of 3 Hiroshima nuclear bombs

Rafah is 150 sq. km.  It’s about one-and-a-half times as big as Disney World in the USA (The size of Disney World is about 101 square kilometres).  Now put all the people who live in Dallas Texas (about 1,2 million) and cram them into Disneyland.  You cannot escape.  You have no place to stay, no place to shower and no place to relief yourself

In Rafah today the constant crowding, including thousands sharing few showers and toilets, has aggravated outbreaks of skin diseases including scabies and lice, worsened by people being unable to shower.   The latest figures show that for every 2,000 people, there is one shower unit, and 500 people for every toilet.

The list goes on… and on and on.  The Biblical command is to think of them AS IF.

Hebrews 13:3  Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 

Before choosing sides… remember AS IF

• As if you have seen your children lose limbs without any anesthesia to relieve the pain, no antibiotics, nothing to assist him
• As if you were the one who had to dig your parent from the rubble you once called home
• As if you have given your last meal to your child, knowing that there is no hope for tomorrow and you don’t know how you will tell them this. They have been crying for days
• As if you suffer the sting of the winter cold because your children are sleeping under your jacket in an unprotected tent
• As if you have lost everything that you have worked for and lived for. But most of all, you have lost hope

Still feel the need to declare your allegiance?  Still being pro- but easing your conscience by not being anti-.  Oh, may God have mercy on us