- In the face of overwhelming circumstances, rescue teams find themselves with the solemn duty to prioritise the salvation of the injured, leaving the deceased trapped beneath the ruins.
- Faced with scarce rescue resources and frequent attacks on their team, the civil defence has implemented a strategy that gives precedence to saving the living over recovering the deceased.
Amid the ongoing brutal Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which have resulted in the gastronomical killing of Palestinian civilians, defence teams are confronted with a dire dilemma. They must choose between dedicating hours to the retrieval of deceased individuals from the wreckage or swiftly shifting their efforts to rescue those who remain trapped and alive.
As the Palestinian health ministry has diligently tallied the extensive toll of casualties to now be 8,000. Civil Defence underscores the heartbreaking reality that hundreds of people lie lifeless beneath the weight of collapsed buildings.
In the face of limited rescue equipment and repeated attacks on their personnel, the civil defence has adopted a strategy prioritizing the rescue of living victims over the retrieval of the deceased.
“In the midst of Israel’s ongoing airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, the civil defense crews are confronted with a heart-wrenching dilemma: whether to invest hours in the painstaking retrieval of the deceased or to swiftly shift their efforts towards rescuing those still clinging to life under the rubble.
As the Palestinian health ministry painstakingly tabulates the extensive toll of casualties inflicted by Israeli attacks, the civil defense grimly acknowledges that hundreds of individuals now rest lifeless beneath the weight of collapsed structures. Cognisant of their limited rescue equipment and the recurrent targeting of their teams, the civil defence, as shared with Middle East Eye, has devised a strategy that places the rescue of the living above all else.”
“So we have to choose between spending hours trying to retrieve a number of bodies, or give priority to the wounded trapped under debris before they join the scores of people killed.”
“If we know there is someone still alive, it may take us hours to pull them from under the rubble, but we can never leave them there.”
What happens to the Martyred in Islam?
In Islam, innocent civilians who lose their lives in the turmoil of war attain the honourable status of martyrs. Martyrs all constitute those who die because of plague, abdominal disease, drowning or a falling building etc..and those who die in the cause of Allah.
The Quran 3:169 states:
“Do not consider as dead those who are slain in the path of God; rather they are alive and well-provided for in the presence of their Lord.”
A martyr in Islam transcends the Day of Judgment and the questioning of the grave; their transition to paradise swift and virtually painless. While, as Muslims, we grieve deeply for our brothers and sisters who have met tragic ends, this knowledge should offer solace. Yet, our obligation to assist our Palestinian brothers and sisters remains as pressing as ever. We must persist in raising awareness through online platforms and any means available, engaging in advocacy, participating in protests, corresponding with our political representatives, extending aid where feasible, offering supplications and dua and standing up during Qiyam ul Lail. For when we stand before Allah, will be questioned about our actions during these harrowing times.
