After designating Rafah as a “safezone” for displaced Palestinians, this week, “israeli” forces repeatedly bombed the refugee tents in the city. Videos of burnt tents and bodies, people with blown off limbs, and decapitated children have shocked our conscience as a collective.

The zionist regime has made a “safezone” an impossibility for the brutalized Palestinians. Nearly 85% of Gaza’s population (2.3 million) is displaced, with 1.5 million sheltering in Rafah.

This attack follows the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling demanding the zionist regime to halt its military assault on Rafah, provide aid, and open the Rafah crossing into Egypt. Earlier this year, the ICJ also ruled that Israel’s ongoing brutality in Gaza is capable of falling within the provisions of the Genocide Convention of the United Nations.

Unfortunately, the zionist regime’s defiance to International Law, has exceeded levels of barbaric war crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. There has been an increase in illegal arbitrary detentions, in addition to documented cases of torture and sexual violence against men and women by the Israeli Defence Forces. Furthermore, the death toll in the West Bank has surpassed 500 since October, fatalities including children, and airstrikes on refugee camps.

For seven months, the unprecedented onslaught by “israel” in Gaza has killed over 36,000 people, including over 15,000 children, and left over 80,000 injured. Every hour, fifteen people are killed, with almost half of those counted being children.

Men, women, and children are being mercilessly slaughtered by military forces funded by the United States. Palestinians are living in conditions that have been deemed “hell on earth” by the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) based in Palestine.

The death toll in Gaza has surpassed any other major conflict of the 21st century. Over one million people are facing “catastrophic hunger” due to forced starvation by “israel.” Every day, more than 10 children suffer the loss of one or both legs due to the ongoing bombardment, while surgeries are conducted without anesthesia as hospitals are actively targeted by bombings and aid has been restricted.

The United States has continually abused its power as a United Nations member and stood in the way of humanitarian calls for peace, and the recognition of the state of Palestine. Instead, it has bolstered support for the zionist regime. This is evident by the $260 billion dollars the United States has invested in “security assistance” for “israel” since the 1940s. Our federal government has callously demonstrated that they do not represent or serve humanity.

We demand that our city, the City of Oklahoma City, take a stand and call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and join other cities across the globe standing for humanity. Sign our petition to push for a resolution for a ceasefire and help put an end to the genocide in Gaza.