10 Apr 2025

The East London Mosque is heartbroken by the continuing horrors unfolding in Gaza. Since Israel unilaterally ended the ceasefire last month after refusing to honour the second phase of the agreement, over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed. This adds to a death toll that has now reached nearly 51,000 people, mostly women and children, since October 2023.

The situation is intolerable, unfair and unjust. According to the United Nations, Gaza has become a “death trap”. Over 100,000 people have been displaced from Rafah alone in recent days, many of whom had already been forced to flee multiple times. Medical workers, humanitarian staff, and journalists have been relentlessly targeted and killed.

In the latest of many such atrocities, 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers were deliberately targeted and killed in an Israeli strike on a marked medical convoy. Israel initially denied culpability, but video evidence has since emerged showing that the Israeli account was completely untrue, sparking international outrage.

Beyond the physical horrors in Gaza, we are deeply disturbed by prominent voices in Washington who are openly echoing the most extreme factions within Israel, those brazenly calling for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza’s population. This rhetoric is not only shocking but profoundly dangerous. It risks legitimising war crimes and emboldening tyrants elsewhere to act with the same impunity.

The ELM shares in the pain and anguish felt by our congregation and millions across the world over the unspeakable suffering of the Palestinian people. But we are reminded in the Qur’an never to fall into despair. Our faith calls us to remain hopeful, act purposefully, and stand firmly for justice – even in the darkest times.

That is why we urge our communities and all people of conscience to take meaningful and practical steps:

• Support organisations that are pursuing legal accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

• Hold media outlets to account for biased and dehumanising coverage.

• Engage your elected representatives to ensure Britain upholds international law and aligns its policies with global human rights standards.

• Exercise your democratic right to boycott, protest peacefully, and amplify your voice against oppression and injustice.

• Don’t stop donating towards humanitarian assistance. 

• Don’t forget the power of dua (supplication) – ask Allah to ease the suffering of the people of Gaza, to grant them protection, patience, and victory, and to bring justice and peace to the oppressed.

To the international community: if we fail to uphold international law in Gaza and allow the ongoing violence and ethnic cleansing of its people to be normalised, we open the door to oppression and abuse everywhere. Silence now will haunt us all later.

We echo the voices of millions around the world who cry out for justice and an end to the killing. Gaza is not rubble but lives, families, memories, and hope. This devastation must end. The world must act – not only to stop the bloodshed but to end the conditions that made it possible: Israel’s decades-long illegal occupation, the siege of Gaza, and the denial of Palestinian rights. We stand, as we always have, for peace and justice with the Palestinian people, in their pain, in their steadfastness, and in their unwavering struggle for dignity and freedom.

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Support Gaza – Donate Now

The East London Mosque’s Gaza Emergency Relief Fund is providing urgent, life-saving aid through trusted charity partners. Your donation, however small, can help deliver food, medical supplies, clean water, and emergency shelter to those suffering in Gaza.

This appeal is Zakah-eligible.

May Allah ﷻ reward you for your generosity and grant relief to the people of Gaza. Ameen.