If Sha’ban al-Dalou was Ukrainian, film with him burned alive while attached to an IV in a displacement camp would cause global outrage – perhaps even end the war. But because Sha’ban is Palestinian, such apocalyptic, shameful images are not only absent from Western media, they are actively covered up.

If they don’t remember him, I will. Sha’ban was a giant: he was a dreamer and a scholar, he was a software engineer extraordinaire and a linguist with dreams of studying in Germany. He even memorized the entire Qur’an.

Gaza has tens of thousands of Sha’ban, but I’d be lying if I said the killing of Sha’ban didn’t affect me deeply. He and I are a similar age, with similar ambitions. We are both Hafiz and Quran with dreams of studying abroad and we are both unwitting witnesses to genocide.

But while they remain, Israel reduced Sha’ban’s body to ashes.

This is the reality of life in Israel’s time genocide: none of us in Gaza know the faith that awaits us. At any moment, I could be the next Sha’ban. And so could anyone and everyone in Gaza.

In the days leading up to his murder, Sha’ban pleaded with the world: please save us. Bear witness to the systematic slaughter of the Palestinian people. In vain. Shortly thereafter, Sha’ban was burned alive in front of the world. He was innocent and unarmed. His only responsibility to his family was to help them escape the horrors of the war they would soon succumb to.

His desperate calls fell on deaf ears as usual. Here in Gaza, we know all too well that the world only speaks when it is too late.

I know the world doesn’t care about people like me: tens of thousands of men, women and children have been killed by the US and Israeli killing machine. For over a year, the world has been silent. A few days after his murder, BBC, CNN, Sky Newsand others were slow to even name Sha’ban, let alone question his killers.

As I remind everyone around me, this is not Israel’s war against Gaza, this is the world. And when the world’s media and politicians work up the courage to speak, it’s all too predictable. The playbook has already been written: empty calls for a cease-fire that no one is working towards, a claim that “all lives matter” and that Israel’s genocide rests solely on Hamas. Not the 76 years occupationnot the murderous Israeli regime, not the 17-year blockade of the greatest “open air concentration camp”only Hamas.

What kind of world do we live in where Israeli soldiers unload 335 rounds of ammunition at a the 6-year-old girl and her family and no one is held accountable, let alone pay the price? What happened to our humanity?

The Inconvenient Truth About Sha’ban al-Dalou

As I keep pointing out, I am an accidental war correspondent. Before October 7th, I had no desire to do what I’m doing now. However, I was driven to report genocide and cover tragic stories of immense suffering that will take a lifetime to recover from.

I lost countless people, including my best friend Al-Hassan Mattar. We used to watch football matches together.

If I were Ukrainian or white, the press would rush to cover my story; he would rush to cover Sha’ban’s as well. But as my neighbor told me recently, “Being Palestinian is a curse on the earth.”

However, I will always and forever be proud to be Palestinian. This genocide proved one thing: even when we face death, we Palestinians have given life to the world.

We also learned that instead of being our allies, the world’s media reveled in our suffering and bent on portraying us as vile, inhuman, and of course, “terrorists.”

As my profile widened, more Western news stations, incl The TimesI have been contacted for comment. Not about my experience in a genocide, not about the dozens of friends and loved ones who were lost, but about Hamas.

Can you imagine how disheartening that is, how offensive that is? Imagine asking a Ukrainian journalist if they are affiliated with the Azov Brigade or another similar militant outfit – it would be the end of their career! But here in Gaza, it’s to be expected because I, Sha’ban and other citizen journalists NECESSITY You have an ulterior motive, there must be something fishy about us, just because we expose Israel’s crimes.

Not western journalist he ever gave me a single word of support; they prefer instead to prey on our suffering.

There is no turning back now. No excuse will ever be enough. The credibility of the West lies in ruins next to the charred remains of Sha’ban.

Sha’ban’s legacy will burn bright in the memory of every man left with a conscience, and his memory will usher in the liberation of Palestine. He is an icon. Long after all opportunistic journalists have faded into obscurity and long after the US-led liberal order has been exposed as a farce, Sha’ban will remain a shining light of truth, justice and liberation. And for me, I want to see Palestine freed not only from the occupation but also from these complicit media outlets.

Abubaker Abed is a Palestinian journalist, writer and translator from Deir al-Balah refugee camp in Gaza, interested in sports and languages

Follow him on Twitter/X: @AbubakerAbedW and LinkedIn

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The views expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial staff or staff.