Palestinian activist shares experiences with Capetonians of fleeing violence in besieged Gaza
He said the first time he went 'offline' was while providing humanitarian relief at a refugee camp in the west of the enlave.
A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment on 19 January 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Picture: AFP
CAPE TOWN - Palestinian activist Mansour Shouman, who has been posting videos about the humanitarian situation in Gaza on social media, met with Capetonians on Friday to share some of his experiences.
Shouman, who had to flee from Israeli forces twice in Gaza, addressed about 100 people who gathered at the University of Cape Town's Neville Alexander building.
He said the first time he went "offline" was while providing humanitarian relief at a refugee camp in the west of the enclave.
"We were surprised to see the Israeli forces and made a 180-degree turn. We saw people starting to flee the area. Tanks were approaching, snipers were climbing on buildings, we started seeing quadcopters and drones in the air. It was a war zone."
Shouman said he then took cover with refugees and civilians before slowly making his way to Nasser hospital while the siege ensued.
"Some of our friends were martyred, some were injured and some families we lost track of after that. We just made our way through from house to house until we were able, after two weeks, to reach Nasser hospital."
Shouman said not too long after taking refuge, he again had to flee to safety after Israeli forces started bulldozing the hospital.