Over 30 Muslim religious groups in Kashmir condemn Gaza hospital attack

As many as 30 Muslim bodies under the banner of Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on October 18, condemned the bombing of a hospital in Palestine’s Gaza “in an Israeli air strike”. The National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also expressed their concern.  

As many as 30 Muslim bodies under the banner of Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on October 18, condemned the bombing of a hospital in Palestine’s Gaza “in an Israeli air strike”. The National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also expressed their concern.  

A spokesman of the MMU, in a joint statement, said the religious groups express “shock and outrage” at the bombing of a hospital in Gaza”, which left around 500 Palestinians, including children, dead.

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“People of Jammu & Kashmir are deeply saddened as well as pained by this unfolding tragedy and stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine. The massacre of Palestinians at the hospital is a blatant war crime under United Nations Charter and the Geneva Conventions,” the spokesman said.

The MMU urged the United Nations and the world powers “to move beyond blame game and partisanship”. “They need to see what is happening in Gaza, for what it is, a humanitarian crisis . The war against hapless Palestinian citizens should be stopped and a resolution to this long-term conflict immediately sought, which restores the rights of Palestinian people to their life and land,” it said.

Joining the condemnation, former J&K chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, in a post on X, said, “A tragic reminder of what must have happened during the Holocaust. Perhaps the only difference is that the very community that the victims belonged to are now the oppressors and gas chambers have been replaced by bombs. Half of the world’s terrorism is a reaction to the unresolved issue of Palestine. Will the powers that be continue being mute bystanders or wake up to the grim reality so that innocents aren’t killed anymore?”

Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister and NC president Dr. Farooq Abdullah expressed concern over India’s “meek stand”. “India since (former Prime Minister) Jawaharlal Nehru’s time supported Palestine and stood against oppression of Palestinians. It’s unfortunate the same voices do not come forward to Palestine’s support in India anymore. History stands witness that Jews took over the land of Palestinians in Palestine and expanded their territory,” Dr. Abdullah said.