Jerusalem Day is described as a day of celebration for the Israeli people. On the other hand, for Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem, it feels like a yearly reminder that their streets, homes, and holy places can be turned into a stage for Israeli domination.

On May 14, 2026, thousands of people marched through Jerusalem’s Old City. It is a celebration of Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in the 1967 war. During the procession, marchers expressed their heinous sentiments with slogans like “Death to Arabs” and “May your villages burn.” So, this was not simply a parade but a message carried through the occupied city.

Islamophobia and Genocide Spoken in the Open

The chants were not a small side issue. They were the heart of what made the march so ugly.

“Death to Arabs” is a call of extreme hatred against a people. “May your villages burn” carries an even darker meaning for Palestinians, whose modern history is filled with destroyed villages, forced displacement, refugee camps, demolished homes, and land seizures.

A slogan, “Gaza is a graveyard,” was also heard numerous times during the march. That line is especially cruel while Gaza is still living through genocide, mass displacement, starvation, destroyed hospitals, and entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble.

For Palestinians, these words are not noise, but the public expression of the same mentality that treats Palestinian life as disposable, Palestinian land as available, and Palestinian grief as something to mock.

Al-Aqsa and the Politics of Provocation

The most dangerous part of this march was the provocation around the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. It is undoubtedly one of Islam’s holiest sites and a central symbol of Palestinian identity.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the compound during Jerusalem Day and displayed an Israeli flag. His heinous move challenged human rights and dignity.

This Is Not a One-Day Problem

This march was not unusual for the Palestinians whose lives have been at stake since the occupation and complete annihilation of Gaza. Jerusalem Day marches have repeatedly been associated with racist chants, harassment, and violence.

The march also fits into a wider pattern in East Jerusalem. Just two days after the 2026 march, the Palestinians in al-Bustan, in Silwan, were being forced to demolish their own homes to avoid heavy municipal fees, as part of a project linked to the “King’s Garden” plan. More than 57 homes had already been destroyed, with more scheduled for demolition.

From Jerusalem to Gaza: The Same Mentality

The Jerusalem Day march and Israel’s genocide in Gaza are not the same event, but they come from the same mentality: the belief that Muslims can be controlled, displaced, mocked, or erased without any accountability.

In Gaza, that mentality appears through bombs, starvation, destroyed hospitals, and mass displacement. While in East Jerusalem, it appears through flags in the Muslim Quarter, racist chants, al-Aqsa provocations, home demolitions, and the forced shrinking of Palestinian life.

The human cost of these atrocities appears in simple scenes:

• A shopkeeper locking his store before the march arrives
• A child hearing crowds chant against Muslims
• A family avoiding the Old City because the streets feel unsafe
• Worshippers seeing al-Aqsa turned into a site of provocation
• Residents watching security forces protecting marchers instead of Palestinians

A Better Future Requires Ending Atrocities

It is pertinent to say clearly that the problem is not Jewish identity. The problem is Israel’s illegal occupation, Zionist supremacy, and state-backed nationalist domination.

For Muslims, Palestinians, and all people of conscience, al-Aqsa and Jerusalem cannot be defended with seasonal anger alone. They need sustained legal, diplomatic, political, and economic pressure against the occupation.

Final Thoughts

The 2026 Jerusalem Day march exposed the blatant lie of a “united” Jerusalem. How can a city be united with the illegal occupants? Israel clearly captured the sacred city of Jerusalem. A holy city is not honored by chants of death or provocations at al-Aqsa.

Israel’s genocide in Gaza is a clear indication of what these chants would look like in reality. They actually mean every single word of these slogans. Burning the villages means actually burning innocent people to ashes.

Jerusalem will not be free until Palestinians can walk its streets without fear, Muslims can worship at al-Aqsa without provocation, and no child has to hear a crowd call for their people to die.

A surgeon can sometimes read a battlefield from the condition of wounds it leaves behind. In Gaza, doctors have described bodies unimaginably pierced by tiny metal fragments that cause far greater damage than the skin first reveals. Unfortunately, similar injuries are now being reported in Lebanon. Although the place has changed, the pattern is becoming familiar.

These are small entry wounds, causing deep internal destruction. While civilians are being pulled from rubble, hospitals are overwhelmed, and Israel calls it “security.” Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza has already shown the world what happens when a civilian population is heavily bombed, starved, displaced, and left without a functioning health system.

Lebanon is now witnessing a face of Israel that is not hidden to anyone, as the assault carries many of the same signatures. Although not the same history, geography, or logic, Israel is destroying the conditions of ordinary life and targeting civilian lives as it has been doing in Gaza for years.

The Tungsten Cubes Linking Gaza and Lebanon

One of the most alarming links between Gaza and Lebanon is the use of weapons that release tiny tungsten cubes. These small metal cubes were already seen in Gaza injuries, and these are not just ordinary metal cube fires.

Human Rights Watch also documented similar fragments in Gaza in its 2009 report named “Precisely Wrong.” It found tiny metal cubes, about 3mm on each side, in victims’ bodies and numerous other strike sites. When they brought them into the laboratory, they found that it was tungsten, with traces of nickel and iron. These are usually fired using a Spike Missile.

The real cruelty of this kind of fragmentation is that it is not always visible at first glance. For instance, a person may have small wounds on the outside while the inside of the body is torn apart. These dense metal fragments can rip through organs, blood vessels, nerves, and bone. Especially for children, the elderly, and the people already weakened by hunger or displacement, survival becomes even harder.

Gaza’s Genocide as a Warning

The heinous genocide in Gaza has already shown the full horror of Israel’s cruel methods. Palestinians have been martyred in staggering numbers, entire neighborhoods have been flattened, and families have been buried under concrete.

The suffering did not end with the so-called “ceasefire language.” Even on May 10, 2026, Israeli strikes killed numerous innocent Palestinians. In this context, Gaza’s health officials have highlighted that more than 850 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire that was announced in October 2025.

When it comes to the humanitarian figures, the World Food Programme has reported that 1.6 million people, around 77% of Gaza’s population, are facing acute food insecurity. It also includes 100,000 children and around 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women. These are not just background statistics but a daily reality of a population being forced to survive without enough food, medicine, shelter, or safety.

Moreover, hospitals in Gaza reflect the same story. Gaza’s entire medical system has been brutally attacked, besieged, deprived of fuel, and overwhelmed by mass injuries. Doctors have performed amputations in absolutely impossible circumstances. Patients have lain on rubble-led floors while premature babies, cancer and dialysis patients, and trauma victims have all been broken by siege and bombardment.

Lebanon Is Seeing the Same Pattern

Unfortunately, Lebanon is now being dragged into the same machinery of destruction. More than 2,700 people had been killed in Lebanon since March 2026, with more than 1.2 million displaced. Israel also struck Beirut even after a ceasefire had been declared, marking a dangerous escalation and exposing how fragile such ceasefires become when Israel continues to reserve the right to bomb.

The strikes have not been limited to empty fields or isolated military positions. On May 9, an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of Saksakiyeh killed at least seven innocent people, including a child, and wounded 15 others. Emergency responders were seen searching through the wreckage.

In addition to that, Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed people in Toura and Kfar Chouba, including a paramedic, while residents of villages in Tyre province had received evacuation warnings.

Ceasefire Without Safety

The word “ceasefire” has become painfully empty for many Palestinians and Lebanese civilians. In Gaza, a ceasefire did not stop the genocide, including killing, starvation, or fear. While in Lebanon, a ceasefire has not stopped Israeli strikes, displacement, or the expansion of insecurity.

The United Nations warned Israeli strikes in Lebanon may breach the ceasefire, while Lebanese authorities said nearly 2,500 people had already been killed by late April amid heavy damage to civilian infrastructure.

However, the great imbalance of destruction remains central. Gaza has been turned into rubble. South Lebanon is now facing repeated bombardment, village evacuations, damaged infrastructure, and mass displacement. The same vocabulary appears again and again: “targets,” “militants,” “security,” “precision.” Yet beneath that language are innocent families, children, doctors, drivers, farmers, shopkeepers, and rescue workers.

Shockingly, 47 women and girls are being killed in Gaza every single day. A recent UN report mentioned more than 38,000 women slaughtered by Israel during its heinous genocide. Previously, in 2024, the health ministry in Gaza estimated that 70% of those killed in the war were women and children.

Moreover, the impact on Gaza’s healthcare sector is so severe that death figures are hard to evaluate in real terms. This demonstrates the severity of the gender-based violence that Gaza’s residents are enduring, even after the so-called “ceasefire” in 2026.

Impact of Israel’s Genocide on Women and Girls

The UN Women’s report also documents almost 19,000 injured women and girls who have been permanently disabled from their injuries. The Head of Humanitarian Action at UN Women said: “This is the highest percentage in any conflict to date and the highest percentage of women killed in any conflict ever recorded.”

Several medical professionals who have practiced within the Gaza Strip have reported that most of the breastfeeding mothers have not been able to provide breastmilk for their child due to malnutrition, the loss of a loved one, or lack of medical care.

By early 2026, the official figures from the Ministry of Health in Gaza estimate more than 50,000 women have been killed, but this is most likely an underestimation due to the number of people left under rubble.

There is also credible evidence of sexual violence during the genocide. For instance, in a statement issued in 2024, the United Nations’ Special Representative regarding sexual violence during genocide called for an objective investigation of “credible allegations of sexual assault” of Palestinians in detention, including females being detained by the Israelis.

Maternal Health and Obstetric Care

Pregnant women and new mothers in Gaza are facing a severe maternal healthcare crisis. Hospital infrastructure continues to be bombed by Israeli airstrikes, leaving fewer resources available for providing maternal care. Maternal healthcare resources have also been severely limited, as well as the ability to respond to maternal emergencies.

Women who are giving birth to children are being exposed to an increased risk of maternal death. They are giving birth at healthcare centres that have been partially abolished and are unable to provide surgical intervention. Moreover, some hospitals that are still left lack basic tools such as anaesthesia. The World Health Organisation has been reporting that disruption to the delivery of healthcare and access to medical supplies is directly related to the peak hostilities in northern Gaza.

The UNFPA refers to the Gaza Strip as the most dangerous place in the world for a woman to give birth, due to the increase in the rate of infant mortality. It is reported that an average of 15 women give birth to children outside the hospital per week with no assistance, and if a woman can give birth in a hospital:

• C-sections were being performed without anaesthesia in many places, as reported by MSF staff from field hospitals.
• There was an increase in maternal deaths due to hospital closures because of a lack of electricity, surgical services, and staff.

Women’s Right to Food, Water, and Shelter in Gaza

The sieges and destruction of the infrastructure create immense problems for women in particular. Women and men have been forced into shelters with abysmal sanitation. Both UNFPA and UN Women have reported the lack of sanitary products, privacy, and safe water for washing in many displacement sites. These are not insignificant aspects, as for protracted displacement, lack of sanitation and hygiene infrastructure leads to illnesses, poor health, and increased vulnerability.

Additionally, numerous impacts have also occurred due to food insecurity. Pregnant and lactating women have been among the first affected by severe malnutrition. Nearly 790,000 women and girls are living with crisis and catastrophic levels of food insecurity, according to UN Women.

Psychological services are also lacking since most people in Gaza suffer from trauma, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Women who have lost their husbands and multiple members of their families are experiencing major problems with their mental health.

Data Does Not Reveal the Suffering and Trauma of Gaza Women

A young Palestinian girl, Mona, described her mother and sister dying instantaneously due to a bomb, and she found “pieces of their bodies“. She reported herself being completely numb, and stories such as hers occurred throughout Gaza. Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old Palestinian girl, was shot 335 times by an Israeli tank. There are a lot of horrific stories of Gaza women.

In a nutshell, women’s rights in Gaza, broadly construed, have been assaulted not just by violence but by the destruction of mechanisms of health care, legal, and other services. This is the starting point for any objective assessment of this unprecedented genocide. It must be stopped before the atrocities of Israel and its allies start to engulf the entire world.