Real heroes aren’t hard to find in a world ravaged by war and earthquakes

The real heroes are people who refuse to quit despite relentless pressure from Israel, ranging from bombing and shelling to curtailing food, medicines, water, lack of electricity and running water, and a feeling they are abandoned by an uncaring world.

In a deeply troubled world, the past week looked not just troubled, but traumatic—a 7.7 magnitude earthquake devastated Myanmar, already torn apart by civil war; Ekrem Imamoglu, the liberal Istanbul mayor who’s become the principal political opponent of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested; and urgent appeals for aid came from South Sudan, Gaza and Haiti, facing massive food shortages. 

The worst affected are the Palestinian residents of Gaza, back in the frying pan after a fragile two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas broke down. The plight of civilians under fire in Gaza is heartbreaking. Over 48,000 Palestinian men, women and children were already dead (vs 1706 Israeli deaths) when the ceasefire took hold. Now, the death toll is rising again as the Israeli military resumes its operations in northern Gaza.  

In this all-out war by Israel, journalists, medical and health workers are also seen as targets. Hospital directors have been arrested and tortured, and ambulances attacked. The World Food Programme (WFP) says there’s severe malnutrition and the food supply could run out in two weeks.   

A spokesman for the International Red Crescent said one of its medical crews was cut off in a Gaza town under Israeli attack. With no communications available from them, the spokesman said the worst was feared. When permission to go there was finally granted, the road was found to be impassable with sand barriers.   

If the plight of Gaza hospitals and medical staff was terrible, Palestinian journalists covering their side of the war have become endangered, with 206 journalists killed since October 2024. Not all are victims of accidental fire. Palestinian and international media sources say Israel has put six journalists on a hit list, calling them terrorists.  

The most recent casualties have been Mohammed Mansour and Hossam Shabat. Mansour, from the Beirut-based Palestine Now TV, was killed in an airstrike on his home, along with his wife and child. The level of hatred evident in these killings, showing no mercy even to children, is appalling, and has moved former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohammed to call for a UN peacekeeping force to protect the residents of Gaza.  

Hossam Shabat worked for Al Jazeera and the digital media outlet Drop Site. The charismatic 23-year-old was killed in an airstrike on his car. He has been on the Israeli military’s hit list for months.   

The colleagues of Shabat have shared his final words. In a post on X, prewritten by Shabat, he wrote, “If you’re reading this, it means I have been killed—most likely targeted—by the Israeli occupation forces.”  

Shabat wrote that over the last 18 months of war, he has dedicated “every moment” to his people, often going without food and sleep.  

“I documented the horrors in northern Gaza minute by minute, determined to show the world the truth they tried to bury. I slept on pavements, in schools, in tents—anywhere I could. Each day was a battle for survival. I endured hunger for months, yet I never left my people’s side.”  

“I ask you now: do not stop speaking about Gaza,” Shabat added. “Do not let the world look away. Keep fighting, keep telling our stories — until Palestine is free.” 

Heroism manifests in acts of courage, like nurses protecting babies during the Myanmar earthquake

 In a related incident, an award-winning Palestinian filmmaker was abducted by Israeli settlers and soldiers, beaten up, and held before being released.  

Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the documentary ‘No Other Land’, which won an Oscar just weeks ago, was abducted while he was travelling in a vehicle. It tells the story of the village of Susia, attacked 45 times this year, with houses demolished.  

His house, too, was attacked by masked settlers. Ballal was beaten with guns and kicked on the head before being taken away. After his release, he was visibly limping.  

In Turkey, President Erdogan’s biggest political rival is now behind bars. Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was jailed for three years in 2022 for insulting Turkey’s supreme election council. Now, his bachelor’s degree from Istanbul University has been annulled, on the basis that the Cypriot University which granted it originally is not recognised in Turkey.  

What this means is that Imamoglu will not be able to contest presidential elections. Under Turkish law, a presidential candidate must have a bachelor’s degree.   

This action and his arrest led to widespread riots and protests across Turkey. Imamoglu, born in 1970, posted a video before his arrest saying his enemies would try and silence him, though he didn’t name Erdogan in person.  

In 2019, he became the mayor of Istanbul after defeating Erdogan’s candidate when the latter’s party had ruled Istanbul for 25 years.   

Now to Myanmar. The earthquake struck Thailand as well, causing a high-rise building under construction to collapse in Bangkok. But damage to Thailand was minimal compared to Myanmar, which suffered an aftershock of 6.4 on the Richter Scale after the initial quake of 7.7, causing bridges to collapse. The quake’s epicenter was in northwest Myanmar. The country is situated in one of the most seismically active regions in the world.   

Official casualty figures were not known, but an estimated 144 were killed and many hundreds injured. A very touching video which went viral on social media showed nurses inside a quake-hit hospital doing their best to protect prams carrying newborn babies, instead of running for their lives.  

That goes to remind us that one doesn’t have to be in the military to be a hero. In this earthquake-hit hospital, the nurses displayed ample heroism. But the greatest tragedy on earth is now happening in the Gaza Strip. There, the real heroes are people who refuse to quit despite relentless pressure from Israel, ranging from bombing and shelling to curtailing food, medicines, water, lack of electricity and running water, and a feeling they are abandoned by an uncaring world. Aid workers get killed and wounded. Medical workers in the struggling hospitals of Gaza get arrested, tortured, and injured or killed in air attacks. Everyone is under tremendous pressure to leave Gaza, but they don’t quit. Journalists who know their days could be numbered even if they are not on hit lists, and go on reporting without seeking safety, are heroes. Every man and woman who doesn’t wilt under pressure to quit is a genuine hero.