Gift of the Givers condemns killing of its head in Gaza

SA disaster relief group Gift of the Givers says its regional head in Gaza, Ahmed Abbasi, has been killed as Israel continues its bombing of the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an attack by Hamas on October 7.

Abbasi died at the hands of Israeli forces in Gaza while returning from morning prayer on Thursday with his brother, who was also killed, the organisation said.

He had worked for Africa’s largest independent humanitarian organisation since 2013.

“He was responsible for implementing multiple projects, including the care of orphans, widows, the elderly and the ill. He delivered water through our desalination plants, distributed food parcels, provided hot meals and upgraded damaged homes,” the humanitarian organisation said in a statement.

Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman denounced those responsible for Abbasi’s death as “inhumane Zionist Israeli murderers”.

Israel’s military actions are “cold-blooded murder, ethnic cleansing and genocide of a defenceless civilian population caught up in a ghetto”.

He backed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s move to report Israel to the International Criminal Court.

“We also fully support the motion in parliament today [Thursday] for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador with immediate effect and the severing of diplomatic ties with the apartheid state of Israel,” Sooliman said.

“Israel should be held accountable to pay war reparations in the rebuilding of Gaza and compensate every family they have decimated.” 

Update: November 16 2023
This story contains comment from Gift of the Govers founder Imtiaz Sooliman

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