By Muhammed Yusuf
ISTANBUL (AA) - The International Union of Muslim Scholars condemned on Saturday the Israeli “aggression” against the Gaza Strip and demanded the opening of crossings to send aid to its population.
It came in a statement after the third meeting of the Union’s Board of Trustees during its sixth session in Istanbul.
The Union condemned “in the strongest terms the crime of the century and the genocide war being waged by the occupying army against innocent civilians, amid the double standards regarding dignity and human rights, and the disregard for all UN charters, with the support and silence of many countries around the world.”
It urged the Islamic ummah, or community, and free people of the world to “exert all material and moral efforts to repel the heinous aggression and to open the crossings to provide food, drink, and medicine to civilians in Gaza.”
The Union asked Muslims to “make good use of this great month of Ramadan and pay zakat and charity to secure food and medicine for the children and women of Gaza, and to pray during all its nights, supplicating to Allah to repel the aggression of the occupation and to strengthen the resilience of the resistance.”
It reaffirmed its issuance of statements, fatwas, practical proposals and previous stances in support of the oppressed, including children, women and men in Gaza.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas, in which less than 1,200 people were killed.
At least 30,960 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and 72,524 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza, leaving its population, particularly residents in the north, on the verge of starvation.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala