As I begin writing this article, I glance at my Instagram feed. Right beside my profile picture, in the upper left corner, I notice Motaz Azaiza’s latest story. With a bated breath, I tap on the pink, orange, and purple hues to view his latest updates while I tidy up my desk. His voice, tinged with fear, breaks through: “Hi!” A pause ensues. “Even my friends are getting killed. My colleagues. By the Israeli occupation. We’re still doing the daily missions to survive. Filling the water containers with water so we can survive, and as you can see behind me are clashes, the gunfire, the heavy machine guns, and the snipers. Small flames in the sky. Oh my God! But we will survive!”
Motaz’s outcry for a ceasefire on January 7, 2024. Screengrab from Motaz Azaia’s stories on Instagram.
A widely circulated image of journalist Wael El Dahdouh and his widowed daughter-in-law as they bid farewell to his son Hamza El Dahdouh. Screengrab from Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary’s stories, posted January 7, 2024, on Instagram.
My eyes start to tear up as I draw in another deep breath, bracing myself for the next update – Wissam Nassar’s story of Al Jazeera’s chief of Bureau in Gaza, Wael El Dahdouh, once again displaying remarkable fortitude as he heart-wrenchingly bids farewell to his son, journalist Hamza El Dahdouh, who was killed in an Israeli missile in Khan Younis alongside his colleague, Mustapha Thuraya. Tragically, this is the third time Wael has suffered such personal loss. On December 15, he also fell victim to a targeted missile from an Israeli drone in the southern Gaza Strip, which claimed the life of his fellow journalist and cameraman, Samer Abu Daqqa. Further deepening his sorrow, he lost his wife, two children, and a grandson last October in an attack at the Nuseirat refugee camp. Despite repeated attempts at assassinating him, Wael’s voice remains undimmed.
It’s mortifying to witness a genocide unfold in real-time, right before our eyes!
Israel killed Al Jazeera Samer Abu Daqqa while he was inside a school for refugees.
— sarah (@sahouraxo) December 15, 2023
For 6 hours, Israeli forces prevented ambulances from reaching him, condemning him to bleed to death.
How many more journalists must Israel kill in Gaza before Western leaders say enough? pic.twitter.com/8566fHq8YW
Screengrab announcing Palestinian journalist and cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa’s death by @sahouraxo on X.
Despite the heavy, systemic censorship aimed at silencing pro-Palestinian voices, social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), YouTube, and TikTok have become instrumental in amplifying the realities of this humanitarian crisis. However, there’s an expanding network of alternative digital spaces where younger generations are coming together to raise awareness, educate, and expose the egregious behaviors and hidden truths behind these massacres. These actions, inherently rooted in Israeli indoctrination, have stained our history for over 75 years.
If you’ve spent enough time endlessly scrolling your feeds, you must have come across the videos of Hamzah Saadah. Better known as Absorber on the interwebs, the 20-year-old Palestinian-American streamer and content creator gained popularity for his youth-centric videos streamed from games such as Fortnite and Minecraft, as well as trolling video content from platforms like the now defunct Omegle. However, the recent escalation of violence in Gaza prompted a noticeable shift in his content. From gameplay to cyber activism, he turned to Ome TV, an alternative to Omegle, to explore, challenge, and expose Zionist ideologies.
Here, let me set the scene:
In a not-so-surprising encounter on Ome TV, two girls, seemingly about ten years old, come across Hamzah, now a “celebrity” amongst Israelis on the internet. Their initial reaction is one of excitement followed by aggression.
Girls (in unison): “You love Israel? Palestine or Israel? Palestine or Israel?”
Hamzah (with a calm demeanor): “Why are you being so aggressive? Can you chill?”
Girls: “Palestine or Israel?”
Hamzah: “I will answer your question if you calm down.”
Girls: “Palestine or Israel?”
Hamzah (maintaining composure): “Why are you being aggressive?”
Girls (insistently): “Palestine or Israel?”
@hamzah Free Palestine 🇵🇸
♬ original sound - hamzah | حمزة 🍉
Hamzah’s pinned interaction with two young Israeli girls exposes the flagrant behaviors exhibited by the Israeli youth online. Posted on October 26, 2023, by Hamzah Saadah on TikTok.
Garnering over 47.6 million views on TikTok, this pinned interaction is one of many instances of the flagrant behaviors exhibited by the Israeli youth online. While numerous other interactions reflect similar conduct and parrot-like narratives, a more concerning video is a charged encounter with another starstruck pair of young girls and their father. Accusing Hamzah of spreading lies and being an anti-Semite, the father then advised him to educate himself with history books. Challenging the accuracy of these accusations, Hamzah questions the father’s motives behind the lies he’s telling his kids and redirects the conversation to highlight the death toll of the 10,000 massacred Palestinians in November 2023, with over half being children and infants. The exchange intensifies, and the family abruptly skips the chat.
And yet, the truth is far more sinister than it appears.
Hamzah’s video of the volatile confrontation with IDF soldiers went viral. Eventually, though, Tiktok took it offline. Video downloaded from Hamzah Saadah’s TikTok account.
Another volatile encounter took place with two IDF soldiers who openly confessed their participation in the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and display no remorse towards any of the civilian casualties. Their rhetoric, doused in moral void, is chilling; trying to intimidate Hamzah with death threats, one soldier reaches for his gun, and he boldly declares: “I kill every Palestinian I see,” and the footage ends instantaneously.
It’s not Hamzah’s first dance with death threats, nor is it the first time IDF soldiers openly exploited their heinous crimes online for the world to see. The jarring wave of propaganda lasting seventy-six years has plagued the decaying minds of those living under the disturbing Zionist paradigm.
@adelgoldenbarg24 This is the reality of the Palestinians who live in the occupied Palestine 🇵🇸 #absorberlivestream #absorberhamza #gaza😭💔🇵🇸🤲 #absorberclips ♬ Palestina Menangis - DJ Boqie
A masked “Arab of the 48” tells Hamzah about the legal and social repercussions he faces because of his identity. Posted December 8, 2023 by Adel Goldenbarg on Tiktok.
Not every chat Hamzah has on Ome TV is fraught with tension. Occasionally, he stumbles upon
Palestinian citizens of Israel on the platform. Palestinian citizens of Israel constitute 21 percent of the Israeli population and are at risk of being ostracized and discriminated against, as detailed in Mohamad Karan’s article Palestinians in Israel Also Face a Nakba. Aware of these dangers, Hamzah blurs out their faces and urges them to avoid incriminating statements that could lead to legal or social repercussions. These implications also affect Hamzah, who may never be able to return home.
In the face of a dire humanitarian crisis, Hamzah continues to leverage his platforms to help provide essential and tangible on-ground support. Sales from his store, All Things Palestine, help donate a meal through the Emergency Gaza Relief Fund. Additionally, sales contribute to planting one olive tree in cities around the West Bank through the Debwania Olive Tree Project, a charity established by his mother, Palestinian American street photographer and activist Hanan Awad, in 2012.
The (Palestine) Dataran Tanjung Mas Arena is inspired by a popular spot in Muar Johor, Malaysia. It is the creation of a collaborative effort between 15-year-old Malaysian gamer Raz and his friend, 32-year-old gaming streamer and motivational speaker Cikgu Zyd. Screengrab from the event’s page on Roblox.
While Hamzah Saadah uses platforms like Ome TV to challenge and expose faulty narratives, halfway across the world, in Kuala Lumpur, 15-year-old Malaysian gamer Razz and his friend 32-year-old gaming streamer and motivational speaker Afiq Mat Zaid, a.k.a Cikgu Zyd, found a different but equally compelling grassroots movement that echoed as a haven for solidarity.
On October 14, 2023, as tens of thousands took to the streets worldwide in support of Palestine, Razz found himself grappling with shocking news coming out of Gaza and wanting to “do something for Palestine.” He teamed up with Cikgu Zyd, who suggested hosting a virtual rally for a younger crowd unable to participate in marches otherwise.
Razz and Cikgu Zyd worked tirelessly for three days to build and develop the (Palestine) Dataran Tanjung experience on Roblox, a digital universe that combines game creation, coding, and social networking. Popular among the youth, 43 percent of users (30 million) are children under 13, and another 30 million users fall between the ages of 13 and 24.
@cikguzyd Doa Qunut Nazilah dalam event Roblox semalam #cikguzyd #zydverse #ceviralskit #roblox #robloxfyp ♬ original sound - Cikgu Zyd Gaming ✪ - Cikgu Zyd Gaming ✪ 🇲🇾🇵🇸
With that in mind, Razz and Cikgu Zyd launched their first rally on the (Palestine) Dataran Tanjung Mas servers for a small group of friends and local gamers on October 21, between 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM to accommodate young participants who have school. The event didn’t gain much traction. The following day, however, Cikgu Zyd’s video of the streamed event, layered with a prayer, went viral on TikTok.
On October 24, Kuala Lumpur witnessed one of its largest pro-Palestinian marches, with over 20,000 participants rallying behind Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. In Malaysia, the Peaceful Assembly Act of 2012 restricts youth participation in protests and requires organizers to be at least 21. These laws prevent many young advocators from joining real-life marches, as told in a viral tweet by user Salsabeel on X: “Y’all, my cousin is 15 and couldn’t join a protest, so she just went to one on Roblox, bro. I’m crying.”
y’all my cousin is 15 and couldn’t join a protest so she just went to one on roblox bro i’m crying 😭😭😭😭😭
— salsabeel سلسبيل🔻 (@funnecfox) October 23, 2023
Post by Salsabeel on X
Despite emerging as a powerful emblem of Palestinian solidarity and drawing over 396.1K visitors since their launch, the (Palestine) Dataran Tanjung experience succumbed to heavy censorship. Some users reported the flagging of pro-Palestinian marches for hate speech and antisemitism. Others got their accounts suspended for saying phrases like “Free Palestine.” On October 26, a Robloxian in her 20s confirmed that one of the servers went offline.
I saw another post of a kid who was suspended for saying free Palestine 🇵🇸
— Qaali Hussein, MD (@QaaliHussein1) November 6, 2023
Wild!
Dr. Qaali Hussein highlights the controversial censorship practices of Roblox. Tweeted November 6, 2023, by Qaali Hussein, MD, on X.
After a community uproar, an unnamed spokesperson from Roblox confirmed to TechCrunch that phrases like “Free Palestine” are indeed blocked due to their political essence. In early November, though, statements to Kotaku clarified that the phrase “Free Palestine” is viewed as an expression of solidarity rather than prohibited political content. Reports of removing the (Palestine) Dataran Tanjung servers were never confirmed nor denied.
In an era where digital activism transcends geographical boundaries, the bold efforts of Hamzah on Ome TV and Razz and Cikgu Zyd’s pro-Palestinian rallies on Roblox have transformed social and gaming platforms into dynamic arenas for human rights activism. Their innovative campaigns shed light on the catastrophic situation in Gaza, which claimed over 28,730 innocent lives.
A photo of journalists Motaz Aziza and Wael el Dahdouh in Qatar on January 24, 2024. Screengrab from Motaz Aziza’s stories, on Instagram.
Through firsthand accounts of truth-tellers Motaz Azaiza and Wael El Dahdouh, who have since sought refuge outside of Gaza, combined with the provocative discussions led by Hamzah and the grassroots rallies led by activists such as Razz and Cikgu Zyd, we have been summoned to a clarion call for global action. As a moral obligation, we are all urged to lend our voices, platforms, and resources to amplify the voices of the dispossessed and stand on the right side of history during one of the gravest crises of our time.
Cynthia Ghoussoub
Cynthia Ghoussoub is a Lebanese photographer, known for her contributions to the arts, media, and publishing industries. She graduated with a BA in Photography from Notre Dame Louaize (NDU) in 2015. In 2017, she participated in the second season of I Am a Nat Geo Photographer. The show aired between March and April 2018 on National Geographic Abu Dhabi TV. Following this exposure, Cynthia joined the Beirut Center of Photography, further cementing her role in the photographic community until her relocation to Sierra Leone in November 2019. In 2021, Ghoussoub became the photo editor for Al Rawiya Magazine, and she moved back to Lebanon the following year to lead the setup of a new art gallery in Beirut.
- Cynthia Ghoussoub
- Cynthia Ghoussoub
- Cynthia Ghoussoub
