ISTANBUL
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah on Monday voiced solidarity with the Gaza Strip amid a deadly Israeli onslaught that killed nearly 20,700 people since Oct. 7.
“Christmas is a time when families get together and celebrate. With the brutal war going on in the Middle East, especially the death and destruction in Gaza,” Salah wrote on his social media accounts.
“This year, we get to Christmas with very heavy hearts and we share the pain of those families who are grieving the loss of their loved ones,” he added.
The Egyptian footballer called on his fans to “not forget them [Palestinians in Gaza] and do not get used to their suffering.”
Salah faced a wave of criticism from his fans across the Arab world for being silent towards the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid Israeli attacks.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 20,674 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 54,536 others, according to local health authorities.
Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with half of the coastal territory’s housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.
