Fares' sacrifice didn't go in vain

The then-Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon had provocatively visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque on September 28, 2000. In the midst of the disappointments caused by the Camp David Summit held just before on the Palestinian front, overshadowing those days, Sharon, accompanied by a large security force, stepped into Al-Aqsa almost mocking Muslims. This act infuriated Palestinian youths, turning the initial protests into a comprehensive uprising with the harsh intervention of Israeli occupation forces. Until the events completely subsided in the first weeks of 2005, nearly 3,500 Palestinians were killed, and thousands were detained or arrested. This period, named the "Second Intifada," became one of the exceptional periods in the history of Palestinian resistance.

Laurent Rebours, a photojournalist for the Associated Press (AP), who went to the region to cover the events, noticed a child throwing stones at tanks near the Karni Crossing on the Gaza-Israel border on October 29, 2000. Fearless and agile, the child, Fares Awdeh, seemed very confident as he threw stones in the face of the fully equipped war machine approaching. Unaware that Rebours captured one of the most iconic photos in Palestinian history at that moment, Fares would gain international fame as the "child resisting tanks with a stone" when AP released the photo. In Western public opinion, references were even made to the story of David and Goliath through him.

Born on December 3, 1985, in the Zeytun neighborhood of Gaza as one of eight children in a poor family, Fares was known for his courage and constant involvement from an early age. His name was fitting because "Fares" means "fearless and agile cavalry" in Arabic. When the First Intifada broke out in 1987, Fares was only two years old, and since he could remember, he was involved in the struggle and resistance against the occupation. Finally, when the Second Intifada began, he started using his courage and boldness against Israeli occupation soldiers and tanks, catching Rebours' radar that day when he unknowingly threw stones at war machines.

While Fares' photo was spreading worldwide, he continued to run along the border, trying to resist the occupation as much as his strength allowed. On November 1, Fares' beloved 17-year-old cousin Shadi was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers. Focused solely on avenging Shadi, Fares was constantly on the streets, throwing stones with even greater determination and anger, challenging not only the occupation but almost defying death. Exactly one week after Shadi's death, on November 8, 2000, Fares became a target of Israeli soldiers' bullets. He was shot in the shoulder while throwing stones at one of the tanks. The occupiers were firing so intensively that Fares' friends had to wait a long time to lift his body from the ground. When they finally reached him, Fares had long since taken his last breath. He was only 14 years old.

While watching the recently shared videos showing how fighters from the Al-Qassam Brigades destroyed Israeli tanks, it was impossible not to remember Fares Awdeh. Just 23 years ago, Gazan children, armed only with stones against occupation and blockade, are now making headlines in the world with much more organized actions. Every drop of blood shed has not been in vain, and every pain experienced takes its place in the "collective memory," then reappears on the stage to remind itself when the time comes. The memory of Fares and other martyrs returns to the Al-Qassam Brigades as a source of determination and motivation.

You know, when we watch with awe and admiration how Gazans are so at peace with death, the foundation of it all is that "collective memory." When we hold up the mirror to ourselves, this is the point where we should confess, feel embarrassed by reflecting on the meanings we give to life and death, and admit the things we care about, consider important, and deem "indispensable."