Usman Khawaja condemns killing of children in Gaza, calls for global outrage

Australian Test opener Usman Khawaja has once again expressed his strong disapproval over the killing of over 130 children in Palestine, calling out the global silence on the issue, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.

At least 980 innocent people including women and children were killed in the Gaza territory over the past 48 hours due to several air strikes conducted by the Israeli air force. 

The left-handed batter shared a screenshot of a post by American activist Omar Suleiman, showing the corpse of an infant.

 “Over 130 children killed in one day. For no reason, to break a CEASEFIRE,” wrote Khawaja on Facebook.

“Now imagine if that happened on the opposite side. The outrage that would occur. All lives aren't equal.

“For some reason, these kids will be footnotes or just numbers in history. But they too have names and mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers just like you.

“We can't normalize this type of brutality. Although I'm afraid we may already have. I can't believe this is still happening.”

Khawaja has been a consistent critic of the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict and has voiced his frustration on several occasions.

The opener also staged a muted protest during Australia’s home Test series against Pakistan in late 2023 as he emblazoned his shoes with slogans “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” for the opening match.

But Pakistan-born Khawaja, who is Muslim, when told that it flouted the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules, dropped the idea and instead donned a black armband during the first Test against Pakistan.

But, this too, could not help Khawaja from escaping the ban as the apex cricketing body reprimanded him for displaying a ‘personal message’.

Briefly, after the sanction, Usman Khawaja called out the ICC for ‘inconsistent ruling’ and asserted that some of the players were allowed to display personal messages in the past.

“I just think that so much has happened in the past that sets a precedent,” Khawaja told Fox Cricket.

“Other guys that have religious things on their equipment, under the ICC guidelines that’s not technically allowed, but the ICC never says anything on that,” he added.