At least 23 people were killed in an Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources. More than 50 people were injured, including the well-known comedian Mahmoud Zuaiter. This was announced by the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian Hamas movement, today, Friday. The bombing targeted the comedian’s house in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
Zuaiter is very popular in Gaza. He is known for his hidden camera recordings, impersonations, and dark humor. He has more than 1.2 million followers on social media. His videos have been viewed millions of times on YouTube.
In a video clip that spread on social media on Friday evening, the comedian appeared sitting with an injured girl on his knees. He looks visibly upset, says a few words and then bursts into tears. “I was always against the idea of leaving Gaza. I prayed to God not to force me to leave (…) because I love Gaza and its people very much. But it seems that they want us all to leave Gaza,” before he started crying.
Mahmoud Zuaiter, who was only forty years old, belonged to a group of comedians from Gaza who prepared scripts, drawings, and clips for Palestinian television. They brought a dose of black humor to a region that was suffering under the Israeli and Egyptian blockade. It was a mixture of social criticism, satire and sensationalism, tolerated by the Islamist Hamas movement that holds power in Gaza, and popular on social media.
