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French newspaper cartoon criticised for mocking Gazans' hunger during holy month of Ramadan

March 12, 2024 at 4:53 pm

A child is seen crying amid others with empty containers, pans as they all wait to receive hot food distributed by charitables and charity organization in Gaza City, Gaza on February 26, 2024. [Omar Qattaa – Anadolu Agency]

A cartoon depicting Palestinian hunger in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, published in the French daily, Liberation, sparked ire on social media, with some criticising the widely-read daily for mocking Israeli forces’ “genocide” in the besieged enclave.

The cartoon titled “Ramadan in Gaza – The start of a fasting month” was drawn by Corinne Rey, a former cartoonist at the infamous satire magazine, Charlie Hebdo.

The drawing depicts a ruined city in the background and a hand sticking out of the rubble, while a heavily breathing man chases two mice and bugs down the street. A woman sits on the street with a starving boy next to her and angrily alerts the running man, by saying, “Not before the sunset,” alluding to the Islamic practice of day-long fasting.

Social media users left angry comments under Liberation’s post on X, expressing their ire at how the cartoon mocked “genocide”.

Many users believed the cartoon clearly mocked Gazans, deprived of basic needs and humanitarian aid, leaving them to starve.

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