'From one wounded patient to another': Palestinians in Gaza express solidarity with Sudan over El-Fasher massacre

After over two years of Israeli genocidal war and blockade depriving them of essentials, Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip are quick to express solidarity with Sudan, particularly regarding the situation in El Fasher, Darfur's capital, where violence and famine worsen amid fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF.

Speaking with The New Arab, residents in Gaza described how they see Sudan's crisis "like their own", describing it as "a reflection" of their own suffering, hunger, destruction, fear, and isolation.

Despite power outages, Palestinians in Gaza have been watching the news via social media, sparking widespread empathy for civilians in Sudan's El Fasher.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been experiencing one of the most violent conflicts in its history. Fighting between the army and the RSF has killed thousands and displaced millions, both within the country and abroad.

Recently, in late October 2025, El Fasher fell completely under RSF control after a brutal siege lasting more than 500 days, with humanitarian agencies warning of grave violations and massacres against civilians.

According to the United Nations, the siege has caused an "unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe," as food and medical supplies have run out and hunger has spread among residents cut off from aid for months.

'Same story'

In Gaza, scenes from Darfur are painfully familiar.

Umm Alaa Abu Shahla, a displaced woman from Gaza City's Zeitoun, living now in Mawasi with her five children, remarked to TNA, "When I heard about the siege and starvation in El Fasher, I felt we were living the same story. We are without food or medicine, and the world talks but does nothing. Suffering has become a common language between us and them."

"The pain is the same, even if the maps are different," she added. 

Mohammed Abu Shalmalah, a 25-year-old from Khan Younis, lost his right leg in an Israeli attack a year ago. He says the videos from Sudan emotionally shook him. "I thought we were the only ones suffering from Israeli crimes and injustice, but others in Sudan suffer the same while the world remains silent," he told TNA.

"We know what it means to be besieged without food or medicine. When I see the starving people in El Fasher, I remember the days we waited for an aid truck that never arrived," Abu Shalmalah added. "What's happening there is like what we experienced here; this is solidarity from one wounded person to another," he said.

"Watching the crisis in Sudan reminds Gazans of the universality of suffering and the limited international response to humanitarian disasters," Ahmed Masoad, a Palestinian man in Gaza, told TNA. "When we see what's happening there, it's like looking in a mirror. El Fasher is another Gaza, just with a different name."

"We know exactly what they are going through […] We lost our homes and relatives, and we fear that the people of El Fasher will face the same fate. We ask the world to protect them, just as we asked it to protect us," he added.

Digital solidarity amid isolation

Many Palestinians in Gaza have resorted to social media to articulate their sympathy, sharing photos and videos of displaced Sudanese families under siege, and hoping these online posts can draw the world's attention to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, just as digital platforms helped Gaza's stories reach the world during Israel's onslaught.

"With Gaza cut off from the outside world, social media has become a small window for us to express solidarity," Marwa Ezzat, a Gaza-based young woman, told TNA. "During the [Israeli] war, I never heard about the Sudanese crisis, but once it [paused], I was shocked that [Sudanese] women and children were struggling to survive."

"We share images of Sudan because we understand what it means to be besieged and forgotten. As our suffering became known through social media, we want Sudanese voices to be heard now," Ezzat added. "During the hardest days, social media was our lifeline. Today, we're trying to give back to others who are suffering like us. Maybe one post from Gaza will resonate somewhere and help the people of El Fasher."

Ezzat is one of many Gazans who see this digital solidarity as a reflection of what they call a "shared humanitarian consciousness."

"At a time when images are stronger than speeches, we use what we have, our phones, to send messages of hope," Samira al-Hadad, another Palestinian woman in Gaza, said to TNA. "We may not be able to send aid, but we can send a voice to the voiceless."

Palestinian analysts say that this wave of solidarity reflects a deep humanitarian awareness among Gazans, who have lived through similar suffering.

Ahed Ferwana, a Gaza-based political analyst, told TNA opined that Gazans feel "emotionally close" to the people of Sudan, saying that "when they see images of displaced families in Darfur, they feel as though they are seeing themselves."

Ferwana added that the recurring crises in the Arab world, from Palestine to Sudan and Yemen, have created both despair and compassion among ordinary people.

"In the absence of international justice, people in Gaza find solace in empathising with others. They say: We are suffering, but we are still capable of feeling others' pain," he said.