An American citizen participates in the Rubble Bucket challenge in support of Gaza victims.
An American citizen participates in the Rubble Bucket challenge in support of Gaza victims.Facebook/Rubble Bucket Challenge

Inspired by the popularity gained by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, several Gaza supporters have come up with the Rubble Bucket Challenge to highlight the destruction caused in Palestine by the Israeli bombings.

#RubbleBucketChallenge has been trending on Twitter. The challenge saw ice water-filled buckets being replaced by sand and rock containers, pointing to the condition in the Gaza Strip.

According to The Independent, the trend was started by Jordanian comedian Mohammed Darwaza on Friday.

However, according to the Facebook page of Rice Bucket Challenge, "It is a campaign launched by the Gazan university student, Maysam Yusef, to raise awareness about the ethnic cleansing in Gaza."

The Facebook page has now gained thousands of supporters, who have shared their videos.

The activists claim that through the Rubble Bucket Challenge, they want to "raise awareness about the war on Gaza where people are bombed inside their homes. All people are invited to accept the challenge."

Journalist Ayman al Aloul, who played a key role in popularising the Rubble Bucket Challenge, stated in his YouTube video that he was inspired by the idea of the ice bucket challenge and so decided to invent the "Palestinian version".

"We looked for a bucket of water, however the use of water is more important than to empty over our heads. And even if the water is available it is difficult to freeze it," al Aloul stated, while standing near the ruins of buildings destroyed in the bombings.

"If five famous people in the world like actors or presidents will do the challenge, that means I succeeded in sending the message about Gaza,"

According to a Guardian report, more than 2,100 people have been killed in the Gaza conflict in the last seven weeks, including around 500 children, while more than 17,000 homes have been destroyed in the bombings.

The report indicates that a third of Gaza's 1.8 million have been made homeless by the Israeli air strikes, and they are now living in United Nations' shelters.

Meanwhile, as the Rubble Bucket Challenge is garnering attention, the Rice Bucket Challenge has gone viral in India. Started by a woman in Hyderabad, the challenge urges people to donate a bucket full of rice to the poor.