A Generation of Children Terrorized —Trauma, Injury and Death
| revcom.us
A whole generation of children in Gaza are being traumatized, injured and murdered by unending Israeli bombs. They cannot sleep. They cannot go outside and play. They are cut off from nutrition, school, communication, and medical care. And, at random, they die horrible deaths from Israeli bombs.
As of May 16, the death toll of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza was 200. That included 59 children, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said, adding that the total number of injuries in the city has risen to 1,305.
On May 17, Save the Children, a London-based charity that organizes aid for the most desperate children in crisis zones around the world issued a statement exposing that three children are injured every hour by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
“Almost 60 children have been killed in Gaza in a week. How many more families need to lose loved ones before the international community takes action? Where can children run to when airstrikes rain down on their homes?,” Jason Lee, Save the Children’s Country Director for Gaza, said.
“Families in Gaza, and our staff, are telling us that they are at breaking point—they are living in hell with nowhere to seek refuge and seemingly no end in sight. Now basic supplies and power are running low, compounding and further fueling this humanitarian catastrophe,” the charity’s director added.
Israeli raids have damaged power lines across the city and fuel supplies—the sole source of power and electricity in the Gaza Strip—are low. Health facilities and civilian infrastructures could soon be left without the power they need to deliver crucial supplies and emergency treatment. Critically ill and injured children are also unable to leave the blockaded city for treatment.
On Sunday, June 16, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) released a similar statement, condemning the raids and saying Israel’s “bombardment” in Gaza is preventing the ICRC and other organizations from helping civilians injured or affected by the bombings.
“For people in Gaza, access to hospitals and other vital infrastructure has become very complicated because of the incessant airstrikes and major damage to roads and buildings,” Robert Mardini, ICRC’s director-general, said. According to the UN, the latest damage to infrastructure has also left 480,000 people in Gaza with limited or no access to water.
A Palestinian man carries a dead child taken out of the rubble of a destroyed residential building following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, Sunday, May 16, 2021. Photo: AP/Khalil Hamra
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