The Haaretz newspaper stated that 11,500 children were killed in Gaza, where some children experienced the deaths of loved ones, parents buried their children, and individuals retrieved bodies from fire and debris. Thousands of disabled children and tens of thousands are in permanent shock.
The Israeli newspaper – in a column by its writer Gideon Levy – explained that Al Jazeera published a list of names it had identified over the weekend, representing half of the 11,500 children killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip. A child is killed every 15 minutes, with 1% in Gaza.
The newspaper mentioned that thousands of names of children killed by the Israeli army in Gaza over the past four months flowed one after another like credits at the end of a long movie, with a sad tune in the background. This includes 260 names of children who will never celebrate their first birthday or any other and whose dreams will remain unknown.
The writer finds no explanation, justification, or excuse for this horror, and does not see the need for the Israeli propaganda machine to seek it. The “Islamic Resistance Movement” (Hamas) cannot be held responsible for all of this; thus, there can be no explanation other than the presence of an Israeli army and government that do not abide by any law or ethics.
There are children who died in their homes – as the writer says – and children who tried to escape to save their lives in vain, with 10,000 small bodies lying in mass graves and crowded emergency rooms, all happening not far from Tel Aviv without being reported in Israel and without any public discussion about the violent rampage Israel allowed itself this time, and without anyone thinking about the consequences of this mass killing and what Israel may gain from it and the price it will pay for it.
Presenting a list of thousands of dead children takes only 7 minutes, passing as quickly as their miserable lives did, moments that make one feel suffocated, sorrowful, and deeply embarrassed.
The justifications seemed trivial and pitiful – as the writer says – “they started” and “there is no choice” and “what do you want us to do?” and “the Israeli army is doing everything possible to avoid killing innocents”; however, the truth is that Israel doesn’t care, “they will only grow up to become terrorists.”
Meanwhile, Israel is erasing generations in Gaza, and its soldiers are killing children in numbers rivaling the worst wars, and this cannot be forgotten, as how can a people forget those who killed their children in this manner? And how can people with living consciences around the world remain silent in the face of this mass killing of children, the writer asks.
The writer concluded that it is impossible for people to remain silent, and even Israel, immersed in its grief and concern for the fate of the detainees, cannot ignore what is happening in Gaza where presenting a list of thousands of dead children takes just 7 minutes, passing as quickly as their miserable lives did, moments that make one feel suffocated, sorrowful, and deeply embarrassed.
