The Children of Palestine: A Misplaced Generation
Basic humanity’s stance regarding the massacre taking place in Palestine right now is pure and simple. It is wrong! No doubt, this is a severe understatement. The loss of lives and destruction of homes, the scores of injuries, and the trauma all add up to more inhumane actions. To get a better look at what’s happening right now to Palestinian children, scroll down below, and tread lightly as you do.
Children of Palestine
Palestinian children get arrested for all sorts of reasons, such as alleged trespassing, and each and every one of them is as inhumane as the next. Five children, aged between 8-13 were detained recently, and Israeli Defense Forces held them for three hours then released them, stating that their detention was a mistake.
On May 10th, three different coordinated attacks killed nine Palestinian children aged between 2-16 in the Gaza Strip, and an Israeli drone fired a missile, killing a father and his son.
On the 17th of May, the search and rescue team found seven more victims, all children, who lost their lives as a result of Israeli airstrikes this week in Gaza. Consequently, the total number of children killed in the Gaza Strip since May the 10th has now reached up to 60.
With the constant barrage of attacks on Gaza, Palestinians have been grabbing their children, and fleeing towards the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately, not all of them were able to escape safely though, as Israeli settlers fired on a family’s home, killing all six members of the family.
As kids flee from their homes throughout the Israeli bombardment, their chances on taking any essentials with them are non-existent. Not even a face mask to protect them from COVID-19 can be salvaged in time. Additionally, one Palestinian mother said, “of course I’m afraid of catching coronavirus, but it will be easier (to cope with) than Israeli missiles.”
The tragedies continue
On average, three children are injured every hour since the Israeli air strikes started. Moreover, more than 1,000 people have been injured, including 366 children. Although the number of Palestinian children injured have soared, two Israeli kids have also been victims in this matter.
A seven year-old girl that was pulled from under the rubble of her home is severely traumatized, and doesn’t speak or eat as a result of her harrowing experience. This week, her entire family was killed as their home was destroyed, and Israeli Defense Forces claim that their target was a Hamas tunnel network.
In the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, East Jerusalem, 29 Palestinian kids were injured, and eight other kids were arrested.
Children that have survived these onslaughts suffer their own set of consequences. They continue to live daily with extreme PTSD, especially after losing their families in one strike. Meanwhile, parents in Gaza attempt to calm their terrified children as the world around them collapses with additional bombs and airstrikes.
