Akashma Online News

The death toll in Gaza is rising more quickly than we can keep up—earlier today, the Ministry of Health announced that at least 447 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and shelling in the Gaza Strip. Hospitals are operating well over capacity, and there are no ICU beds available. 

Israeli airstrikes have forced our field researcher in Gaza, Mohammad Abu Rukbeh, to relocate his family at least four times since yesterday. They are moving from house to house, searching for somewhere safe—but there is no safe place in Gaza.

After his neighbor’s house in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip was bombed, Mohammad checked on his four children. “Thankfully, they were unharmed, but they were terrified to the point that they could not walk. My eldest son, 14-year-old Ahmad, told me that he couldn’t feel his left foot and had pain in the lower part of his back. My younger son, Karam, who is ten, also could not walk on his feet and was not able to hide his tears. Amina, our two-year-old little girl, was being held by my wife, and they were all terrified.”

Mohammad added, “While we have experienced previous attacks, such as the 2014 aggression that lasted for 51 days, it was not marked by this level of brutal ferocity. This time, it is a war waged by the organized Israeli army, supported by American aircraft carriers, accompanied by an unprecedented international silence. We are isolated people facing the fiercest war machines.”

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces and settlers are also targeting Palestinians with increased intensity: Since Saturday, Israeli forces and settlers have shot and killed seven Palestinian children.

If you would like to share a message with Mohammad, just reply to this email and I’ll pass it along. Thank you for all you’re doing to push for deescalation, humanitarian aid, and support for Palestinians in Gaza.

In solidarity,

Brad Parker
Senior Adviser, Policy & Advocacy
Defense for Children International – Palestine