Goodbye to the lost children of Gaza. You were loved, you are remembered, you did not deserve it
There is no way to rationalise the horrors inflicted on Gaza’s innocent children. Now is the time to mourn them fully
Already, indications point to it being children that have made up the majority of casualties. UN analysis of verified deaths during a five-month period confirmed that of those who died, 44% were children. Most often, those children were five- to nine-year-olds; 80% of them killed in their own homes.
The horror is not just that they died. But how they died. In maximum terror. Many in their own homes, on shaking earth, among the cacophony and screeches of bombs, then either pulverised or smothered, to be pulled out dusted grey in complexion, or in pieces to be gathered in plastic bags. Others died in maximum pain, as lack of anaesthetic and medical supplies meant that some succumbed to injury without relief. Others perished after having their limbs amputated without a single dose of painkiller.
Thousands of moments of panic and agony leading up to a death that was almost certain. Most of these final moments were not witnessed by any who lived to tell the tale, nor reported. But in the case of a few, such as five-year-old Hind Rajab, there is a haunting glimpse into the sort of horror they suffered. She was killed among her dead relatives, alone after pleading with emergency services on the phone to rescue her. The line died after sounds of gunfire.
theguardian.com |
