What kind of hell, what kind of atrocities could a child experience to systematically harm themselves? How much would they have endured before their tender thoughts became unbearable in their mind? What could they have seen or heard to make them insist on silencing their own voice and closing their eyes?
In 2023, a four-year-old girl began harming herself as a result of the fear she experienced in Gaza, which was under siege and under attack. Her mother’s response could not have been more heartbreaking: "I can’t afford to think about my children’s mental health; first, I need to keep them alive."
The incident was recounted by James Elder, spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), who said on that same day: "Gaza has become a graveyard for children. It is hell for everyone else." A direct blow to the hearts of those who still have humanity in their bones.
At the time, Elder himself had stated: "If we had a 72-hour ceasefire, this would mean that 1,000 children would be safe again for the time being."
Today, since Israel signed the ceasefire last October, the number of children killed continues to be staggering: 265 children, crimes "committed not in war zones but in their homes and schools while they were playing soccer or fishing," UNICEF reported last June.
"During a period supposedly defined by restraint and protection, on average, one child has been killed every single day for more than eight months," Elder stated on this occasion. "It is an absurd and devastating figure."
The humanitarian worker explained that "they were shot at, bombed, and struck by drone attacks" carried out by the Israeli army. He continued: "If they sneeze near the Orange Line, they’re very likely to be shot," referring to the "continuous advance" of the occupation borders established by the Zionist entity.
"The scale of human suffering being inflicted in Gaza—and which others allow to be inflicted—on Palestinian children is almost unparalleled in our lifetime," he said.
The world looks the other way while bombs, mortar fire, malnutrition, dehydration, hypothermia, forced displacement, and trauma take root almost "naturally" in Gaza. The cumulative impact of years of attrition and the entrenched crisis casts a shadow over the future of Gaza’s children.
The headline on the UN website should serve as a wake-up call: Israel has been killing one child a day in Gaza since it signed the ceasefire. However, humanity does not seem to realize the gravity of the situation, and what is being done to reverse it is insufficient. How can anyone ignore the image of a little boy shot, or of a father closing his young son’s eyes?
One cannot even say that the misnamed "ceasefire" represents a semblance of calm as long as a single child remains in danger.
