Death has permeated into every pore of Gaza. Eman Basher, an inhabitant of the Palestinian enclave, says, "We spend the day not believing we’re still alive and in the night we wait for our death." The subjugation of the colonized population’s life to the power of death is a core feature of Zionist strategy. This has again been made clear in the recent bombing campaigns which have killed 230 Palestinians over 11 days, including 65 children and 39 women. Nearly 450 buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged and more than 52,000 people have fled their homes.
Targeting Children
Israel tries to spread pure terror among the Palestinian population through the targeting of children. On May 15, 2021, Hamza – a 14-year-old Palestinian child – committed suicide by throwing himself from the 8th floor. Hamza had lost his entire family in the recent Israeli assaults on Gaza. In 2009, his little brother was killed by an Israeli missile while playing football. In the 2012, his older brother was killed. In 2014, his father was killed. Due to this severe trauma, Hamza became very close to his mother, his last surviving family member, who was killed in the current Israeli bombardments.
On May 18, 2021, the settler state bombed the office of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, a charity in Gaza that provides free medical care for Palestinian children in need. On the same day, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) confirmed that 11 of all the children killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza were participating in its psycho-social program aimed at helping them deal with trauma.