Some of many reasons why there must be a permanent ceasefire in Gaza
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Chldren. By UNICEF’s estimate, about 500,000 children were already in need of mental and psycho-social support in Gaza before the assault. Today, it estimates the number has doubled to more than one million children. It describes Gaza as a war on children. “The Gaza strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child.”
Of the more than 28,000 people killed in Gaza, more than 12,000 were children. At least 17,000 children have been separated from their immediate relatives. Parents write the names of their children on their bodies so they can be identified if killed or wounded. Sometimes a child’s injuries are so severe their own families struggle to recognize them. Initial figures from Gaza indicate that 24,000 – 25,000 Palestinian children have become orphans. 25,000 have lost one or both parents. 640,000 children have lost their homes after they were partially or totally destroyed. The future of hundreds of thousands of children is still unknown.
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Gaza is a war sustained by our US taxpayer dollars. The scale of destruction and war crimes in Gaza would not be possible without the sustained flow of weapons from the US. Despite massive protests, our administration had been working to give over 14 billion dollars to buy more weapons over the 3.8 billion the US annually gives Israel. The Washington Post reported on Friday that the administration has “quietly” given shipments including 1,800 MK84 2,000 bombs, which are capable of leveling city blocks and leaving craters in the earth 40 feet across. For this reason, they are almost never used anymore by Western militaries in densely populated locations due to the risk of civilian casualties. Nevertheless, Israel has used them extensively in Gaza, most notably in the bombing of Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp in October. UN officials decried the strike, which killed more than 100 people, as a “disproportionate attack that could amount to war crimes.” Israel defended the bombing saying it resulted in the death of a Hamas leader. Israeli bombs and bullets have killed more than 32,600 Palestinians—mostly women and children, while wounding over 75,000 others and damaging or destroying hundreds of thousands of homes, schools, hospitals, mosques, and other structures. [Note: As we debate the merits of our indifference, these numbers keep increasing}
It is a violation of US law to continue sending military assistance to a country obstructing the delivery of American humanitarian assistance.
We must end our complicity.
By Roberta Schonemann