Children are supposed to be protected. In Gaza, these protections are simply gone. Every day, the distinction between combatant and civilian is erased. Most of my patients were pre-teen children, their bodies shattered by explosives and torn by flying metal. Many died. Those who lived often awoke to find their entire families gone. Last year, I published in the New York Times a survey of 65 American healthcare workers who had served in Gaza. 83% of them reported seeing children shot in the head or the chest. I personally treated 13 such cases in my two weeks at European Hospital. According to the Warchild Alliance, nearly half of Gaza’s children are suicidal. They ask, "Why didn’t I die with my sister, my mother, my father? Not out of extremism, but out of unbearable grief. I wonder if any member of this council has ever met a 5-year-old child who no longer wants to live. [Music]
