96% of Children in Gaza fear Imminent Death and 50 % of Them Do Not Want to Live
According to a report by Independent TV (December 12, 2024) and confirmed by Democracy Now, Save the Children, Common Dreams, The Guardian, Relief Web, and numerous other sources, 96% of children in Gaza fear imminent death, and 50 % of them do not want to live. Others showed “symptoms like aggression, withdrawal, and pervasive anxiety.” Severe psychological damage to children is the result of seeing their parents, siblings, and other family members blown to bits by Israel’s indiscriminate bombings.
Norman Finkelstein has described Israel’s killing of 45,000 Palestinians as “high-tech murder.” Nearly half of the dead are children and women. During the first year of its genocidal campaign, Israel has killed at least 17,000 children who had nothing to do with this war. The killing of children and other Palestinians continues on a daily basis. Israel’s President, Prime Minister, and military leaders have said repeatedly that they do not make any distinction between the Palestinian militants and civilians. Helen Pattinson of War Child UK said:
“This report lays bare that Gaza is one of the most horrifying places in the world to be a child. Alongside the levelling of hospitals, schools and homes, a trail of psychological destruction has caused wounds unseen but no less destructive on children who hold no responsibility for this war,”
She added:
“The international community must act now before the child mental health catastrophe we are witnessing embeds itself into multi-generational trauma, the consequences of which the region will be dealing with for decades to come. A ceasefire must be the immediate first step to allow War Child and other agencies to effectively respond to the intense psychological damage children are experiencing.”
According to Washington Post, dated November 3, 2024, the “Entire northern Gaza population [is] ‘at imminent risk’ of death.”
How to Stop This Ongoing Slaughter of Innocent Children and Women
In the United States and across the globe, the grassroot movements have been doing an admirable work. People who have not joined any movement and continue to suffer in silence on the sidelines should become activists without any further delay. This step is especially necessary for American citizens because it is their government that is enabling Israel to continue this genocide and many other aggressions, such as its killing of hundreds of civilians in Lebanon by bugging the electronic devices that civilians use every day, its incessant bombing and destruction of Syria, and its continued violations of international law.
Steps that everyone can take to end this genocide and other aggressions by Israel
1)Ask Your Government to Sever Ties with Israel
Wherever in the world you live, pressure your government to expel the Israeli ambassador and recall their ambassadors to Israel. In addition, your governments should cut off all trade relations and other ties with Israel to strengthen the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel. At least thirteen countries, including Jordan, Bahrain, Turkey, Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras, Chile, Belize, Brazil, South Africa, Chad, Cuba, and North Korea have recalled their ambassadors to Israel or severed ties altogether.
The diplomatic ties can be restored after Israel complies with the UN Security Council’s and UN General Assembly’s resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, accompanied by the deployment of UN personnel to oversee the distribution of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. A pre-condition to restoration of ties with Israel should be its compliance with U.N. Security Council’s unanimously passed Resolution 242 that requires Israel’s withdrawal to its pre-June 1967 border.
2) Urge Your Government to Honor the Verdict of the International Criminal Court
Ask your government to make a statement that it will honor the International Criminal Court’s warrant of arrest against Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The Hamas militant named in the ICC ruling has already been killed by Israel. On November 22, 2024, The Newsweek released this list of countries that will honor the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants: Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Turkey, Jordan, Norway, and Sweden. Other sources have added the names of Belgium, Austria, and Slovenia to that list.
The ICC is recognized by 124 member nations. Technically, the two Israeli leaders could be arrested if they visit any of those countries. According to Reuters’ report of Nov 28, 2024, the European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell advised all EU member states to respect the International Criminal Court’s decision regarding the arrest warrant. “We cannot undermine the International Criminal Court. It is the only way of having global justice.” He added that ICC’s decisions are not political. “It’s a legal body formed by respected people who are the best among the profession of judges.”
3) Ask Your Government to Participate in UN General Assembly’s Sanctions Against Israel
Unfortunately, the veto power of five UN member states is almost impossible to abolish because all five veto-holding states have to agree to surrender that power. However, nonamendment reform of the UN is possible, which can enable the world body to act effectively in crises when the Security Council is paralyzed by the veto. As suggestedby Oona A. Hathaway, Maggie M. Mills, and Heather Zimmerman in their July 15, 2024, article, “How to Reform the UN Without Amending Its Charter,” in Carnegie’s Global Order and Institutions Program, the UN General Assembly can impose any or all of the following penalties on the offending state:
“…suspension from a UN committee, organ, or subsidiary organ; loss of the right to speak at the general debate of the General Assembly or suspension from meetings held on UN grounds; reduction in the number of positions its nationals hold in the UN; loss of funding from UN agencies; or even suspension from membership at the UN altogether.”
4) If you are an American citizen, you should pressure the President and your representatives in Congress to arrange an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, followed by an unequivocal statement and action by U.S. government that a viable Palestinian state will be created urgently. It is important to remember that Israel’s genocide could have been stopped on December 8, 2023, with the U.N. Security Council’s resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, but the U.S. vetoed it, thus giving Israel the green light to continue its barbaric genocide of Palestinians. Since then, the U.S. government has vetoed three more ceasefire resolutions. Those U.S. actions have given Israel the time and means to continue its killing of Palestinians in full view of the world.
The reason U.S. has given for its vetoes is Israel’s security and the fear that a ceasefire might allow Hamas to regroup and attack Israel again as it did on October 7, 2023. As all sensible and experienced political leaders, such as two former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, Senator Bernie Sanders, and numerous others, have stated repeatedly, Israel’s security is only possible if Palestinians are given their rights and their independent, viable state. Israel’s murderous campaigns with U.S. support will be counterproductive and result in more attacks on Israel.
Make your government understand that the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel was an isolated incident to break out of the 17-year strangulation of Israel’s siege. Even though it ended in the death of 1250 Israelis, it was not aimed at genocide of Israelis. On the contrary, Israel has been carrying out a declared genocide of Palestinians with United States’ help, a step that has isolated the U.S., with 153 out of the 193 U.N. members opposing the U.S. actions.
5) For Americans in High Tax Brackets
If you are a taxpaying American, tell the President and your representatives in Congress that since Israel is carrying out this genocide of Palestinians with American money, you are not going to bloody your hands in this genocide and will have to postpone paying federal taxes if your government does not arrange an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, followed by steps toward a viable Palestinian state. It is a practical and effective strategy to pressure the government to change its destructive policies and protect American lives at home and abroad. This step is meant only for those Americans who are affluent, pay high taxes, and can afford the penalty that late payment of taxes might entail.
Abdul Jabbar has taught English and Interdisciplinary Studies for 36 years on a full-time basis, including a course on Politics of the Middle East for fifteen years, at City College of San Francisco. He was also a visiting professor of English at University of California, Berkeley. Recipient of a Fulbright scholarship, he has also received two National Endowment for the Humanities awards. He received his Ph.D in English from Case Western University, Cleveland, Ohio. He has published three books and many articles on literary, political, and similar topics.
