Israel Escalates Terror on Gaza’s Children

"We are in the midst of an attack that will continue and grow. There is no hourglass."
- Israel's Brigadier-General Yoav Mordechai 

Hamid Younis Abu Daqqa, 13, always wore his Real Madrid shirt when he played soccer with his friends. He died wearing the same shirt. READ MORE

Already, several children have been killed and dozens more have been wounded, as airstrikes continue and Israel is calling up ground troops. Hamid Younis Abu Daqqa, 13, was killed when Israeli helicopters machine-gunned a soccer field while he was playing with some friends. This morning I spoke to Dr. Mona El Farra, MECA’s Gaza Projects Director, as she hurried to prepare her home to protect herself and her family from explosions and shattering glass. “Right now, Gaza is under extensive Israeli military attack," she told me. “Our hospitals are already lacking essential emergency medications, and citizens are being called on for emergency blood donations, but it is not safe to travel." She continued, "We do not have electricity; I am using backup power to get this message to you because we expect more escalation.” “At lease two children have been killed so far today including 7 year-old Ranan Arafat, and at least 6 children are critically injured, their charred bodies have been arriving in Gaza's Shifa hospital for the past 3 hours. 25 airstrikes all over the Gaza Strip have occurred, and there is an expectation of a possible Israeli land invasion very soon. Move. Act now to stop another Gaza bloodbath. Inaction around the world has led us to this point. Act now!” she urges. Before we said goodbye, Mona said: “The children of Gaza are terrified – there are children who lack medicine, food, who feel a lack safety and have no shelters.” At MECA we are doing our best to control our tears and our rage and figure how best to help those in need. As Israel prepares to expand its brutal military operations in Gaza, we ask that you please look for updates and actions alerts from us in the next few days. Many thanks for your concern as these terrible events unfold. Sincerely,  Ziad Abbas,  Associate Director, MECA