Barely a minute passes without horrifying images and stories of boys and girls trapped under the rubble in Gaza circulating online. Children tremble with fear, often bursting into tears after being rescued by paramedics. Some are asked to help identify the bodies of their family members who were killed, leaving them as the lone survivors. On a hospital bed, a little girl moans in pain, while a premature baby, born from his deceased mother’s womb, lies alone in a glass incubator, with no family left to inquire about him due to their own tragic fate.

These images have stories behind them, such as a mother desperately searching for her seven-year-old son, Youssef, “sweet and with curly hair,” who was killed by a missile. And then there are Omar and Sousou, as seen in their picture, clinging to each other on a hospital chair, arriving alone, their eyes filled with terror.

The media is open to images of body parts, scenes of destruction, and appalling violations of children’s rights. Despite the horror of systematic violence, I find myself torn between the need to expose the brutality of a regular army that kills without hesitation and the need to protect children both in the media and from the media.

Amid an unprecedented campaign of media misinformation analyzing the deaths of boys and girls, where do we draw the fine moral line between revealing the facts and ensuring protection?

Over 1,500 boys and girls, out of a total of 4,200, have been killed by the Israeli army since October 7. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 13,000 people have been injured, with the majority suffering serious injuries that may lead to long-term disabilities. And on the other hand, due to continuous bombardment, a lack of equipment, and the focus on rescue operations, many remain missing under the rubble, beyond reach. The number of households subjected to total destruction is estimated at 5,000, with over 750,000 displaced individuals, predominantly women and children, forced to live in inhumane conditions in UNRWA schools and around hospitals and churches. Reports indicate that approximately 100 people share a single room due to power outages, water scarcity, and difficulties in securing adequate food, especially for infants.

There are also births occurring under force majeure circumstances, hospitals facing eviction threats, surgeries being performed without anesthesia, and conditions of displacement without any protection.

A compelling fact that cannot be ignored is that what children, both boys and girls, experience in the Gaza Strip goes much deeper than any image can capture. It is a prelude to genocide. It is important to highlight that war crimes and genocide, regardless of ethnicity, race, or location, represent one of the darkest chapters in human history and leave a lasting stain on those who commit them. Despite documenting the destruction and deaths resulting from these events, their impact on children, both male and female, is profound and multi-dimensional, known as “intergenerational trauma.”

The targeting of children in the current war is not accidental or so-called collateral damage. It is deliberate and intentional. The violations that are taking place are multiple and violent, sometimes exceeding the capacity of children to cope with crises. The number of deceased children in Gaza so far leaves no room for interpretation or concealment.

Here, it is essential to list the range of violations against children, boys and girls, to confirm that the ongoing war on Gaza exhibits the characteristics of genocide:

The number of households subjected to total destruction is estimated at 5,000, with over 750,000 displaced individuals, predominantly women and children, forced to live in inhumane conditions in UNRWA schools and around hospitals and churches

1. Deprivation of Life and Family: In wars, children are brutally and systematically killed, firstly, to cause immense loss of life, and secondly, to induce trauma in order to subjugate and terrorize the survivors. Massacres often result in the forced separation of children from their parents or caregivers, leading to profound emotional and psychological trauma for both boys and girls. They also face an uncertain future in the absence of the basic care and love needed to overcome the shock of war.

2. Recruitment, Displacement, and Sexual Violence: Regimes may forcibly recruit children into their ranks, turning them into soldiers or laborers, often subjecting them to violence and various forms of sexual abuse and effectively treating them as slaves. 

War crimes and massacres also frequently lead to the mass displacement of entire populations, including male and female children, exposing them to harsh living conditions, a lack of access to healthcare, and malnutrition, perpetuating suffering in a relentless cycle.

3. Deprivation of Education: Children are often prevented from attending school, hindering their intellectual development and robbing them of a sense of normalcy, hope, and the possibility of a better future.

Everlasting Trauma

One of the most persistent and widespread violations of children’s rights is the psychological trauma suffered by both male and female children. Doctors in Gaza have begun to warn of this, speaking of psychological and neurological conditions and the fear experienced by surviving children, couple with cases of involuntary urination. Witnessing and experiencing violence, loss, and separation often leaves deep scars that can last a lifetime.

It’s heart-wrenching to witness the atrocities faced by the children in Gaza today, and it is even more disheartening that these acts are being sanctioned by the world under the banner of eliminating terrorism. As protection workers, we face a daunting challenge in dealing with this systematic killing. Our intervention efforts are limited in the face of the complicity of Western and major capitals in turning a blind eye to the carnage unfolding in Gaza.

Today, we still have a voice, and we must use it to demand justice for the victims, an end to systematic killings, the prosecution of the criminals, even if they are acting on behalf of the state, and the provision of safety, security, and an appropriate response.

However, how can we reconcile the ethics of the media with the responsibility to speak out without getting entangled in using the tragedies of children as a means of condemnation? 

Are statistics, figures, and facts alone enough to deter the murderer and bring them to justice?

The moral equation is complex, and compromises are often made in the face of systematic media misinformation. During these moments of reflection, Omar and Sousou’s eyes remain fixed on the killer’s bottomless brutality, and we bear witness.