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“We are in the midst
of an attack that will continue and grow. There is no hourglass.”
– Israel’s
Brigadier-General Yoav Mordechai
***
Dear The O’Leary,
As you probably
know by now, Israel had been bombing Gaza for the past few days. 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 |
