War on children

Every stone turned in Gaza reveals evidence of a stark violation of international human rights as well as humanitarian law. Yet, the self-acclaimed global appointees for justice and peace purposefully fail to put those complicit behind bars. Imposing deliberate malnutrition on a people is a significant marker of genocide, and this cruel and intentional practice has once again been called out by Doctors Without Borders - a reputable NGO based in Geneva that provides humanitarian medical care globally.

Labelled as a "manufactured malnutrition crisis", the food situation orchestrated in Gaza by Israel, and the US as an apprentice, is far beyond horrifying, and the most vulnerable segment of society is paying for it. Across borders, nations and communities, there is an unspoken promise to protect the children; there is nothing they could possibly do to warrant the hatred of an enemy. But by depriving Gazans of the basic humanitarian rights to food and water, Israel is directly debilitating infants and pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Undoubtedly, this is an intentional attempt to wipe off an entire generation. Many children who were born knowing the brutality of Israel will not grow up to tell the tale. Most will suffer from long-term developmental and physical deficiencies. And in the face of it all, the mothers will suffer knowing their bodies are finite in their capacity to protect the very babies that grew inside them.

Even now, the global community can stop this crisis from worsening. The US and Israel-backed 'humanitarian foundation' established in Gaza to replace UN-backed aid must not be accepted as a viable solution. At the very least, the effects of prolonged malnutrition must be impeded via consistent pressures on the Israeli government for unrestricted international aid in the Strip. For a war to end, there must remain people to end it with. For a war to be won, the people must be alive.