« It is impossible to quantify the suffering in Gaza »

Israeli journalist Amira Hass, writing in Haaretz (April 10): « Due to the limits of the human imagination (as opposed to the imagination of warmongers and arms manufacturers), and in the absence of a whole new dictionary, there is no real way to describe the destruction and loss suffered in Gaza after six months of war.
“In theory, it would suffice to view the hundreds, if not thousands, of videos showing trembling children – unable to control their shaking – after Israeli bombardments: in hospitals, in the street, some of them sobbing, others unable to utter a word. They are covered in dust and blood. It’s a detail that’s enough to describe the disaster. (…)
“According to UNICEF, at the end of January, 17,000 children were « wandering round » in the Gaza Strip unaccompanied by an adult. Their parents have been killed, they could not be pulled out of the ruins. Or the children got lost during the mass displacement to the south.
“And that’s not counting the 14,000 children (out of a total of around 33,000 recorded dead) who have so far been killed by Israeli bombardments. Added to this are thousands of children who have lost limbs, suffer burns,
walk around with wounds that have become infected in the absence of bandages and medication, and will suffer from post-traumatic disorders for the rest of their lives. What does the future hold for them? It’s impossible to quantify the suffering. (…)
“Here’s another figure: « Palestinians in Gaza now represent 80% of all people facing famine or severe hunger in the world », according to the joint interim report – published last
week – of the World Bank (WB), the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN). (…)
« At the end of January 2024, material destruction in the Gaza Strip was estimated at around $18.5 billion. That’s the cost of the 50 fighter jets the Biden administration wants to sell to Israel, subject to Congressional approval, as reported by CNN.« 

Amira Hass