Child’s Play in Gaza
The Los Angeles Times‘ Ashraf Khalil today reports on violence in Gaza, reporting at length how children position themselves alongside fighters:
Throughout the day, in neighborhoods along the shifting urban front line, masked Palestinian fighters rushed toward the confrontation, many carrying grenade launchers and spools of wire for laying booby traps in the path of oncoming tanks. A large crowd of boys gathered to watch them, seemingly oblivious to the danger. In one case, a group of children helped hide the wiring of an explosive device. . . .
Amid the preparations, a large crowd of young boys mingled and chatted, lingering in the shade. Asked why they weren’t hiding, a teenager in a Yankees cap shrugged as if he didn’t quite understand the question.
“We’re not scared,” he said. “We’re used to the idea of death” . . .
Indeed. Palestinian children have been well prepared to accept and even seek death.
On a separate matter, Khalil also reports:
Another Islamic Jihad political leader, Khader Habib, pledged to take the fight deep into Israel. He called on militants to “carry out martyrdom operations in the heart of Israeli cities.” He said they would spare civilians as much as possible and focus on military targets.
“Martyrdom operations in the heart of Israeli cities” that aim to hit military targets, not civilians? That sounds about as sincere as earlier Hamas claims that they don’t target children.
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