Children have no place in war. But unless Arab leaders love and protect their children, we cannot ask Israel to do the same. Israel is not responsible for the Palestinian children! The Hamas regime is actually responsible for this, but they have made it clear from the start that they “don’t care about their children.” A few days after October 7, Moussa Abu Marzouk, another “prominent” terrorist from Hamas’s political office in Qatar, stated that “Hamas is not responsible for protecting civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

In an interview with the Arabic-language branch of Russia Today, Abu Marzouk was asked why Hamas dug 500 kilometers of tunnels but never built shelters for civilians. “We built the tunnels to protect ourselves from Israeli airstrikes,” Abu Marzouk replied. “Seventy-five percent of the population in the Gaza Strip are refugees, and it is the job of the UN to protect them.” He was referring to the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. He said what we all know from Arab leaders in the Middle East, they don’t care about their children. It doesn’t matter if a thousand children are dead, or ten thousand, or a hundred thousand. If they don’t show mercy to their children, why does Israel have to play the Good Samaritan – especially in a war?

For the past two months, we have been writing non-stop about the war in the country, and yes, our primary focus is on our side. This war is a just war because Israel was invaded in a treacherous and barbaric manner. Israel’s women and mothers were raped, tortured, slaughtered and trafficked to Gaza. Entire families with babies, children and parents, young people and men were burned and kidnapped. Blind hatred and wild ecstasy drove Palestinian terrorists and Nazis to raids and massacres. None of them showed mercy and warned the Israeli civilians in the kibbutzim about the attack with text messages or leaflets: “Be careful! We are coming to kill you.” The barbaric Hamas terrorists had only one goal: to slaughter, shoot and murder Jews, whether babies, children or soldiers. There were no limits to what their hatred drove them to do. In addition, the Palestinian terrorists indulged themselves sexually and let off steam during the attack – a sexual horror that is increasingly coming to light through photographic evidence and witness statements. These atrocities were deliberate and cannot be compared to the Israeli bombings and ground offensive in Gaza.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 17,177 Palestinians have been killed in the past two months, including nearly 7,000 children. The Palestinians say an average of 115 children are killed every day; almost 70% of the Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7th are said to be women and children. Figures from Palestinian sources adopted and published unchecked by foreign media. I’m skeptical, but we don’t have any other numbers. A senior Israeli official told reporters last week that about a third of the Palestinians killed so far in Gaza were terrorists. He estimated the number at less than 10,000 but more than 5,000 dead, without explaining how this estimate was arrived at.

Palestinians flee from the eastern part of Khan Yunis to the western part, in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, December 1, 2023. Photo: Atia Mohammed/Flash90

Israel has also confirmed that the total number of about 15,000 deaths given by the Palestinian authorities a few days ago is roughly accurate, although the number of deaths is not broken down by civilians and terrorists. Responsible for the high number of civilian casualties is the use of heavy weapons – including “bunker-busting weapons and bombs” – which destroy Hamas’s strategic tunnel network. But air strikes on residential areas where, according to Israeli information, Hamas has terrorist bases, rocket launch pads and weapons hidden in and under homes and hospitals also cause destruction. No one in Israel disputes all of this, but what the media and people abroad ignore or fail to appreciate are Israel’s constant warnings before Israel deliberately bombs and attacks. And yet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has always railed against Israel: “The high number of deaths in Gaza proves that the Israeli army is making mistakes.” Guterres lamented the Palestinian casualties and said: “Thousands of children have been killed in the Gaza Strip – this means that there is something wrong with Israel’s military operations against Hamas as they are being carried out.”

Yes, probably 7,000 children have been killed in Gaza in eight weeks. Israel has repeatedly postponed the bombings to give the Palestinian civilian population time and opportunity to escape the war zone. Anyone who has not fled, either because they decided not to or because Hamas forced them to stay, becomes a target for the Israeli armed forces. Between 1 and 1.5 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population, have been forced to flee in the past two months, often multiple times and into increasingly confined spaces, and it is uncertain whether they will ever be able to return to their homes. More than 60% of all houses in the Gaza Strip were severely damaged or destroyed. According to the UN, almost 1.2 million Palestinians live in 156 UNRWA shelters. I see the films and photos from Gaza and it looks apocalyptic. In recent days, the voices of Palestinian civilians have also become louder in the media, blaming Hamas and not Israel for the disaster in the Gaza Strip.

For the terrorists, their civilian population is the ideal human shield. Israel understands the situation and, even as an enemy, tries to deal mercifully with the Palestinian civilian population. We have repeatedly reported on how Israel dropped leaflets and sent text messages to save the lives of innocent people. That alone is mercy. Show me an Arab army waging war against Israel like this. Does Hezbollah use its drones to drop leaflets over Israel before bombing the north? No.

Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90

Only Israel cares to such a degree for its enemies, and the international community simply doesn’t appreciate it. I feel sorry for the Palestinian children, but if their own leaders do not show mercy and protect them, then we cannot ask the “official enemy” to do so. It is not our job to constantly play the Good Samaritan. The world likes to pressure Israel into humanitarian ceasefires, but other nations have not proven themselves to be good Samaritans. Sometimes I think that nations believe that Israel is the babysitter of Palestinian civilians. If the parents don’t care about their children, then even a babysitter can’t help.