To the editor: Guest contributor Nisreen Qawas’ op-ed was heart-wrenching (“Gaza remains a crisis of children’s mental health,” Feb. 15). There’s no question that the children of Gaza have suffered, both physically and emotionally, from the war between Israel and Hamas.
But we must ask ourselves to what extent that suffering rests at the feet of Hamas. The 1988 Hamas Charter called for the elimination of the state of Israel and killing Jews before the “Day of Judgment.” It rejects negotiated political settlements, regardless of any cost to Palestinian civilians.
In addition to money and weapons supplied by Iran, Hamas taxes the population of Gaza and has used much of that money for weapons and to build hundreds of miles of tunnels, often under civilian neighborhoods. There, Hamas leaders and combatants, not the children of Gaza, hide from Israel’s retaliation for the unprovoked Oct. 7, 2023, slaughter of civilians in Israel, including many women and children.
Hamas has also used schools and hospitals as staging areas for their rockets and other weapons. So, who is to blame when Israel targets those areas, even though it warns civilians?
War is hell and tragic. Make no mistake about it, what is going on in Gaza is war; it is not genocide, although there are genocides occurring in other parts of the world that no one in the West protests.
Hamas could end the suffering in Gaza at any time.
Hank Schlinger, Glendale
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To the editor: During this year’s Palm Springs International Film Festival, I attended a screening of “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”
The film, which has the actual recording of the voice of Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old girl who was trapped in a car with her dead family members after they were killed by Israeli forces, was heartbreaking. As Qawas recounts, after hours of trying to get clearance from the IDF, a Palestinian ambulance finally got close to rescuing Hind. Just when you thought this 5-year-old girl was going to make it, IDF forces not only struck Hind’s car but the ambulance, also killing two volunteer medics working in the Gaza Strip.
There was deafening silence in the theater. It was difficult to comprehend the lack of humanity.
While Israel says there is no genocide, the world is witnessing the near destruction of Gaza — hospitals, schools, universities, businesses, all semblance of what was once a thriving strip. While there was allegedly a ceasefire, Israel continues the bombardment. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire agreement. Israel also halted operations of several large aid organizations over rules about disclosing staff information.
In the meantime, Israel confiscates more land in the West Bank and demolishes more homes. Will the Palestinians ever taste freedom and live a normal life? Will the children survive without mental and physical help?
Thank you, Los Angeles Times, for having the courage to print Qawas’ op-ed on the children of Gaza.
George Mouro, Rancho Mirage
