After a Year: The Humanity Genocide in Gaza Cannot Be Silenced

The attacks carried out by Israel on Gaza for over a year have turned into a genocide. In this genocide, children and defenseless civilians have paid the heaviest price; statistics are insufficient to explain the dimensions of this massacre. 

Approximately 17,000 children have lost their lives in these attacks. 710 babies who have not even reached one year of age have become targets of bombs as soon as they were born; babies who died during birth or under the rubble have once again revealed the depth of the tragedy. The destruction of war has left children not only physically but also mentally with severe wounds. According to reports from UNRWA and the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 600,000 children have been deprived of education in Gaza, forced to live in the shadow of traumas and security concerns.

Israel's attacks have not only taken away the hopes of children for the future; they have caused more than 25,000 children to lose one or both parents. Hundreds of children whose families have been destroyed have been left alone with the devastating effects and traumas of war. The children of Gaza, who lose their siblings, relatives, and friends one by one, struggle to survive every day, deprived of the right to a safe life. These children, forced to flee from bombardments, sleep knowing they are not safe even in temporary shelters.

With the destruction of education, health, and civil infrastructure, the dreams of a generation for the future have been shattered, and their right to life has been taken away. More than 800,000 students deprived of education face permanent damage that will last for a generation. These attacks by Israel, not limited to military targets, have turned Gaza into an uninhabitable region, causing irreversible destruction both physically and psychologically. Today, thousands of children in Gaza struggle with hunger and poverty, unable to access even the most basic health services due to the collapse of the health infrastructure.

Remaining silent in the face of this genocide is incompatible with human values. We invite the whole world to take action to stop this genocide that Israel continues by targeting children, and we demand the international community to put an end to this massacre. We declare that it is our fundamental responsibility not to forget this inhumane tragedy experienced by children in Gaza and to fight for a world where peace prevails.

Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University