This war was not a war, it was a massacre

During a brief stint working for UNRWA in Israel Palestine a few years ago I came across a documentary film called ‘No Sharp Objects’. Made by the UN agency, it is about 15 children from Gaza who travel to the US. They meet politicians, go to New York, visit the UN and the Holocaust museum and meet American children. I particularly remember one scene where a dying father tells his son, who is about to go on the trip, to show the world that ‘the people of Gaza have principles and values.’

Mohammed Abulriban was one of the children in that film. We became friends. He is now 18. He lives in the Al Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Gaza. As the most recent slaughter in Gaza has unfolded we in the west have heard comparatively little from the Palestinians who live there and are experiencing it. I asked Mohammad what living in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge has been like. The following was written in the middle of August. – Justin Randle

Gaza War

By Mohammad J. Abulriban

The Gaza war on July 8th was the worst war that has happened on the Gaza Strip. Many buildings have been destroyed and lots of sites became buried after the Israeli military tanks threw thousands of missiles on them.

In the first days of this war, every spot on Gaza was a target for Israeli Air Forces. They were using missiles that weighed more than 2 tonnes to destroy a small spot. These missiles caused many civilians to lose their lives. Many children and women died because of these types of missiles that are unacceptable under international law.

During the war when the tanks had started to enter Gaza borders, a lot of sites near the borders were ruined and a lot of people there lost their homes for no reason. In addition to that, many families died because tanks had destroyed their homes above them.

This war is not a war, it is a massacre. Hospitals here in Gaza cannot deal with this big number of injuries, which is now more than 8000. There is not enough medical services for them. There are not enough fridges to carry the dead.

If you walk in the streets here, you will absolutely cry. Here you will find a person who lost his family, you will see a family with no home, and you will see a child with no parents. Here in Gaza and in this horrible war, no one can move in the street at night because he will be killed by these unmerciful planes. Drones are flying in the sky 24 hours and children have become afraid to play in the streets.

Words are not enough to express what goes here in Gaza. Nothing is more expensive than losing your family, your friends, your neighbors or anyone you used to be with. My friend’s house and my father’s farm have been destroyed with no reason. Our neighbours have been killed for nothing. The mosque I used to pray in has been destroyed.

Why? Why is this is happening to us? Why can’t I go to university as any student in this world? What did we do to have to leave our house? What did the people who live right now in UNRWAs’ schools do to have to leave their homes?! It’s not fair to see Palestinian children killed in this cruel way. It’s not fair to destroy more than 2000 buildings and kill more than 1900 human beings.

I will give you some examples of what has happened to my friends in this war to give you the true picture of what this cruel war made and is still making.

Ibrahim said: “I was going to my family house located in the center of Gaza strip, I was surprised that the house has been only partly destroyed as tanks had thrown some missiles on it. As I was looking at the house sadly, a missile fell on the house. I was really afraid, I quickly escaped and I thank God that there were no injuries and my family was not there.”

Mazen said: “I was sleeping inside my family flat in the 7th floor in a tower. I woke up on the sound of a bomb, I quickly ran to the kitchen and I saw some dust. I got out of the flat and I looked for where the bomb had fallen. It was in the 8th floor. It was such a horrible situation.”