– ‘Scarred for life’ –
She also raised concerns about the long-term effects of the violence on Gaza’s children, many of whom are now living through their third war in less than six years.
Israel and Hamas fought similar conflicts in Gaza in both 2012 and over the New Year in 2009.
“You have children who are going to be scarred for life because of what they are seeing,” said Weibel.
Even before the war, some 60,000 children in Gaza were in need of psychosocial support, she said, and the number is expected to soar after this conflict.
The potential for such problems is evident every day in Gaza — wide-eyed children seeing their relatives and friends buried after shelling.
One boy among the crowd hit by Israeli fire on the beach escaped unhurt, but was hysterical and inconsolable.
“They’re dead, they’re dead,” he cried over and over.
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