Daily reminder that Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli airstrikes long before October 7th. This report and interview with MSNBC journalist Ayman Mohyeldin (aymanm) is from 9 years ago (July 2014), when Israeli naval fire killed four Palestinian boys who were playing football on a beach in Gaza.
The attack was conducted in front of hotels that sheltered local and foreign journalists, including Ayman, which was one of the reasons why Israel was forced to take responsibility for the attack and later apologized for the ‘error’.
Several of the journalists described the targeting of the children as intentional and several eyewitnesses have remarked that, even at a distance, it was clear that the targets of the Israeli attack were children.
A United Nations Commission conducted an investigation into the incident and held the IDF responsible for the killings. No one was held accountable after an internal Israeli investigation cleared itself of culpability.
The point of this is to show little has changed in Israel’s approach and disregard for Palestinian life except the scale of the terror. It’s the same innocent Palestinian children murdered for no reason whatsoever, the same Israeli advisor to Netanyahu justifying the killing, the same feckless UN condemnations of Israel’s actions, the same internal investigations conducted by Israel clearing itself of culpability (of course it will), and even the same brave journalists covering Israel’s atrocities in Gaza.
No change will come from within Israeli society and government. Outside pressure— boycotts, divestment, and sanctions— the application of international law, and holding Israeli leadership accountable for their atrocities in front of the ICC is the only way forward.
