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A Palestinian boy walks up the
stairs of a house destroyed on Sunday by an Israeli strike in Gaza City,
Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
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GAZA (Reuters) -
Barefoot boys chase each other in circles around the street, pointing
pretend guns made out of rubber pipes up at the Gaza sky, which is thick
with Israeli F-16s and surveillance drones.
"We're not afraid of the
Jews' bombs!" said Sharif al-Ewad, whose plump cheeks make him look
younger than his 15 years. "Al-Qassam (Hamas's armed wing) has raised
its head high, and is really beating them up this time!" he smiled.
But beneath the swagger and
bravado there is also a yearning for peace and quiet after five days of
Israeli airstrikes that killed at least 65 Palestinians, including 20
children.
With one of the youngest
populations in the world, over half of Gaza's 1.7 million residents are
aged under 18 and they have little to comfort them beside the heady
local culture of armed struggle against Israel.
The Jewish state pulled its
troops and settlers out of the coastal territory in 2005 but ever since
has come under regular rocket fire from Islamist group Hamas and its
allies in the Gaza Strip, which refuse to recognize Israel's right to
exist.
Israel launched its latest widescale operation last Wednesday with the stated aim of putting a halt to the attacks.
Psychiatrist Hasan Zeyada
says the constant exposure to shocking violence has left many children
suffering trauma and all that it entails -- bed-wetting, nightmares,
flashbacks, and fear of going out in public...READ MORE
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