Thank you, Nesrine Malik, for saying so movingly what many of us have felt throughout the Israeli assault on Gaza (Goodbye to the lost children of Gaza. You were loved, you are remembered, you did not deserve it, 27 January). Most western media have been reluctant to call out the horror for what it is. One sentence in her excellent article stands out for me: the killing of children on such a scale was “unnecessary and only permitted because Palestinian life as a whole has been made cheap by the logic of Israel’s absolute right to defend itself by whatever criminal means it likes”.
Western governments and media have been shamefully complicit in overlooking these atrocities, taking no significant action to restrain or condemn Israel, maintaining neutrality between those dropping the bombs and the babies underneath them. Even now, Palestinian suffering is underemphasised. The attention given to the fewer than 100 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza is grossly disproportionate to that given to the suffering of the Palestinians, including the more than 9,000 Palestinian detainees, many of them held without trial or charges.
Michael Foster
Chelmsford
• Several years ago, I attended the funeral of a three-year-old. It was a harrowing experience, and one which I never wish to have to repeat.
I have often thought of this little boy and his funeral during the course of the relentless onslaught on the people of Gaza. I have tried to imagine the profound grief and sorrow I witnessed then, multiplied again and again, every day, every night, and affecting so many families, so many mothers, so many fathers. We must never forget that behind all these numbers there are individual children, the loss of whom will have an incalculable impact on the lives of their loved ones, and I am grateful to Nesrine Malik for reminding us of this.
Isabella Stone
Sheffield
• Is there a more moving account of the despair of death, destruction and attempts at making things “good” in a war zone, than Seema Jilani’s (To the unknown child: I tried to save your young life in a Gaza hospital. Now your face haunts me, 24 January)? I believe not. And that she would carry the feelings of blame, guilt and incompetence, saying: “When your soul floated up beside me, was the devil there too, recounting my sins?”
I think the sins lie with Hamas, Israel, the vested interests of other nations and all who have violence as an option in mind. To all the decision-makers and excusers of war who say: “It is terrible, but…” I say leave out the “but” and let this article touch you. It will be pasted on my wall, as it should be in any president’s and any general’s room, particularly those who target civilians to achieve military “goals”.
Wico van Mourik
Gainford, County Durham
• Seema Jilani, thank you for being present where I cannot be. Thank you for holding each precious child when I cannot. You and your associates are miracles.
Glenyth McKenzie
Ashgrove, Queensland, Australia
• Tacitus said it all in a single sentence: “They make a wilderness and call it peace” (‘I’m coming to a place that looks like hell’: the long road home for Gaza’s displaced, 28 January).
Tom Orchard
Middleton, Greater Manchester
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