“All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal.”
― John Steinbeck

I sob over Palestine. Mothers, fathers, and children: dead, or dying. 2.2 million people, as of this article, call Palestine their home. I've never been great with articulating my thoughts, but this will be my best attempt, in hopes to inform, and spread awareness with context to the relationship of Israel and Gaza over the last 50 years.

Palestine stands even before the Hamas conflict as one of the largest humanitarian violations known to man. They stand as one of the poorest countries on earth and one of the most population dense. For the last 50 years, Palestine has been an "open air prison". This means nobody can leave or flee unless given a rare "special pass" from Israel.

So, there's talk about "Hamas". Palestine has no government, and when Israel left the country it gave bad actors a large open window to take control over. Hamas stole control of Palestine, and ran the streets. While Hamas may be based from Palestine, their people have no say. Hamas speaks for themselves, not all Palestinians.

At approximately 6am on October 9th 2023, Hamas launched roughly 3,000 rockets into Israel's Airspace and parachuted over the country border. When they landed they terrorized Israeli civilians and held many captive.

As a result conflict however, Israel has shut off Palestine's water, internet, power, and humanitarian aid. Additionally, Israel's defense force has been caught using banned weapons of war like White Phosphorus. Streets, homes, and other civilian buildings such as hospitals have been leveled by the Israeli Defense Force.

Israel didn't exist 100 years ago, and it was forged out of others land. Similar to how the Native Americans in the United States were brutally moved, Israelis took a similar approach to the Palestine people. The conditions that Palestinians are subjected to is disgusting, and while Hamas actions remain unjustifiable, they do not remain "unprovoked".

My heart goes out to all families affected by this war, on both sides. However, my heart will continue to ache and weep for the helpless children of Palestine who had no say in any of this; yet are forced to pay the ultimate price of their life.

Please consider donating to the Palestine's Children Relief Fund at pcrf.net/