Al-Thoraya for Communication and Media, in cooperation with PALM Strategic Initiatives Centre, issued, Tuesday, a book entitled "From beneath the Wreck: Gaza Children Speak" to document the Israeli occupation crimes against Gaza children in the 2014 Israeli offensive.
This came during a ceremony organized by the two bodies in Gaza, with the presence of many research and human rights centres, professors, writers, and activists.
The book -printed in both Arabic and English- addresses three main parts. First, Child right to legal protection in armed conflicts. Second, testimonies of more than 40 children that suffered during the offensive; some of them were injured, lost or displaced. Third, the psychological impacts left on them.
Inas Alrantisi, Board member of Al-Thoraya for communication and media, said that this book launch commemorates the 8th anniversary of the 2014 Israeli offensive on Gaza, during which 2232 Palestinians were martyred, including 578 children, and 11,000 were injured -3303 of which sustained constant disabilities. It also left 2000 children orphaned.
Alrantisi added that Al-Thoraya has worked on disclosing the true face of the Israeli occupation and transferring its ugly image to the world, through the release of this book, which documents children's painful experience.
She also thanked PALM Strategic for funding the book. "Without this fund, the book would have never seen the light as it has been stopped for 7 years," she said.
Wafaa Aludaini, Official of Foreign Media Unit in Al-Thoraya, said that the underlying reason behind choosing children to document their testimonies is that half of Gaza's population is children. Thus, the space should be given to them to speak about their suffering to relieve their psychological pains and speak about their dreams and ambitions.
Aludaini hoped that this book will not be the last to highlight Gaza children's suffering under the blockade and the consequent wars on the Strip since 2008 until now.
Noor Alyacoubi, Spokeswoman of PALM Strategic Initiatives Centre, confirmed that the Centre welcomed the book in belief of its importance to expose the occupation crimes against the Palestinian people, especially children.
Alyacoubi added that the occupation, despite its criminality, still promotes for its fake narrative that the occupation army respects the ethical standards in its battles, and does not harm neither civilians nor children. It also devotes its capabilities to hide its crimes and gain the world's empathy. On the other side, the Palestinian media is vulnerable and needs to develop its tools; thus, all concerned bodies should exert serious efforts to refute the occupation's narrative. This book hence is one of these tools.
Children testimonies were documented one year after the 2014 offensive, yet were not published before because of lack of funding.
