ACTION Israel/Palestine: From Horror to Hope
Fadi Quran / Avaaz
(October 14, 2023) — The streets of Palestine and Israel are drenched in blood, tears, and heartbreak. Now hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza were given 24 hours to flee their homes… or face death. It’s an all out war on children. ENOUGH! Let’s demand an immediate international shield to protect innocent children from this horror before more are attacked, or even worse…slaughtered.
This is personal for me. I’ve seen friends in Gaza shell-shocked, searching for loved ones amidst the debris, recovering lifeless little bodies. The cries of families in Israel, reeling from the horrors perpetrated by Hamas, are just as haunting.
And it’s about to get worse. Israel announced that hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza have only 24 hours to evacuate their homes … or face death.
What’s needed to end this atrocious child abuse is a deal where Hamas releases the children and families it’s holding hostage, in parallel with Israel freeing the Palestinian children it’s imprisoned, and halting its military assault on schools and areas populated with kids.
This is where our movement can help pull back the war machine. Let’s ignite an unprecedented global outcry demanding key leaders from the US, Qatar, Turkey and Germany use their influence on Israel and Hamas to save the children on both sides.
ACTION: Israel / Palestine: Stop Child Bloodshed
Sign the Petition
To US President Biden, Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad, Turkey’s President Erdogan, German Chancellor Scholz and all world leaders:
This war on children is a stain on the conscience of the world. We demand that you use your influence to reach an agreement that halts Israel’s bombing of areas with children, ensures Hamas returns Israeli children and families they’ve taken hostage, and secures the release of Palestinian children held in Israeli military prisons. You have the power to protect these children and to end this war, act now before it’s too late.
Save the Children and Their Families
Key leaders are trying to negotiate with Israel and Hamas, and sources tell us massive public pressure from people around the world will help them move both sides to save these kids. This is the most important call a global community like ours can make right now to save innocent lives caught in the crossfire.
Our movement will have to be louder than the drums of war.
The truth is it takes courage to take a stand on this issue. Both the Israeli government’s brutal apartheid policies and Hamas’s inhumane attack are responsible for this round of carnage. The world’s governments’ continued collective silence about the decades-long war crimes inflicted on the children of Palestine makes them complicit.
Families in Palestine and Israel yearn for their children’s safety. Avaaz means ‘voice’. We’ve always believed that silence can be a deadly ally to oppression. Our voices now matter more than ever. Help us build that massive wake up call: add your name now! We’ll make it deafening in key capitals, and take it directly to leaders who can act now.
ACTION: Add your name, be these children’s shield
We’re already in the room with the key actors negotiating between both sides – but they won’t act unless a tsunami of voices from across the world makes this demand more deafening than the bombs falling on Gaza. Our movement has the power to help save the lives of these kids, let’s make sure we use every bit of that power before it’s too late.
With hope and courage,
Fadi, with Christoph, Alice, John, Mo and the rest of the Avaaz team
More Information:
• Palestinians flee northern Gaza after Israel orders 1 million to evacuate as ground attack looms (AP)https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/14/middleeast/gaza-israel-evacuation-saturday-intl-hnk/index.html
- Israel announces 6-hour window for Gazans fleeing south, as troops gather near border(CNN)
- What is Hamas, and what’s happening in Israel and Gaza? A really simple guide(BBC)
- When a family dies under Israel’s bombs, part of Gaza’s history disappears(Al Jazeera)
