Gaza Protests Kill Dozens
marked the deadliest day since 2014 for Palestinians at the Gaza border following weeks of bloody protests because of the United State's decision to relocate its Embassy to Jerusalem.
The Embassy was in Tel Aviv Israel, but on December 6 2017, President Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. He then stated that the US Embassy would be moved to Jerusalem, which infuriated Palestinians. However, the decision was praised by Israelis.
The Gaza Strip, or Gaza, is a self governing strip of land inhabited mostly by Palestinians. Gaza is located along the Mediterranean sea and bordered by Israel and Egypt.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 58 Palestinians have died, most killed by Israeli fire near the border. There have also been 2,700 reported injuries. Palestinian officials have called the deaths a “horrific massacre,” but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have accused the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, of "leading a terrorist operation," which is why shots were fired.
Protesters have been accused of throwing Molotov cocktails, burned tires, and stones at Israeli soldiers positioned along the fence, which resulted in tear gas being thrown at the protestors.
Eight of the 58 dead are children, including 8-month-old Layla Ghandour. She was brought to the protest by her 12-year-old uncle Ammar, who wanted to go find Layla’s mother. The children were then engulfed in a cloud of tear gas and 8-month-old Layla started coughing and her eyes started to water. Only an hour later, she was dead.
Layla was taken to the hospital, but doctors could not revive her. The doctor did mention that Layla had a congenital heart defect, which may have played a part in her death.
While the exact cause of Layla’s death is still being determined, pictures of Layla and her family mourning her death have been seen worldwide and are a reminder of the hardships and struggles that families, and children, face in war-torn countries.
Another Tragedy of War- The body of Layla Ghandour was mourned by her mother and other relatives, along with many citizens of Gaza. Layla suffered from patent ductus arteriosus, more commonly known as a whole in the heart, which may have played a part her death along with inhaling the tear gas.
