In a scene that sears the conscience of humanity, six Palestinian children, bloodied and bandaged from Israeli airstrikes, lie side by side on a single hospital bed in Gaza City.

Their fragile bodies, ranging from four to twelve years old, press against one another in agony—a chilling snapshot of the genocide consuming Gaza and the deliberate destruction of its healthcare system.

For nearly two years, Israel’s relentless military onslaught has not only slaughtered civilians but systematically dismantled Gaza’s lifeline: its hospitals. Once symbols of resilience, these institutions now resemble war-torn ruins, suffocated by siege, starved of fuel, and stripped of even the most basic medicines.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, over 45,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 100,000 injured since Israel escalated its campaign in October 2023. Doctors warn the healthcare system has reached “total collapse.” Operations are carried out without anesthesia, critical patients are left untreated, and generators—the only source of electricity—are running out of fuel due to the blockade.

At Al-Shifa Hospital, once Gaza’s largest, the horror is palpable. Its wards, already bombed and besieged multiple times by Israeli forces, now overflow with the wounded. Surgeons struggle to keep children alive with nothing but willpower and dwindling supplies.

“We are not just fighting for lives—we are fighting against a system deliberately dismantled by Israel,” said Dr. Mahmoud Abu Salem, an exhausted surgeon. “This is not collateral damage. It is the planned destruction of Gaza’s ability to live.”

The six children crammed onto one mattress embody this catastrophe. Their wounds are left untreated due to the lack of painkillers. Their bandages are soaked. Their cries echo in a ward where nurses are forced to decide who lives and who dies.

Human rights groups and international medical organizations have repeatedly accused Israel of war crimes and genocide. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) described the blockade as “a deliberate starvation of Gaza’s population and its healthcare system,” pointing to the targeted destruction of hospitals and ambulances as clear violations of international law.

Despite urgent calls from the United Nations and humanitarian agencies for a ceasefire and unrestricted aid access, Israel continues to strangle Gaza with a blockade that prevents fuel, medicine, and equipment from reaching the wounded. Aid convoys are turned back. Fuel trucks are blocked. Hospitals are left to die along with their patients.

Palestinian families are begging the world to act. “We are not numbers,” cried Amina, the mother of one of the wounded children. “These are our babies, our future. They are being slaughtered while the world watches in silence.”

As images of six children crammed into a single hospital bed spread across Gaza and beyond, Palestinians and their advocates demand accountability. They call on global powers to end their complicity, impose sanctions on Israel, and intervene to stop what many now openly recognize as a genocide.

Gaza’s message to the world is clear: silence is complicity, and every moment of inaction costs another Palestinian child their life. (ILKHA)