The title is in reference to Chris Rea’s critic on our societies and geopolitics in the song Do you like tennis, which I just happened to pick semi-randomly. I haven’t listened to this in decades. Probably it was at the back of my mind to some extent when later the day I faced two pieces of news. I can do barely anything about them. Due to my health I have a tiny contact surface with the world. I wish I could at least meaningfully amplify these words. But this blog is an open diary about fountain pens, it’s without any ambition whatsoever and has something like 5 visits per month. I know that sharing these pieces of news won’t change anything (apart from myself and maybe one of those rare visitors who is now reading this). My heart goes out for the innocent victims of these most vile crimes. I’m frustrated by not being able to do much yet I can’t keep silent.
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on children killed during a nutrition aid distribution in the Gaza Strip
We are appalled by the reported killing of 15 Palestinians, including nine children and four women, who were waiting in line for nutritional supplies for children in Deir al Balah, the Gaza Strip, this morning. An additional 30 people were reportedly injured, including 19 children.
This assistance was being provided by Project Hope, a UNICEF partner organization, to families in desperate need. The killing of families trying to access life-saving aid is unconscionable.
These were mothers seeking a lifeline for their children after months of hunger and desperation. Among them was Donia, whose 1-year-old boy, Mohammed, was killed. She said he spoke his first words to her just hours earlier. Donia now lies in a hospital bed, critically injured by the blast, clutching Mohammed’s tiny shoe. No parent should have to face such tragedy.
This is the cruel reality confronting many in Gaza today after months of insufficient aid being allowed into the territory, and parties to the conflict failing to uphold basic responsibilities to protect civilians.
The lack of aid means children are facing starvation while the risk of famine grows. The number of malnourished children will continue to rise until life-saving aid and services are resumed at full scale.
International law is clear: all parties to the conflict have an obligation to protect civilians and ensure the safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance.
We call on Israel to urgently review its rules of engagement to ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law, notably the protection of civilians, including children, and to conduct a thorough and independent investigation of this incident and all allegations of violations.
We extend our deepest condolences to the families who have lost loved ones and all those affected, including our partners at Project Hope, who continue to serve Gaza’s children under the most dangerous conditions.
UNICEF again calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, the release of hostages, and for all parties to protect civilians, including children and humanitarian workers. Food, water, as well as nutrition and medical supplies, must reach children safely and without delay. The deaths and suffering of children and civilians must end.
Lila Trokhymets🇺🇦🐆🐾 wrote this afternoon:
Some of you are asking me if I’m okay.
I’m not okay.I’ve slept about 4 hours — from 5 a.m. till 9.
There was a strong smell of smoke. A sleepless night.Then I had to from my home to another apartment and do something there
When I tried to get up from bed, I felt like I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.
Somehow I managed to do it — it took me around 10 minutes.After that, I threw on some clothes.
Coffee from a stick — that was my maximum.Then I tried to remember where the keys were. I couldn’t.
Started crying from desperation.
How the hell am I supposed to go to the apartment without the key???I tried to remember if my neighbors had a spare key. Couldn’t remember.
My cat started playing with my backpack.
If I honestly wrote what went through my mind at that moment — Twitter would ban me.I put on a shirt. The fabric felt so annoying, even though it was cotton.
But the kind of cotton that just itches your skin.I left home without the key.
The sun is shining, the birds are singing.
And I’m numb.I don’t even know how I managed to walk 50 meters to the coffee shop.
I truly can’t remember.I ordered coffee and a sandwich.
I don’t want to eat — I just can’t.
But I decided to take some food with me, in case at some point I have the strength for a single bite.While waiting for my coffee and sandwich, I’m sitting on a couch at the coffee shop.
Am I going crazy?
I feel like I need at least a week to just breathe.No missiles.
No talks about humanitarian help.
No calls, no messages. No connections.I ordered a taxi for a 10-minute trip.
I could’ve taken the subway, but even the thought of going down there and being around people makes me feel sick.So this is what russia is doing — and partly succeeding at — when it spends billions of dollars bombing civilian cities.
Source: https://x.com/LilaTrokhymets/status/1943257338514935980
Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin should face trial for all the war crimes they have been committing.