'I'm just 10': Little girl's heartbreaking appeal in 'unbearable' clip
Heartbreaking video of a young girl among the rubble and destruction caused by air strikes on Gaza has provided a poignant insight into the devastation caused by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Palestinian Nadine Abdel-Taif, 10, was brought to tears as she addressed media in Gaza on the weekend and pleaded for answers amid violence that shows no signs of slowing down.
"You see all this?" she says, as she points to the flattened buildings of her neighbours behind her.
"What do you expect me to do? Fix it? I'm only 10."
The hapless child began to cry, telling the camera she was desperate to help her people but she's "just a kid".
“Why do we deserve this? What did we do for this?" she asks.
'God help us': Mum shares haunting photo during rocket attack
'Full-scale war': Passenger chaos as rockets fired over airport
“My family said they just hate us. They just don’t like us because we are Muslims.
"It’s not fair.”
"I don't know what to do."
A 10-year-old Palestinian girl breaks down while talking to MEE after Israeli air strikes destroyed her neighbour's house, killing 8 children and 2 women#Gaza #Palestine #Israel pic.twitter.com/PWXsS032F5— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) May 15, 2021
The distressing clip was shared on Twitter by London-based outlet Middle East Eye and has been viewed more than 9 million times.
It provoked a strong reaction from thousands, who revealed their anguish watching the video while sympathising with Nadine. Many praised her maturity at such a young age.
Others called for a ceasefire to save the lives of innocent children and civilians.
Frontman of British band The Charlatans, Tim Burgess, described the video as "utterly heartbreaking".
"This is almost unbearable to watch," another user said.
Dozens more dead after Sunday airstrike
The death toll in Gaza has jumped to 192, including 58 children, its health ministry said, amid an intensive Israeli air and artillery barrage since the fighting erupted last Monday.
An airstrike in Gaza on Sunday (local time) claimed the lives of 42 Palestinians, 10 of whom were children.
The Israeli military said the deaths were unintentional. It said its jets attacked a tunnel system used by militants, which collapsed, bringing the homes down.
Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, called it "pre-meditated killing".
As the UN Security Council convened to discuss the worst Israeli-Palestinian violence in years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's campaign in Gaza was continuing at "full force".
"We are acting now, (and) for as long as necessary, to restore calm and quiet to you, Israel's citizens. It will take time," Netanyahu said in a televised address after meeting with his security cabinet.
At the homes destroyed during the Israeli attack in a Gaza neighbourhood early on Sunday, Palestinians worked to clear rubble from one of the wrecked buildings, recovering the bodies of a woman and man.
"These are moments of horror that no one can describe. Like an earthquake hit the area," said Mahmoud Hmaid, a father of seven who was helping with the rescue efforts.
The Israeli military said it tried to avoid civilian casualties, but said Hamas bore responsibility "for intentionally locating its military infrastructure under civilian houses, thus exposing civilians to danger".
Calls grow for 'utterly appalling' violence to cease
In New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council that hostilities in Israel and Gaza were "utterly appalling" and called for an immediate end to fighting.
Hamas began its rocket assault on Monday after weeks of tensions over a court case to evict several Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, and in retaliation for Israeli police clashes with Palestinians near the city's Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The Israeli military said that Hamas, an Islamist group regarded by Israel, the United States and the European Union as a terrorist movement, and other armed factions have fired more than 2,800 rockets from Gaza over the past week.
This was more than half the number fired during 51 days in a 2014 war between Hamas and Israel.
With Reuters
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
