Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma
“I just cry every day when I see this. What have done to deserve this? You see all of this... What do you want me to do? Fix it? I am just a kid. I am 10 years old.”
These were the words of a 10-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza, who broke down after an Israeli air strike destroyed her neighbour's house, killing children too.
In a heartbreaking video that has gone viral, a visibly emotional Nadine Abdel-Taif, standing next to a pile of rubble, asks why she and her people are continuously being attacked.
“I am only 10. I just can’t even deal with this anymore. I just want to be a doctor or anything to help my people. But I can’t. I am just a kid. I don’t even know what to do. I get scared but not really that much. I’d do anything for my people, but I don’t know what to do.”Nadine Abdel-Taif, Palestinian girl from Gaza
‘Can’t Do Anything, I am Only 10’
The 1.19-minute video, which was originally filmed by Middle East Eye and has now gone viral, starts with the teary-eyed girl saying, "I’m always sick. I can’t do anything. I am only 10."
Recalling the airstrike that destroyed her neighbour’s house, she said she wanted to cry every time she saw someone die or looked at someone who is visibly scared. She was struggling to sleep at night, she added.
“Explosions near houses get us terrified because we don’t know when we’ll die, when we’ll survive when we’ll (be able to) do anything. I can’t believe the occupiers are literally killing kids. Parents are crying. Mothers can’t believe their kids are dying. They’re just kids. Why would you just send a missile to them and kill them? It’s not fair,” Nadine said.
At the tender age of 10, standing next to a pile of rubble with other kids in the neighbourhood, she narrated how she saw a mother and her children get killed.
“There were kids in this house. This was their mother’s parents’ house. There was a five-year-old kid and a five-month-old kid. I think, the mother took her five-year-old kid. When they went there an explosion went right to them [sic]. The mother and the four children died but the five-month-old child is alive. It was a miracle for the five-month-old to be alive. The father of the kids was not here so he’s still alive.”Nadine Abdel-Taif, Palestinian girl from Gaza
Gaza Remains Tense, Death Toll Rises
The situation in Gaza continues to remain tense after Israel launched dozens of airstrikes on the Palestinian territory, killing many. Even the Hamas militant group has continued its attacks on Israeli cities.
Continuous Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have killed at least 217 people, including 63 children and 35 women, as of 19 May, in Gaza that is home to nearly 2 million Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. According to local officials, over 90 multistorey apartments and residential buildings have been destroyed by airstrikes.
As of 18 May, at least 10 people, including two children, have been killed following rocket attacks by Hamas on Israel.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)