Innocent blood spills on unchecked

UN reports say that at least 296 Palestinian children and adolescents have been killed since Israel's recent military operation began in the Gaza Strip. Even though casualty statistics have a penchant for devolving human lives into mere numbers, this is a chilling testament to the inhumanity displayed by the Israeli army and their complete disregard towards humanist values that the rest of the world holds deeply. At this point, a statement condemning their act will no longer suffice. We are thoroughly disgusted by the Tel Aviv government's repeated attacks towards innocent civilians and worst of all, the children.

Netanyahu has staunchly defended the Israeli military's antics, claiming that any civilian deaths were the result of Hamas using innocent people as 'human shields.' However, after weeks of attacks that have ravaged the Gaza Strip, that statement appears shallow as almost 30 percent of the civilian casualties are children. One can only assume at this point that the Tel Aviv government has no regard for the value of human lives on the Gaza Strip. Gaza has by now seen terrible crimes against humanity committed against its inhabitants -- from bombs ravaging buildings sheltering children to air strikes taking out four young boys playing football on the beach, to stories of tank fire killing a five-month old baby. Talks of peace now appear hollow as the damage has already been done and Gaza strip has been almost completely reduced to rubble. We can only hope that now that international powers finally see reason and pressure Israel to stop the carnage.