Educational and popular circles in the Gaza Strip were shocked today, Thursday, by the news of the martyrdom of a Palestinian child by Israeli occupation forces' bullets while she was inside her school in Jabalia camp, north of the Strip. Local sources confirmed that the bullets penetrated the classroom walls, hitting student Ritaj Rayhan, who was in the third grade of primary school, leading to her immediate death in front of her classmates and teachers.
The Ministry of Education in Gaza announced in an official statement that the crime occurred at 'Abu Obaida bin Al-Jarrah' school, where the child was exercising her natural right to education before being targeted by occupation fire. The ministry described the incident as a 'brutal, horrific, and bloody crime,' noting that Ritaj's blood, which flowed over her school books, reflects the true face of the ongoing aggression against Palestinian childhood.
The ministry clarified that targeting Ritaj is not merely an accidental or isolated incident, but an extension of a systematic policy pursued by the occupation forces to terrorize civilians and target Palestinian individuals in the safest places. The statement emphasized that the student committed no sin other than her steadfastness in remaining on her besieged land and her attempt to build her future through education despite the harsh war conditions.
The incident left a deep psychological impact and severe shock on the martyr's classmates who witnessed the details of the crime moment by moment, increasing the suffering of children in Gaza who face death daily. Educational sources indicated that these crimes aim to destroy the educational system and instill terror in the hearts of students to prevent them from going to their schools, which have become targets.
The educational authorities in the Strip held the international community and human rights organizations fully responsible for the continuation of these violations, considering that global silence is a green light for the occupation to continue its crimes. They affirmed that impunity encourages the Israeli army to target infrastructure and schools, which have turned into killing fields instead of cradles of knowledge.
This crime comes in the context of continuous aggression for more than two and a half years, which has resulted in tens of thousands of victims, most of them children and women. It also coincided with an escalation in violations of the ceasefire agreement, with statistics indicating the killing of 738 Palestinians and the injury of more than two thousand others due to repeated shelling and shooting since the start of the alleged truce.
In conclusion of its statement, the ministry mourned the child Ritaj, affirming that her blood will remain a witness to the brutality of the occupation and the failure of the international community. It called on international institutions to intervene immediately to provide protection for schools and students and to stop the daily killing spree that tears apart Palestinian families and assassinates the dreams of children while they are at their desks.
Killing children in such a brutal manner represents a stain on the forehead of the international community and human rights organizations that stand helpless in the face of targeting education.
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Horrific Crime in Jabalia: Occupation Bullets Assassinate a Child Inside Her Classroom