Innocent Palestinians, Innocent Israeli Hostages and Netanyahu's Bombing of Gaza

Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on bombing Gaza until it destroys Hamas is an unrealistic goal that has killed over 40,000 Palestinian civilians and endangers the remaining Israeli hostages.

As of July 2024, 116 hostages had been returned alive to Israel, with 105 being released in a temporary cease-fire in late November in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Four were released by Hamas unilaterally and seven rescued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during military actions.

The war in Gaza has created countless Palestinian orphans. United Nations experts estimate that at least 19,000 children are now surviving apart from their parents, whether with relatives, with other caretakers or on their own. These orphans are highly vulnerable to exploitation, violence and abuse.

I got the idea for this cartoon from these articles.

"The War in Gaza Is Making Thousands of Orphans. Extended families, hospital staff and volunteers are stepping in to care for Gaza’s many newly orphaned children, some of whom are injured, traumatized and haunted by memories of their parents." by Vivian Yee & Bilai Shbair for The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/22/world/middleeast/gaza-orphans.html?s…

"Families of Dead Hostages Vent Anger at Israeli Leaders Over War. After Israel recovered the bodies of six men who died in Hamas captivity in Gaza, survivors accused the government of sinking the chances of hostages returning alive through a cease-fire deal." by Aaron Boxerman for The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/23/world/middleeast/dead-hostages-famil…

"Israel’s Priority Is Killing Gazans, Not Freeing Hostages. This war would look very different if Israel’s principal aim was to free the hostages. But Israel’s assault on Gaza was never about the hostages." by Stephen Semler for Jacobin Magazine
https://jacobin.com/2024/05/gaza-israel-hostages-administrative-detenti…