Anxiety

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Last update  - 02/12/2019 

**All NSFW images and gifs have been removed**

The body of a six-year-old Palestinian girl, missing for 12 days after an Israeli tank targeted their family car in Gaza, has been found along with the bodies of two medics dispatched to look for them.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and the family of the girl, Hind Rajab, confirmed on Saturday that all seven people inside the car were killed, with the Palestinian relief organisation saying it lost crew members Yusuf Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun in the Israeli attack on civilians in Gaza City.

Family members found Hind’s body along with those of her uncle and aunt and their three children near a roundabout in the city’s Tal al-Hawa suburb, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Another of Hind’s uncles, Sameeh Hamadeh, said the car was peppered with bullet holes.

“The occupation deliberately targeted the ambulance upon its arrival at the scene, where it was found just metres away from the vehicle containing the trapped child Hind,” said the PRCS statement.

“Despite prior coordination to allow the ambulance to reach the location to rescue the child, Hind, the occupation deliberately targeted the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance crew.”

VIDEO: Living Under Israel’s Missiles

Four boys of the Bakr family were killed by a missile strike during last year’s incursion. Their surviving family members are still scarred from the attack.

More than anyone, children bear the brunt of regular Israeli military assaults on the Gaza Strip. During the 51-day war in the summer of 2014, 551 children were killed and 3,436 were injured. But these gruesome figures say little about the psychological state of the nearly 800,000 children who have survived the periodic bombing campaigns. After the final cease-fire that ended Israel’s Operation Protective Edge on August 26 of last year, UNICEF estimated that at least 425,000 Palestinian children in the besieged Gaza Strip require “immediate psychosocial and child protection support.”

Like anyone reading this can comprehend this horror.

Twenty-Four Touches

Softly getting hold of the other’s hand, afraid to make a mistake

A casual touch on the shoulder to acknowledge them

Foreheads pressed together, a silent way to say “I’m here”

A gentle hand holding the other’s neck while staring into their eyes

Whispering, lips almost touching the ear

A quick brush of hands, almost unnoticeable

Tracing the other’s lips with their finger

An arm sneaking around a waist, holding them close

Pressing their face into the other’s neck, hiding from the world

A hand in the other’s hair, not quite grabbing it

Sighing into the kiss, melting together at last

A swift kiss to the other’s cheek

Brushing away an unruly lock of hair

A firm handshake, professionally at first, but a second to long

Gently kissing the other’s knuckles

A tender hug, just staying together for a while

Hands rubbing together to warm them up

A firm hand grabbing the other’s elbow to guide them

Feeling for the other’s pules with their lips

A quick kiss on the crown of their hair

Sitting on the other’s lap, being hugged from behind

A slow dance, entangled with each other

Cold feet warming each other up under the blanket

A gentle kiss on the forehead, a sweet goodbye