Malala laments little Palestinian girl's suffering amid Gaza war
"We need a ceasefire now and protect these children's lives," writes Pakistani Nobel-laureate
August 25, 2024
Education activist Malala Yousafzai has highlighted the trauma of a little Palestinian girl experiencing amid Israel’s continuous bombardment on the besieged enclave.
Sharing an Instagram story about the young girl, who has lost her hair under stress and trauma caused by Israel's military aggression in Gaza, Malala demanded quick ceasefire to protect innocent beings.
"This is the trauma Palestinian girls are facing under Israel's bombardment — no peace, no school. We need a ceasefire now and protect these children's lives," she wrote.
The Pakistani Nobel-laureate has times and again raised her voice for the rights of Palestinian children and condemned Israel’s attacks on Gaza, particularly on educational institutes.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Sama Tabil, 8, told how once she used to adore her hair and now she was ridiculed for her baldness.
With teary eyes, she expressed her desire to travel abroad to get treatment so she could "be beautiful again".
In the heartbreaking video, the little girl said she was a good student in school and would do her hair everyday before going to school.
The girl was displaced with her family after Israeli forces’ assault on their camp in Rafah.
Sama said she and her family were sleeping when the attack took place and they woke up to the sounds of gunfire and bomb explosions.
Several days after the incident, her hair started falling off her hair.
Sama’s mother said she saw dead bodies and ruins, following the bombardment which traumatised her.
“The constant fear of shelling and lack of security has rubbed salt into the wound,” she said.
She said the Israeli forces' deadly strikes have deprived Sama of her childhood.
In the Khan Younis camp, other girls tease her by calling her bald and a cancer patient, said the eight-year-old. “It really hurts,” she added.
Amid medicines' shortage, doctors cannot treat her in the besieged territory.
UNICEF has warned that children in Gaza are facing mental health crisis.
