October 7
Dear Fields of Peace community,
The massacre and events of October 7 were tragic beyond words: 1,200 innocent Israelis lost their lives in attacks carried out by Hamas, a Palestinian armed resistance group. Yet, this violence did not happen in isolation. It is part of a much longer and painful story—decades of Palestinian suffering, thousands killed, millions oppressed, and their pleas met with indifference by much of the world. Today marks yet another day in 76 years of occupation, oppression, ethnic cleansing, and 365 days of genocide against the Palestinian people.
This day also recalls the use of the Hannibal Directive, a controversial Israeli military policy that permits the use of extreme force, even at the risk of soldiers' and civilians' lives, to prevent the capture of soldiers by enemy forces, intensifying the tragic events of October 7.
Today is October 7, a day of deep sorrow for many Israeli families who suffered the consequences of the Israeli government’s choice to systematically oppress their neighbors. It is a day that reveals the strange and painful duality we carry: mourning the loss of innocent lives, yet unable to separate this grief from the overwhelming violence the Israeli government and military have inflicted. It is a mourning weighed down by the recognition of injustice, making it impossible to grieve in peace.
Since that day, the situation has only spiraled deeper into tragedy. The Israeli government’s response has fueled yet another chapter of suffering. In Lebanon, over 2,000 people, including 127 children and 261 women, have been killed in Israeli attacks. In Gaza, the numbers are unfathomable: over 41,800 killed and nearly 100,000 injured since October 2023.
As we reflect today, we must acknowledge the devastating toll this ongoing genocide and escalating regional war takes on children. Israeli, Palestinian, and Lebanese children face a future shaped by violence, fear, and loss, often without ever knowing safety, peace, or their basic rights.
The situation continues to spiral. Oxfam’s report last week revealed that Israel has killed more women and children in Gaza this past year than in any other conflict over the last two decades. Earlier this year, in March, the United Nations reported that Israel had killed more children in Gaza in the preceding months than in four years of global conflict combined. These are not just numbers; they represent countless shattered families and futures lost—a tragedy for humanity as much as it is for Gaza.
The United States plays a critical role in fueling the violence impacting children across the Middle East. By providing weapons used in Israel's attacks on Gaza, the U.S. government perpetuates a cycle of destruction that claims countless young lives. We must condemn and expose this complicity, refusing to accept the ongoing harm to innocent lives.
Today, we mourn all the innocent lives lost. We grieve for a world that continues to turn away from its moral obligations—a world where good people on all sides are denied the chance to live and, ultimately, denied the dignity to die in peace, surrounded by those they love.
We mourn for a world that has failed to protect its children—on all sides—from this cycle of violence. Children should never bear the burden of war, nor should they be deprived of the chance to grow up in a world where peace and dignity are within reach.
All lives matter; every number represents a story, a child, a family shattered by loss, a precious life cut short. Today, let us advocate for life over death, for diplomacy over warfare, for nonviolence over brutality. We demand justice for all those whose lives have been senselessly taken; we demand an end to this senseless cycle of violence. It is time for leadership that chooses peace over war, compassion over hatred. Let us stand for a future where no child, no life is lost in vain.
Be the voice for the children, for peace, for a Free Palestine.
Reem Ghunaim
Executive Director
