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 Israeli tank fire injured 20 Palestinian students on October 9, killing Tha’er El Howt, a 13-year-old boy sponsored by the humanitarian organization World Vision. In the past two years, violence has claimed the lives of more than 400 Israeli and Palestinian children.
It was the second time in five months that Tha’er had been hit by Israeli fire. In May, soldiers near a mosque in the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza opened fire near a group of Palestinian schoolboys. Shrapnel hit Tha’er in the eye. When Palestinian doctors couldn’t help him, World Vision arranged for Tha’er to receive medical help in Egypt, which restored his vision.
“Tha’er’s parents are devastated. I’m sure his sponsor is grieving too,” said Dan Simmons, director of World Vision’s work in Jerusalem. “No words can assuage their pain; nothing can justify his death.”
More than 9,000 children and their families benefit from World Vision in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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