In Gaza, at least 17,000 children have been killed, more than 35,000 injured, and 3,000 to 4,000 children have had one or more limbs amputated – the highest figure for child amputees globally. Also, over 50,000 children have lost at least one of their parents.
Nearly 10,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli military detention, over 3,500 of them without any charge or trial, and in facilities where they are regularly subject to violence, sexual abuse, torture, and killing. Over 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed.
Over 1,450 recorded attacks on health workers, patients, hospitals, and medical infrastructure, with at least 1,500 health care workers killed and over 85% of hospitals bombed or besieged. Remaining facilities are systematically denied fuel and electricity – cutting power to incubators, dialysis machines, and operating theaters, directly causing preventable deaths.
Forced displacement of 1.9 million people amid calls to erase Gaza and for the ethnic cleansing of the population. The dehumanization and incitement by officials is state-sanctioned, with Palestinians being called “human animals” and with politicians, media, and soldiers celebrating the killings of civilians.
Article II of the UN Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts committed “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” The Quakers believe that the Israeli actions in Gaza meet this threshold.
Stop US Tax Dollars Supporting Genocide in Gaza
Over $22 billion US tax dollars since 2023 spent in the military support of Israel, leading to over 57,000 Palestinians directly killed in Gaza, with estimates of the number of people killed as a result of both the direct and indirect impacts of war rising as high as 300,000. Along with the deliberate mass starvation through the systematic obstruction of food, water, and medicine, over 70% of homes have been destroyed. Because of all of the above, the Quakers believe that the US should stop using tax dollars to support this Genocide.
Join the Fort Worth Friends Meeting to Discuss
Local Quakers meet at Broadway Baptist Church (305 W Broadway, Room 302, Fort Worth) every Sunday at 11am, and the public is invited to these Fort Worth Friends Meetings to join the conversation. To find them, enter the main church entrance, follow the signs or rainbow banners, and take the elevator to the 3rd floor. They hold a silent worship period for the first hour, followed by a second hour of activities, such as discussions and potluck meals.
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