SHAH ALAM – In a heartbreaking of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, a distressing pattern has emerged, raising many questions about the intentional targeting of residential buildings.
This was revealed by Asia Middle East Centre for Research and Dialogue (AMEC) director Dr Muslim Imran during Sinar Daily's "The Palestinian Diaries" podcast recently.
He said that the strikes were deliberately aimed at residential buildings and schools to kill civilians as Hamas fighters would be on the ground instead of in the buildings.
"What's the actual situation on the ground? You see, the Gaza Strip is a densely populated territory, like a concrete jungle with many houses close together.
"About half of our population consists of children. Dropping a bomb anywhere is almost certain to result in the deaths of children, which is why nearly half of the casualties, or one-third of them, are children.
"They've bombed at least 20 schools, including United Nations schools, and many mosques, including the Malaysian-built mosques in Gaza.
"If you drop a bomb on a school, you're, of course, killing children and women. If you drop a bomb on a 20-story residential building, who do you expect to die?” Muslim said.