Dozens of children in Gaza demand reopening of schools

By Gülşen Topçu and Said Amori

GAZA (AA) - Dozens of children gathered Saturday in front of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza Strip town of Deir al-Balah to express a desire to return to schools and live in peace.

Palestinian children are deprived of their right to education because of Israeli attacks.

Organized by a group of young people, the children carried banners with slogans such as, "Education is our right, we demand education" and "We want to live in peace and security."

Nine-year-old Iman told the children that "like other children in the world, we want to live in peace and security, and return to our homes and schools. Why did they ruin our lives? Don't we deserve to live in peace?"

Iman, condemning Israel for killing innocent children, encouraged countries to stop the onslaught against Gaza so that children could return to their beautiful lives and regain their freedom like other children.

Children also sang songs and danced during the demonstration.