For boy injured in Gaza beach massacre, war has never ended

As soon as Israel’s bombs stop falling on Gaza, attention shifts and many forget about the damage and human misery left behind.

The experience of Muntasir Baker, 11, shows how deeply the wounds of last summer’s genocidal war continue to affect children.

Muntasir was injured in the notorious Israeli shelling of a Gaza City beach on 16 July last year that killed his 10-year-old brother Zakaria Ahed Baker and three of his cousins: 9-year-old Ismail Muhammad Baker, 10-year-old Ahed Atif Baker and 11-year-old Muhammad Ramiz Baker.

The Baker boys were among the at least 547 children killed in Israel’s 51-day assault that left more than 2,200 people in Gaza dead.

Seizures Some of the tendons in Muntasir’s left hand were severed and his hand hasn’t been completely functional ever since.

The disability is evident as Muntasir speaks in this brief video shot on 7 September at a commemorative football match on the same beach where the massacre took place: Muntasir’s injuries are not limited to his hand, and his trauma is not just physical.

He sustained several injuries to his head and now suffers from recurrent seizures which never occurred before.

He feels better taking two medications, but these cost about $70 per month – a huge sum for many families in Gaza – so he intermittently takes only the cheaper drug, which costs about $10 per month.

The seizures have affected his family, who always have to look out for him for fear that he might injure himself.

They also have to take him to the hospital several times a month and sometimes several times a week.

The psychological impacts of the attack dig even deeper into the lives of Muntasir and his family.

Ever since, Muntasir has been anxious and vigilant, suffering from sleep disturbances and fits of anger.