Twirling noodles around their forks over dinner, my kids peppered me with questions about the war. Did any missiles explode in Tel Aviv? What about Ashkelon? Did I see any neat photos of the Iron Dome?
Mentioning that Ismail Haniyeh went into hiding piqued my daughter’s interest. Rivka’s 11, and picks up on things she hears on the radio.
Rivka: Hiding? Where did he go?
Me: Probably hiding underground in a bunker or tunnel beneath Gaza’s main hospital. That’s where they hid during the last war.
Rivka: Why there?
Me: He knows we won’t attack the hospital while he’s hiding there.
Rivka: Why not, if he’s hiding there?
Me: It’s called the Shifa Hospital, and its Gaza’s main hospital. People who are sick need a hospital to go to, even during a war. And if an army attacks a hospital, a lot of regular people will die. It’s not easy to build a hospital and get all the equipment. Gaza needs more hospitals and clinics too. So if we attack Shifa Hospital, the world won’t like us.
Rivka: The Palestinians should come to our hospitals. And the world shouldn’t like a man who hides in hospitals. (Pause) Abba, did we build the hospital for them?
Me: I think we helped them build it. (I later learned that Britain built Shifa in the 30s; Israel significantly expanded it in the 80s.)
Rivka: Aizeh chutzpah!
(Image via Facebook/IDF)
© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
