Why Did They Kill Our Children?
In the first hours and moments of the war, Israel and the United States bombed several targets that had been carefully and deliberately selected in advance. One of the earliest targets of the military attack was the “Shajareh Tayyebeh” school in Minab (Hormozgan Province), which was bombed in the very first moments of the beginning of this crime—why?
This deadly crime was the most devastating incident, resulting in the killing of 180 students, children who were mostly between 7 and 12 years old.
At the same time as this crime, the residence of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as some other top military, political, and security leaders and scientists of the country, were targeted by assassination and bombing.
Usually in wars, the first targets are the most important targets; and they deliver the most important message to the other side, whether psychologically, politically, economically, or in terms of creating terror and the scale of destruction. Now we must ask: why did they choose our children? Why did they kill our children? We all know that everything has value, but it can be replaced. If you have an accident and your car is destroyed, you can buy another one. If your house is destroyed in an earthquake, you can rebuild it. Have you ever thought about why, when someone demands ransom, they kidnap a person’s child? Because if they take your car, you might say you don’t want it and let it go. If they destroy your house, you still have hope that you will rebuild it; you work and build it again. All of these things have a price, and you know that after two years or five years, you can buy or rebuild them again.
But when your child is taken hostage, you are willing to give everything you have for them. Because they cannot be replaced. At no price, with nothing, can they be replaced. Therefore, when your child is taken hostage, they know that emotionally, in terms of attachment, and in terms of value, they have taken from you the most important thing in the world—something that cannot be compared with anything else. If they kill them, they have left you grieving forever; a grief that can never be compensated.
When they kill your child, in reality they are telling you: we will eliminate your lineage. The children of you and me are our future. Your child is the future of the country. When children are killed, the future is killed; a future that is impossible to imagine without our children. It is our children who, within the frame of the future, make everything possible and imaginable for us: building, creation, reproduction, the future of humanity, the environment; and the continuation of life and existence—everything about the future only finds meaning through our children. Our children are our future. When they take our children from us, it means they want to deprive us of a future. To darken our world.
That is why, in the very first moments, they killed our children. Killing our children in Minab was the atomic bomb they dropped on our people so that they would surrender.
This was not only a war crime but one of the worst forms of shock and awe operations; the creation of terror and fear in its most naked and brutal form. In no military action in the past, in none of the wars, have 170 innocent children been the first target of a war. Perhaps Israel has committed such crimes in its previous wars. I say this because they always kill children. They say that every child, in the future, is another Palestinian fighter, so they must not remain alive. That is why they kill them. That is why they kill more children. And that is why, in the first moments of this damned war, they killed our children. Because they consider every Iranian child as a defender of the future of their homeland. They kill them so that the country becomes defenseless and abandoned.
We must understand. We Iranians must know why they killed our children. This was not a mistake. At the very same time as targeting the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which for them was the most important strategic military and political target in our country, they also killed our children. Killing children shows that for them, committing this crime had the same level of importance as killing the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, whom they considered their greatest enemy; perhaps even more. That is why they killed our children and continue to kill them.
Official UNICEF reports indicate that from the beginning of the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation against our country on February 28, 2026 (known as Operation Epic Fury), until April 1, 2026, at least 200 to 212 children have been killed as a result of missile and explosive attacks in various parts of Iran.
If you look at Palestine and Gaza, the scale of the crime and the killing of children is astonishing. Relevant statistics (as of February 2026): reports from the Gaza Ministry of Health and UN-affiliated organizations indicate that during this period, Israel’s child killers, with the support and assistance of Trump and his criminal team, have killed more than 21,000 children in Gaza. UNICEF has repeatedly described the situation in Gaza as a “graveyard of children” and has emphasized that the scale of child casualties in this war is unprecedented in modern history.
If we look at the similarities between this brutal operation in our country and what has been done to Palestinians in Gaza over the past three years, then we better understand why they killed our children in the first operation. Look at what these criminals have openly said in justifying the killing of more than 21,000 Palestinian children.
In the case brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), many of these criminal statements have been cited as evidence of “genocidal intent.” Some of the most important figures and cases who have made controversial statements about children or the entire population of Gaza include:
Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister)
Netanyahu has repeatedly referred in his speeches to the religious story of “Amalek.” In the biblical text, it is stated that “men and women, children and infants” must be destroyed. International jurists at The Hague have recorded this reference as direct intent to kill children.
Isaac Herzog (President)
In statements that received global attention, Herzog attributed responsibility to the entire population of Gaza and said:
“The claim that civilians [in Gaza] are not aware or involved is not true. It is an entire nation that is responsible.”
Critics believe that this perspective—that “there are no innocent civilians”—paves the way for targeting children.
Merav Ben-Ari (Knesset member)
In one of the sessions of the Israeli parliament (Knesset), she explicitly stated:
“The children of Gaza brought this upon themselves.”
This statement provoked widespread reactions, as children are considered “minors” and “not responsible” under international law.
Bezalel Smotrich (Minister of Finance)
He is among those who have explicitly called for the complete destruction of Gaza:
In August 2024, he stated that it might be “moral and right” for 2 million people in Gaza to die of hunger in order to free Israeli hostages, but “the international community does not allow us to do this.”
In May 2025, Smotrich emphasized that Gaza must be “completely destroyed” and its population transferred to third countries—a policy that directly threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of children.
Itamar Ben-Gvir (Minister of National Security)
He, who is responsible for the police and security forces, has repeatedly called for a complete halt to humanitarian aid (even for children). He emphasizes the “forced displacement” of Palestinians and rejects any distinction between civilians and combatants in Gaza.
Yoav Kisch (Minister of Education)
In one of the most explicit statements against Palestinians’ right to life, he said:
“They are animals and have no right to live… they must be exterminated.”
The use of the term “exterminated,” usually used for pests, has been interpreted by legal experts as direct incitement to mass killing.
Amichai Eliyahu (Minister of Heritage)
In response to a question about using a nuclear bomb in Gaza, he said that this is “one of the options.” When asked about the fate of children and civilians, he responded:
“In Gaza there is no such thing as an uninvolved civilian; they are all terrorists.”
Eli Cohen (Minister of Energy and former Foreign Minister)
In September 2025, he called for Gaza City to be completely turned into a “ruin and barren land” and emphasized that it must be reduced to ashes like Rafah so that it becomes uninhabitable.
Yoav Gallant (former Minister of Defense)
In the early days of the war, he described Palestinians as “human animals” and ordered a complete siege (cutting off water, food, and electricity). Human rights organizations warned that this policy would harm children, the most vulnerable group, the most.
Moshe Feiglin, former Knesset member and leader of the far-right “Zehut” party, is one of the most vile and extreme political figures in Israel whose statements about children in Gaza have provoked strong international and legal reactions.
In multiple interviews, especially on Israel’s Channel 14 (May 2025), he made statements directly justifying targeting children. The main points of his statements include:
- Describing children as “the enemy”
Feiglin explicitly stated:
“Every child and every infant in Gaza is an enemy.”
He claimed that these children would become threats to Israel in the future, saying:
“Every child you feed today will, in 15 years, rape your daughters and murder your sons.” - Calling for total destruction and the elimination of children
Rejecting the concept of “innocent civilians” in Gaza, he argued that total victory is only possible through the cleansing or destruction of the entire population. He stated:
“Not even a single child should remain in Gaza.”
He believes Gaza must be completely occupied, settled, and emptied of its current population. - Referring to historical models of destruction (Hiroshima and Dresden)
Feiglin called for using the model of “Dresden” and “Hiroshima” against Gaza. He argued that Americans did not consider humanitarian corridors for the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but instead ended the war through total destruction. He suggested Israel should burn all of Gaza without restraint. - Reference to Hitler
In June 2024, in statements that shocked even audiences within Israel, he cited Adolf Hitler regarding the creation of a “Hebrew Gaza,” presenting Hitler’s focus on his final goal as a model for Israel to expel Palestinians and resettle Jews in Gaza.
Feiglin’s statements have been described by human rights organizations (such as AOAV) as “direct incitement to crimes against humanity” and “genocide.” Some political groups in Britain and Europe have called for personal sanctions against him and banning his entry due to promoting violence against children. Critics argue that figures like Feiglin have shifted the “Overton window,” normalizing violence against civilians.
Although Feiglin’s statements reflect the deeply criminal nature of the Zionist ideology of Israel’s leaders, he is not an exception; as seen above, many other high-ranking Israeli officials (including ministers, parliament members, and military commanders), especially between 2023 and 2026, have made similar statements aimed at dehumanizing the entire population of Gaza, including children.
In UN reports and international legal cases, these statements have been cited as evidence of “genocidal intent.”
Reports by the UN Special Rapporteur, Francesca Albanese (March 2026), emphasize that these statements are not accidental, but part of a “state doctrine” to normalize violence against children.
According to these bodies, when the highest officials of a country:
— call a population “animals,”
— describe starving them as “moral,”
— and use religious references to “destroy infants” (the story of Amalek),
the result on the battlefield is a high number of casualties under the age of 18, which has now exceeded 21,000 in Gaza.
Yair Golan (leader of the Democrats party and former deputy army chief), who is now in opposition to Netanyahu, said in May 2025 in a harsh critique of government policies that Israel under the current leadership has become a state that “kills children as a hobby.” Although he said this as criticism, his statement reflects the reality on the ground and the behavior of the army toward children.
In the United States, although the official tone of the government usually emphasizes the “protection of civilians,” a number of prominent politicians (especially in the Republican camp) have made statements interpreted by critics as giving a green light for the total destruction of Gaza and ignoring child casualties.
Here are some of the key figures and their statements:
- Donald Trump (current President)
Trump has taken hardline positions:
“Finish the job”—he has used this phrase repeatedly. Critics believe it means giving Israel full authority to destroy Gaza without humanitarian considerations.
Expulsion and control of Gaza: in February 2025, he proposed that the U.S. should take control of Gaza and relocate its population—statements condemned by human rights organizations as advocating “ethnic cleansing.” - Lindsey Graham (senator)
Graham is one of the most extreme and explicit supporters of using overwhelming military force. In May 2024, he said:
“We decided to end the war by bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons. That was the right decision. Give Israel whatever it needs to finish the war; they must not lose.”
He has also repeatedly emphasized that Israel is in an “existential” war and should not be constrained by civilian casualties. - Andy Ogles (congressman)
In February 2024, when asked about Palestinian children being killed with U.S. tax money, he responded:
“I think we should kill ’em all.” - Brian Mast (congressman)
He rejected the distinction between civilians and militants in Gaza and said:
“There are very few innocent Palestinian civilians… I don’t think there is such a thing as an innocent Palestinian civilian.” - Tim Walberg (congressman)
In March 2024, he said regarding humanitarian aid:
“We shouldn’t spend a dime on humanitarian aid. It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Finish it quickly.”
The only essential difference between the rhetoric of American and Israeli officials is that:
Israeli officials often use religious language (like Amalek) or direct dehumanization (calling people animals).
American officials more often use historical analogies (like the atomic bomb in World War II) to justify the necessity of “quick victory at any cost.”
Let us not forget: our country today stands against a monster;
a demonic and savage monster that is determined to destroy our people, our children, and our homes.
The defense of our people and our defensive forces today is a confrontation with this very monster;
a monster that is at war not only with our present, but with our future.
Any surrender to such a vile and ruthless entity
would mean nothing but sacrificing our children and destroying the future of this land.
Today, our country’s defensive force is the very Kaveh the Blacksmith;
standing against the Zahhak of our time,
and it will never allow the children of this land
to be sacrificed day after day and destroyed by this monstrous force.
Reza Fani Yazdi
April 7, 2026