A palestinian schoolboy has revealed the horrors children are facing on the war-torn Gaza strip.
Urging Israel to halt its bombing campaigns, Little Amir said: “I’m 11 years old and I’ve lived through three wars and I’ve had friends killed in them.”
“I wish that the world could know how unsafe we are in Gaza.”
It came as US President Joe Biden hardened his line with Israel, demanding the Jewish state significantly de-escalates the war against Hamas.
At least six more people died in Gaza on Wednesday, as Save the Children revealed more than 50 schools have been hit by Israeli strikes.
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Amir told the charity: “I’m really afraid of the sound of the Israeli occupation air strikes.
"Today they threatened to bomb a building near our home and we got really scared.
"My uncle’s family had to come shelter here.
“We started looking for places to hide and all the young children started to cry.
"My little sister started to cry.
“The hardest thing is that the Israeli army bombs all night long so we can’t sleep.
"The electricity goes out when they’re bombing us and because we’re so afraid we all stay in one room.”
Hopes for a ceasefire faded on Wednesday as the onslaught raged on with more than 50 rockets aimed at Israel.
Some 219 people have been killed in Gaza, including 63 children, with over 1,500 Palestinians wounded.
Israel’s death toll remained at 12, including two children, yet it refused to acknowledge a timetable for a ceasefire.
Many Israeli officials are said to be privately calling to end the hostilities.
President Joe Biden, in his fourth call to Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told him he expected a beginning of the end to fighting almost immediately.
But Israeli’s intelligence community is said to believe Hamas and Islamic Jihad may have a stockpile of 12,000 rockets.
Mr Netanyahu said Isr- ael is engaged in “forceful deterrence” to prevent future conflict. He said: “We’re not standing with a stopwatch.
"We want to achieve the goals of the operation. Previous operations lasted a long time.”
In one 25-minute nighttime attack, Israel dropped 122 bombs on Gaza targets including Hamas tunnels.
In Israel sirens wailed in coastal city Ashdod, and in areas closer to the Gaza border as Hamas rockets rained down.
Amir said: “I wish for Gaza to become a safe city like the rest of the world’s cities and the blockade to be removed so we can travel and achieve our dreams.
"Palestinian children deserve to live in safety.”
LibDem MP Layla Moran, of British-Palestinian descent, said: “My heart was broken before, it’s shattered now.
"We need a ceasefire and the UK shouldn’t have left it to France to be the main sponsor of a UN resolution calling for it.
"This Government is shirking its historic responsibility. It’s time to step up.”
Labour’s Richard Burgon said: “Surely now is the time for all UK weapons sales to Israel to be stopped.
Surely now is the time for sanctions on the Israeli government for repeated violations of international law.”
