A doctor’s loss in Gaza

Re “Israeli TV station airs a father’s heartbreak,” Jan. 17

I was shocked at the report of the killing of Izz el-Deen Aboul Aish’s daughters by a shell fired from an Israeli tank in Gaza.

I first met Dr. Aboul Aish at a medical meeting in Jerusalem in 1995. He encouraged me to see all the beautiful and historic sites in Israel, and he also told me of the difficulties of life in Gaza. Over the years, we have continued corresponding. His most recent e-mail to me spoke of his sense of loss since the recent death of his wife from leukemia, of the high rate of unemployment (including his own) and of the lack of basic necessities since the takeover by Hamas. Now this.

For Hamas and for its Israeli adversaries, Palestinian civilian deaths are likely collateral damage, a high but necessary price to be paid in the cause of freedom. For me, the needless deaths of my colleague’s children are an abomination.

Hopefully, both sides will be forced to the bargaining table. Peaceful negotiation without preconditions is often more difficult than killing for one’s cause.

David A. Sacks MD

Los Alamitos