Chris Hedges’s 2001 Gaza Diary: The Account From Khan Younis

In October 2001, journalist Chris Hedges published “A Gaza Diary: Scenes from the Palestinian Uprising” in Harper’s Magazine.

Writing about Khan Younis in Gaza, Hedges described Israeli soldiers using loudspeakers to taunt Palestinian boys. He reported that the boys approached a fence and threw stones toward armored jeeps, and that soldiers subsequently fired on them. According to his account, an 11-year-old boy was killed and four others were seriously injured.

Hedges explained that he had reported on children being killed in other conflicts, but what distinguished this incident, in his assessment, was soldiers deliberately drawing children into danger before shooting them. That is the central allegation in his account, paraphrased here without the graphic descriptions.

I’m sharing the source so people can read the passage themselves, with its publication date and surrounding context, rather than relying only on a quote graphic.