Bism'Allah. I keep being asked to comment on horrific photos of children killed in Gaza... Do the people asking not think I have feelings? The real question is, would the people asking these questions see any difference were the photos of Israeli children? I would not; every death of child, every injury to a child are terrible tragedies to their parents, and our Human Family. Anyone who doesn't realise this is really missing the point... I do not take sides when it comes to the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. How can I? Firstly, their conflict is not my conflict. I'm neither Israeli nor Palestinian. Both Palestinians and Israelis are my sisters and brothers in our Human Family (Bani/Bnei Adam in Arabic and Hebrew). The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is over land and resources, it is not really about religion or ethnicity, both Israelis and Palestinians are multireliguous, multiethnic communities. Many arguments currently being made against Israel apply just as much to Hamas, and more so in some ways - Hamas deliberately targets civilians! That is completely indefensible, whichever way we look at it. How many Israeli children would have been killed were it not for Israel's "Iron Dome" antimissile batteries? Were Hamas as heavily armed as Israel, the casualties on both sides would be countless. We can certainly question the Israeli response, but seriously what do we expect the Israelis to do? The Israeli government would be being negligent to do nothing in the wake of ongoing rockets launched against their civilian population. Which government would tolerate that? In Syria it's been estimated around 9,000 children have been killed, and we still don't know how many children ISIS have murdered in Iraq. Do we only mourn when the children are killed are predominantly Muslims? Remember, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said all children are born in a state of fitrah. All children are innocent... The propaganda of extremists on both sides, both Hamas supporters and the Southern Baptist backed Likudniks, is seriously getting ridiculous. We need to ensure we are centred, and assess what is really going on. After nearly 7 decades, it should be clear that both sides have issues, neither is innocent, and old approaches are not bringing us any closer to resolving this conflict. I sympathise with the people of Gaza, but not for Hamas. As Muslims, we need to investigate, reflect and be more nuanced in our responses, not everything is as simple as it seems... If we care about children, we should be seeking an end to all violent conflicts, as children are always their greatest victims. Salam. Paul Salahuddin Armstrong Association of British Muslims www.aobm.org