Strong reactions even from Israelis have been triggered by a video clip starring Israeli children cheering by singing the destruction of Gaza.

In particular, an Israeli organization calling itself The Civil Front has sparked controversy on social media by producing a song in which children celebrate the “catastrophe” in Gaza and they say “nothing will be left there” in a year.

The music video reportedly shows children from the communities that have been evacuated near the Gaza Strip. The event has caused reactions both in Israel and abroad for its lyrics as well as the fact that children are involved.

The video is a tribute to the classic Israeli song “HaReut” (“Fellowship”), written by poet Haim Guri about the events of the 1948 War of Independence and is an ode to those lost in the horrors of war.

The new version, meanwhile, has a much more militant tone, with statements like “The IDF is crossing the border to exterminate the swastika bearers,” “We will wipe them all out,” and “We will show the world how we destroy our enemies ».

Planes are bombing, disaster, disaster,’ the children sing, as bombings have killed more than 13,000 people in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis, Al Jazeera reported on the song’s lyrics.

The song was shared by pro-Palestinian activists on social media, with comments such as “Israeli children sing pro-genocide song in Gaza’ and ‘Is this how their children are raised?’

In Israel, some users welcomed the new version, but most reacted negatively.

Guri himself, a lifelong left-wing activist who died in 2018, would almost certainly have been unhappy with the new lyrics, users report.