Gaza today is not merely a besieged city on the shores of the Mediterranean, but a symbol of suffering spanning decades of occupation, blockade, and repeated wars. For many long years its people have lived under suffocating restrictions: closed crossings, a paralyzed economy, and a blocked horizon. The children of Gaza recognize the sound of warplanes before they recognize the sounds of toys, and they grow up among ruins before tasting the innocence of childhood. Oct.