Tragically, Dr. Shawa's death was just one of many among the wider Shawa family in Gaza. Savoca said that the Health Ministry has recorded some 92 members of her family who have died since the Gaza war began in October of last year.
"They were killed by bombing, shelling, and possibly starvation," Savoca said.
The news of Dr. Shawa's death, and so many others in the Shawa family, has left Savoca shattered.
"It's just so, it's beyond words at this point," she said. "I mean there is no regard for Palestinian lives, at all. I mean the elderly are not valued, the young are not valued, doctors, especially, are not valued, nor are the lives of writers or journalists. This is unprecedented what is happening" this is indiscriminate killing," she said.
What happened to the Shawa family has happened to many other extended families in Gaza during the Israeli-Hamas conflict. An investigation by the Associated Press published in June said that 60 families in Gaza lost dozens or more members in the war during the deadliest period of the war, between October and December of last year.
The AP investigation found in those families that at least 25 people were killed - sometimes four generations from the same bloodline.
"To a degree never seen before, Israel is killing entire Palestinian families, a loss even more devastating than the physical destruction and the massive displacement," the article said. Click Here
"It's just so horrifying," said Savoca. "They say 'Never Again.' But it doesn't apply to the Palestinians."
The war in Gaza began in October of last year when Hamas militants raided a music fair in southern Israel and killed 1200 people. Israel responded with a major counterattack and has waged a relentless campaign in the months since in efforts to root out Hamas, the faction that leads the government in Gaza.
Some 38,000 people in Gaza have been killed, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry. But a recent study by the medical publication Lancet reported that the real death toll is more like 186,000.
"The study pointed out that the death toll is higher because the official toll does not take into account thousands of dead buried under rubble and indirect deaths due to destruction of health facilities, food distribution systems and other public infrastructure," said an article on the Lancet report in al-Jazeera. Click Here
A number of human rights groups and UN officials have accused the Israeli military of using disproportionate force and committing numerous war crimes. In February, the International Court of Justice said there was a plausible case to be made that Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza.
Israeli officials have countered the criticism by maintaining that they use precision in targeting Hamas fighters and try to avoid killing civilians. They further maintain that Hamas combatants use Palestinians as shields, so the loss of Palestinian lives is unavoidable.
They also deny trying to impede relief deliveries.
Meanwhile, despite the widespread criticism of Israel and its tactics, the Biden administration has continued to provide all the funds necessary for Israel to wage war and most members of Congress in both parties have also given Israel full backing. Only a few representatives have said that they would not vote for further appropriations for Israel and support a permanent cease-fire.
The devastating losses of her family members in Gaza has prompted Savoca to turn to activism to try to change US policy and stop the war. She spends almost all her time now calling the White House and members of Congress including U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, who represents lower Fairfield County, and Connecticut's two senators, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy --- urging them to back a permanent ceasefire.
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