Imagine you're a child who can hear the rattle of gunfire and the tremor of explosions all around you, but not your parent's calming voice. This is the terrifying life for the 126 deaf children at the World Vision-sponsored Rehabilitation Center for the Deaf at the Rafah refugee camp on the Palestinian-Egyptian border, since the eruption of the Intifada four years ago.

Last October, Israeli troops launched an attack at the camp to find and destroy tunnels between Palestine and Egypt. In the process, the army demolished more than 100 houses and ransacked the rehabilitation centre. With the help of World Vision, most of this damage was repaired quickly.

However, the children are in constant fear of being shot by stray bullets from the daily skirmishes between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli soldiers. Jihad, 11, says that he can still hear the shooting when he has his hearing aid on.

In an effort to stop the Israeli-Palestinian violence that has impacted so many children for the past three years, World Vision has released Who Will Wipe Away Their Tears? - A call to end violence against children in Israel and Palestine. The special report documents the tragic deaths of 549 children killed from the beginning of the current Intifada in September 2000 to July 2003.

The report calls on all parties and the international community to end the violence against children, and urges readers to become informed about the violence and to voice their concerns to their elected officials. To link to this report, click here.