Human rights activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has joined the call for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine as violence between the country and Israel has intensified, leaving over 1,300 people dead. “As I have processed the tragic news of the past days, I think of the Palestinian and Israeli children caught in the middle,” wrote Malala in an Instagram story posted on Tuesday night. Describing her own experience witnessing terrorism while growing up, she said, “War never spares children – not those kidnapped from their homes in Israel, not those hiding from airstrikes or without food and water in Gaza.” She said she is grieving for “all the children and people longing for peace and justice in the Holy Land”. The recent spate of violence in Palestine began after Hamas launched its biggest assault on Israel in years early on Saturday, firing a barrage of rockets from Gaza and sending fighters across the border. Israel said it was “on a war footing” and launched its own strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza, with Israeli media reporting gunbattles between bands of Palestinian fighters and security forces in southern Israel.