The 71-year-old star said the video deeply affected him, especially the words of a young Palestinian child. According to Chan, the child was asked a simple question about what he wanted to become when he grew up.
The answer shocked him. “Children here never get to grow up,” the boy said.
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Chan recalled that he could not hold back his tears after hearing the child speak. “As soon as I heard him, my tears started falling,” he said. “I couldn’t endure it.”
Jackie Chan speaking about the children of Gaza 💔 pic.twitter.com/Kg7Dp1KMrG
— Dr. Umar Khan (@ahl_e_uloom) December 31, 2025
What disturbed the actor even more was the child’s calm voice and blank expression. Chan said the boy showed no visible emotion while talking about death. “There was no expression on his face,” he said. “He was already used to death.”
Reflecting on the moment, Chan spoke about how war changes a child’s understanding of life. He said the video made him realize that for many children in Gaza, the idea of a future does not exist.
“We always ask children what they want to be when they grow up,” Chan said. “But for them, growing up itself is uncertain.”
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He also spoke about how people fear aging, without realizing that growing old is a privilege. “People are afraid of getting old,” he said. “But being able to grow old is actually a blessing life gives you.” He added quietly, “Those children may never reach that blessing.”
Chan said the most painful part was how normal suffering has become for children living in war zones. He said that when a child speaks about death without emotion, it shows how deeply violence has entered daily life.
Israel’s war of extermination against Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, has caused massive human and material destruction. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed or wounded, most of them women and children. Entire areas have been destroyed, leaving families without homes, schools, or hospitals.
