Google removes 'Bomb Gaza' game from online app store after public outrage
The game, designed for Android phones and tablets, simulated the IDF dropping bombs on Gaza in an imitation of the ongoing conflict.
By JPOST.COM STAFFBomb Gaza mobile game(photo credit: screenshot)
A cell phone game which simulates the IDF bombing Gaza was removed from the Google app store on Monday following a massive public outcry, The Guardian reported.The game "Bomb Gaza" was developed by PLAYFTW for Android phones and tablets had been downloaded up to 1,000 times since its release on July 29 of this year. Its stated aim was to “drop bombs and avoid killing civilians,” according to the Guardian.Comments in the game's review section expressed anger and bewilderment that real human suffering could be made into a game."Utterly shameful. Real people, many of them children, are dying in Gaza. Many of those who haven’t been killed face life with debilitating injuries, bereavement and without homes. Their suffering is as real as yours or mine, and to make light of it like this speaks of your essential failure as a human. Shame on the creators of this game, and those who ‘play’ it," read one comment by user George Coote.“We remove apps from Google Play that violate our policies,” a spokesman for Google told the Guardian, confirming that the game had been removed from the Google Play app store. The company did not specify which policy the game had violated.According to Mashable, a second game referencing the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas - "Gaza Assault: Code Red" - was also removed by Google on Monday.Other games called "Iron Dome" and "Hamas Rockets" remain in the app store.
