The News Minute | August 12.37 pm IST
After protests from the public, Google has withdrawn a game called “Bomb Gaza” in which players’ goal is to “drop bombs and avoid killing civilians”. According to a Reuters report, the game had been available since July 29, and had been taken down from Google Play app store after it was brought to the company’s attention. However, the game is still available on the developer PlayFTW’s Facebook page.
Reuters quoted a Google spokesperson saying on Monday, that it regularly withdrew games that violated its policies. According to The Guardian, the game had been downloaded 1,000 times from Google’s app store. It has been developed for Android phones and tablets.
Several comments on the game developer's page express disgust at the game, saying that the idea of such a game was horrifying. Maryanne Schiffman said: "Seriously? You are making a buck off the slaughter of women and children? You people are sick".
The Guardian report said: “Its maturity setting – designed to protect younger gamers from harmful content – was listed as ‘low”, which meant younger players were encouraged to play it.
The developer, PLAYFTW, described “an improved performance” in a second release of the game which mentioned the addition of “Israel’s theme music”.”
The British newspaper also said that Google Play app store also had other games which relate to the Gaza-Israel conflict. So far, over 1,800 Palestinians have been killed in airstrikes and ground attacks launched by Israel and around 30 Israeli people have died in damaged caused by Hamas’ rockets.