Memorial shroud honors Gaza children
A 100-meter (328-foot) memorial shroud bearing the handwritten names of more than 20,000 Palestinian children killed in the Gaza Strip was unveiled Wednesday at the UN Church Center in New York.
The traveling memorial, known as the Gaza Children’s Shroud, was presented by an interfaith coalition including Doctors Against Genocide, Priests Against Genocide USA, Justice for All and partner organizations.
Organizers said the project is intended to emphasize that the children killed in Gaza were individuals, rather than statistics, while calling for an end to Israeli military operations and accountability for alleged war crimes.
Memorial brings faith groups together
The ceremony coincided with the opening of the UN General Assembly and included the recitation of the Holy Quran and an interfaith gathering.
Organizers said the initiative was inspired by a memorial created in Rome by Pastors Against Genocide. The project draws on reports from Gaza that parents have written their children's names on their bodies to help identify them if their homes were destroyed.
The shroud was first displayed at Philadelphia City Hall on Sept. 1. Organizers plan to take it to Washington in October before moving it to a different city each month as part of a year-long international campaign.
According to figures cited from UN reports, Israeli military attacks have killed more than 20,000 children and injured about 44,000 in Gaza since October 2023.
ΑΑ
