00:00These are the faces of just a few of the children in Gaza whose lives have been cut tragically short.
00:08But when the full list of victims is so long, it's difficult to convey the scale of the tragedy.
00:15Residents in Medway, however, are trying to do just that.
00:20Over an eight-hour period, attendees in this room behind me will read out the names of a portion of the over 20,000 children
00:28who have been killed since Israel began its offensive in Gaza over two years ago following the October 7th attack.
00:34Specifically, they'll read the names of 5,000 children under the age of five who have died.
00:39So we want to restore some of that dignity that they weren't given
00:45and also to honour and remember them as individuals and not just as numbers reported in statistics.
00:56Reading out their full names and the age at which they were killed.
01:01We need to humanise the children that have been killed, so we want to restore that dignity to them.
01:08If this was happening in the UK, you'd want people from around the world to also feel for us and raise their voices for us.
01:17So I think it doesn't matter that it's not us who are actually being affected by it.
01:24Like, we know we're not being bombed or anything, but it doesn't matter.
01:28We are still human beings. We are still seeing people around the world dying.
01:33Held in Rochester Cathedral, the event brings together people of different backgrounds and faiths
01:38to remember some of the youngest victims of a conflict which has killed over 68,000 Palestinians and more than 1,100 Israelis.
01:47At the cathedral, we remember every single day in our prayers those who are victims of war, violence, terrorism.
01:55We remember every day those who were taken hostage, you know, and who have been the victims in Israel.
02:04And we pray for the hostages and their families. We've been doing that.
02:08This is not just pray for one group.
02:11But I think it's important to remember those who are caught up in violence for no reason of their own.
02:18And these are children that we're particularly remembering today.
02:21Though a ceasefire has been announced in Gaza, concerns remain about whether it will hold.
02:26But thousands of miles away in Medway, the hope is simple.
02:30No more bodies to bury and no more names to read out.
02:35Alfie Rowe for KMTV in Rochester.
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