Vigil held in Rochester Cathedral for children killed in Gaza

KentOnline / KMTV

Medway residents and faith groups gather to read out the names of thousands of young children who have been killed in the conflict in Gaza, as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains fragile  Alfie Rowe reports

Transcript

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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