Names of More Than 20,000 Martyred Gaza Children Featured on 100-Metre Memorial Shroud in New York

NEW YORK: A nearly 100-metre-long memorial shroud bearing the handwritten names of more than 20,000 Palestinian children martyred in Gaza has gone on display at the United Nations Church Center in New York.

The project, titled “Names, Not Numbers,” aims to remember children killed during the conflict by their individual names rather than reducing them to statistics.

Organisers said the initiative also seeks to highlight the civilian impact of the war, call for an end to Israeli military operations and demand accountability for alleged violations of international law.

The memorial project, known as the Gaza Children’s Shroud, was organised by groups including Doctors Against Genocide, USA Prays Against Genocide and Justice for All, along with other partner organisations.

People from different religious backgrounds attended the event in New York. The gathering included recitation from the Holy Quran and an interfaith programme held in memory of the martyred children of Gaza.

Organisers said the project was intended to preserve the identities of children who died during the conflict and highlight the human stories behind the casualty figures.

According to the organisers, the idea was inspired by a memorial shroud created in Italy that commemorated the tragic practice of some Palestinian parents writing their children’s names on their bodies to help identify them after deaths in Gaza.

The organisers said the handwritten names on the shroud were intended to ensure that the children would not disappear into casualty statistics but would instead be remembered as individuals with families and identities.

The memorial shroud began its journey from Philadelphia City Hall on September 1 and was displayed in New York on September 16, coinciding with events surrounding the UN General Assembly.

Under the project’s plan, the shroud will travel to different cities over the coming year.

A new city is expected to host the memorial each month, accompanied by prayer gatherings, public awareness activities and programmes highlighting the experiences of children affected by the Gaza conflict.

The United Nations has documented large-scale civilian casualties in Gaza, including children, during Israel’s military operations.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has also expressed concern over bodies being recovered from recently uncovered rubble and called for access to investigate possible war crimes.

The extent and circumstances of individual deaths remain subjects of ongoing documentation and investigation by international organisations and other bodies.

Organisers said each name written on the memorial shroud represents a child’s life, identity and family.

They said the purpose of the project was to ensure that children martyred in Gaza are remembered not merely as a number but as individual human beings with names, families and lives.