Palestinian children and journalists killed in Gaza honored at Netherlands memorial
Thousands of children's shoes laid out during a commemoration in Den Bosch
DEN BOSCH (AA) — A memorial was held in the Netherlands on Sunday to honor Palestinian children and journalists killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Organized by the Plant an Olive Tree Foundation in the central Markt Square in Den Bosch, the event displayed photographs and names of journalists killed in the attacks, with thousands of children’s shoes arranged across the square. Participants read aloud the names and ages of children killed in Gaza, while volunteers handed out leaflets and shared information about conditions in the enclave.
Esther van der Most, a director at the foundation, said the gathering was the 17th memorial for Palestinian children and the fifth for journalists killed in Gaza. The first, held in Rotterdam in December 2023, laid out 8,000 pairs of shoes, she said, and the number of children killed has since climbed to 21,000.
“We are here today because we want Palestinians to be able to live, grow old, be safe and live freely,” van der Most told Anadolu, adding that the genocide Israel continues to wage against the Palestinian people has made that impossible.
She said the violence extended beyond Gaza, pointing to killings in the occupied West Bank. “How can one speak of a ceasefire while people are being killed every day?” she asked, referring to the death of a seven-month-old baby named Sam in the West Bank the previous week.
Van der Most also urged the Dutch government to act against Israel. “Stop this, impose sanctions, take action and do not continue to give Israel a special position while it continues to kill a people,” she said.
The event also sought to honor the journalists killed in the conflict, she said, noting that the toll had now passed 300. Silencing journalists, she added, is an attempt to keep the truth from reaching the wider world — “We will continue to make that truth heard.”
Since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, nearly 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 173,000 injured, while roughly 90% of the territory’s civilian infrastructure has been destroyed.
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