A hundred-meter-long shroud with the handwritten names of more than 20,000 Palestinian children was put on display at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, Ynet reported on Friday.
The exhibition, called “The Shroud of the Children of Gaza,” was organized by a coalition of interfaith organizations, including Clergy Against Genocide and Doctors Against Genocide, as well as representatives from the Palestinian delegation to the UN.
According to Ynet’s report, the organizers described the event as an “attempt to document the young victims and prevent them from becoming numbers in official records.”
The exhibition is part of a campaign set to be held in other US cities, including Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, the report added.
"In the Gaza Strip alone, a million Palestinian children are still alive. They need food,” Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour urged during a speech at the exhibition’s unveiling.
“They need humanitarian aid. They need the withdrawal of the entire Israeli army. They need freedom. They need respect. Palestine must be free,” he continued.
UN prepares for General Assembly High-level Week
Mansour’s remarks came as the UN prepares for its General Assembly High-level Week, set to take place from September 18 to 28. Part of its agenda, according to Ynet, is to demand legal and international action against Israel.
The ambassador argued during the speech that Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip constitute a violation of international law, and that "The occupation must be held accountable for the crimes committed against children, and the officials must not be allowed to escape because they constitute crimes against humanity and a threat to international peace," Ynet cited him as saying.
Pictures of the children and clothing items such as shoes and keffiyehs were displaced as well, according to the report.
The event concluded with the reading of verses from the Quran and a joint religious mass attended by leaders from different religions, including rabbis.
Some of the rabbis even wore keffiyehs and headscarves, the report added.
Organizers described the ceremony as an “expression of human solidarity” demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Organizers seek permanent UN display for Gaza shroud exhibition
Organizers added that they are working in coordination with the Palestinian delegation to place the shroud in a permanent display inside the UN building. The coalition is also planning to hold additional vigils in front of Western diplomatic buildings across Manhattan, according to the report.