**Westminster Vigil Pays Tribute to Gaza’s Child Victims**
A solemn vigil took place outside the Palace of Westminster, as artists, celebrities and campaigners gathered to shine a light on the thousands of children who have died in the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The event, orchestrated by the charity Choose Love, sought to both acknowledge the depth of the tragedy and call for urgent action from the British government and wider international community.
Across the square, the normally bustling area was transformed as a line of readers, including respected actors Steve Coogan and Juliet Stevenson, stood under the gaze of the Elizabeth Tower to recite names – more than 16,000 in total – of Palestinian children killed in the last 19 months. The vigil’s backdrop, a banner reading “Gaza: Actions Not Words,” emphasised the gathering’s demand for meaningful intervention, as participants voiced frustration at the world’s inaction.
Steve Coogan, known both for his acting career and outspoken advocacy, stated his motivation to take part was to “highlight the plight of starving children in Gaza who are having their aid blocked.” He raised concerns about the indiscriminate bombing and reminded those present that the children being mourned were real individuals, not just statistics. “To read their names is to honour their lives, short as they may have been, and to shout that their deaths cannot pass unnoticed,” he remarked. Coogan further criticised restrictions on media access to the conflict, asserting, “If there was nothing to hide, journalists would be allowed in.”
Fellow actor Juliet Stevenson echoed these emotions, drawing attention to the fact that countless children remain buried under rubble, their names unknown. “Every child whose name we know is being acknowledged because they are not numbers; each one had passions, families, fears and hopes, as do all our children,” she said, calling the scale of loss “genocidal” and expressing horror at unfolding events.
Alongside Coogan and Stevenson, other prominent cultural figures – including Toby Jones, Emily Watson, Ncuti Gatwa, Andrea Riseborough, Dawn O’Porter and Nadia Sawalha – participated in reading around 300 names apiece. According to organisers, the vigil sought not only to memorialise the dead but to acknowledge the estimated 20,000 other children reported as missing in the chaos.
Khalid Abdalla, best known for his portrayal of Dodi Fayed in The Crown, described the emotional toll of the event. “I spent thirty minutes reading names, all of children aged only five. It was heart-breaking, and a reminder that each name represents a lost future.” Abdalla’s words underscored not only the tragedy of each individual loss but the wider, ongoing violence that continues unabated.
The calls for political action accompanied the vigil. Organisers and participants urged the UK government to halt arms sales and export licences to Israel, grant full humanitarian access to the besieged territory, and commit to an immediate, lasting ceasefire. In the days leading up to the event, more than 300 signatories—including broadcasters, actors, musicians and even a Holocaust survivor—penned an open letter urging the Prime Minister to take measures to end “the UK’s complicity in the horrors of Gaza.”
The government responded with a statement emphasising its opposition to expanding military operations in Gaza and condemning Israel’s denial of humanitarian assistance. The statement noted that some export licences had been suspended for military equipment and called for an urgent ceasefire leading to a sustainable peace, while maintaining that the UK continues to push for unimpeded aid access.
The gathering at Westminster served as more than a commemoration. Through the simple yet powerful act of reading names aloud, those assembled rejected the reduction of Gaza’s children to faceless casualties. Their message was clear: beneath each number lies a life, a family, and a story cut short, all of which deserve to be remembered and to prompt action.
As the conflict continues, the question remains as to whether such vigils and public appeals will bring about the shifts in policy and perspective that campaigners urgently seek. Yet for those who took part in the somber Westminster gathering, the hope lingers that bearing witness will at least keep the names and stories of Gaza’s lost children alive in the public conscience.