Children join their parents in candlelight march for Gaza

AMMAN — Despite being only 10 years old, Ahmad Shaheen was determined to show his support for the people of Gaza in any way he could.

Shaheen joined his family members in a candlelight march in Amman on Tuesday night in solidarity with the children of Gaza.

“It is really heartless to target and kill children. They can’t even play with their toys,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Shaheen was one of several children who took part in the candlelight march, walking with their parents from Shmeisani’s Professional Associations Complex to the UN premises. 

The professional associations organised the event to send a message to the international organisation, said Muthafar Jalamdeh, who heads the Palestine committee at the associations. 

“The UN has been silent so far and has not performed its professional duty to ensure the safety of children in Gaza,” he said.

Figures released on Wednesday by UNICEF showed that 419 Palestinian children have been killed in the nearly month-long Israeli war on Gaza, Reuters reported. 

Another 350 children died in Israel’s three-week ground offensive on the enclave five years ago, the agency said. 

During the march, participants waved Jordanian and Palestinian flags and chanted slogans denouncing the Israeli offensive, which has killed 1,869 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Reuters.

After the marchers reached the UN office in Amman, children wrote messages expressing support for their peers in Gaza on a large white flag. 

Sarah Abu Saif, one of the young participants, said Arab leaders “are asleep” while Gaza is dying.

“All Arabs are sleeping and only foreigners supported Gaza. People need to wake up because Gaza needs help,” she said.