Nearly 19,000 children killed in Gaza genocide remembered in Oslo

​​​​​​​By Yunus Kaymaz

OSLO, Norway (AA) - The names of 18,459 Palestinian children killed in the Gaza Strip were read aloud separately Thursday in the Norwegian capital as part of the “Gaza Vigil” held at the Vega Scene art center for a third consecutive year.

“The artist Vibeke Harper came to us and asked if I could do a reading for the people who died in the Gaza Strip from the seventh of October until December. So, we did a reading with all the names, from a 99-year-old person down to a baby only one hour old,” Vega Scene’s Artistic Director Hege Aga Edelsteen told Anadolu.

Edelsteen said Vega Scene had hoped the tragedy would end there, but in 2024, it held another reading. “That time, we also read from a diary written by a Palestinian artist, and we did it for two nights. Sadly, this year we had to do it again,” she added.

“This time, we have been reading the names of 18,459 Palestinian children who died between the seventh of October 2023 and the 31st of July 2025,” said Edelsteen. “We have also read the names of 39 children who were killed on the seventh of October, because all children are our children.”

Reflecting on the experience, Edelsteen said, “It’s so hard to believe this is really happening. In one way, it’s terrible to read those names, but on the other side it feels good because we can give them a worthy farewell. It’s a ritual, and it’s nice to be together with other people doing it.”

Calling the situation “terrible” and “a genocide,” Edelsteen emphasized the need to support the Palestinian people: “We have to do what we can to support them.”

The “Gaza Vigil” was initiated by artist Vibeke Harper and began in November 2023.