Silent march in New York demands end to Israeli attacks on Gaza's children

By Mucahit Oktay

A silent march was held in New York City on Thursday for the Palestinian infants and children killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The thousands of mostly Jewish Americans who filled Times Square, a popular destination for tourists during the Christmas and New Year's holiday season, called for an end to Israel's attacks on civilians in Gaza.

Protesters carried baby dolls wrapped in shrouds to represent the Palestinian infants and children killed by Israeli soldiers along with photos of some of the deceased children.

Gathering at Bryant Park on 42nd Street, they walked to Times Square, leaving the baby dolls in shrouds on the street as New Yorkers and tourists looked on.

Drawing attention to the thousands of infants who have lost their lives since Oct. 7 in the attacks on Gaza, they chanted the slogan "Cease-fire now.”

The activists, wearing mostly black clothes and walking silently in midtown Manhattan, aimed to raise awareness and show support for Palestine.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, leaving it in ruins, with half of the coastal territory's housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million residents displaced within the densely populated enclave amid acute shortages of food and clean water.

At least 21,320 Palestinians have since been killed and 55,603 injured, according to health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul