MAASTRICHT, the Netherlands / ISTANBUL

A commemoration was held in Maastricht, the Netherlands, on Saturday for Palestinian children and journalists killed in Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

The Olive Tree Foundation held the event in front of the Sint Servaas Basilica, the country’s oldest church, located in the city of Maastricht.

During the event, thousands of Palestinian children and journalists who lost their lives in Israel’s attacks in Gaza were remembered.

Photographs and names of journalists killed in Israeli attacks were displayed in the square to draw attention to the victims.

Thousands of children’s shoes were also placed in the square to symbolize the huge death toll of children in Israel’s attacks.

The names and ages of children who died in Gaza were read aloud one by one during the commemoration.

Volunteers handed out brochures to passers-by on the situation in Gaza.

Esther van der Most, director of the Olive Tree Planting Foundation, told Anadolu that this was the 15th commemoration for Palestinian children – who have long suffered from Israeli oppression, long before the war which began in 2023 – and the second for journalists killed in Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

She stressed that the crisis in Gaza did not start on Oct. 7, 2023, noting that while the current ceasefire is necessary to allow food into the region, Israel’s decades-long occupation has caused severe injustice to the Palestinian people, and true justice cannot be achieved until the occupation ends.

She said the current ceasefire does not amount to “peace or justice” and that no agreement can bring justice while Palestine remains occupied and colonized, pledging that their efforts will continue until full freedom is achieved.

Van der Most added that displaying the shoes and journalists’ photos helps people grasp the reality in Gaza, noting the unprecedented loss of journalists and expressing her duty to share their stories and ensure the safety of others reporting from the conflict.