Pax Christi USA and Pax Christi International are both cosponsors of Let children live, a newly launched campaign organized by Amnesty International and Save the Children to remind the world that 2.38 million Palestinian children are struggling to survive in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OTP). Campaign participants will raise their voices for all Palestinian children living under Israel’s occupation, which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has declared unlawful.
This is a bold, peaceful campaign driven by a broad coalition of civil society organizations. It calls for protection, dignity and justice, and reminds us that respect for international law is not conditional but is an obligation.
Palestinian children are growing up in unbearable conditions. While the world watches, the violence continues under Israel’s occupation that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has declared unlawful — and hope is fading. The occupied Gaza Strip is now recognized as the deadliest place on earth to be a child. An average of 28 children are killed each day in Gaza, while in the West Bank a record number of children have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers since January 2023.
As well as remembering the thousands of Palestinian children that have been killed and saying their names, we must also recognize the rights of those living. We will not let these children become statistics. We will say their names and demand that they and their rights are protected.
On September 13, the Saturday before the deadline set by the UN General Assembly for Israel to end the occupation which the ICJ has declared unlawful, people across the world will take to the streets. Each person will carry the name of a Palestinian child struggling to survive and live their lives under Israel’s brutal occupation. Each name is unique. Each name represents a life and a future we must protect. Each has a right to grow up in safety and live a life free from bombs, starvation, violence, discrimination and injustice.
How it works
When you register, you’ll receive the first name of one Palestinian child to represent.
You’ll be invited to share their name on social media, and to join a global demonstration on September 13. Demonstrations will take place in several cities around the world — in the United States, Amnesty International USA is the primary organizer.
This campaign is a bold reminder that international law, justice, and human dignity are not optional — they are non-negotiable.
We march together behind three clear demands:
- Stop killing, harming and starving Palestinian children
- Lift the blockade on Gaza
- End Israel’s occupation that the ICJ has declared unlawful
This campaign was initiated by Save the Children Norway and Amnesty International Norway, and is supported by a global coalition of civil society organizations, humanitarian actors, faith groups, unions, and artists — united in one message: Let children live.
About the list of names
According to data provided by Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) by the end of 2024, there are approximately 2.38 million Palestinian children living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The list of names being used for this campaign was provided by the Palestinian authorities and currently consists of 1.2 million registered names of Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Amnesty and Save the Children will not be able to provide any updates on individual children. The list was last updated in August 2025. The mass killings of civilians, and the inhuman conditions of life and other atrocities imposed by Israeli authorities means that, by the time you receive this list, some of these children may have been killed.
The campaign Let Children Live should be embraced by every politician from both major parties, although even this obviously humane effort will be branded antisemitic by some in order to further the Israeli final solution for Palestine. Although positive results may flow from Let Children Live, we still have to contend with the horrific and unspeakable psychiatric damage that we and the European Union through the fanatical support of Israel have inflicted on the innocent children who have survived physically. Our collaborationist and cynical politicians on both sides of the Atlantic now share the same category as the most depraved and diabolic of child abusers.
David-Ross Gerling, PhD