WHAT: Voices for Gaza: 24 Hour Vigil
WHEN: Tuesday 22nd of July 3pm - Wednesday 23rd of July 3pm
WHERE: Parliament House Lawns, Parliament Dr, Capital Hill ACT 2600
WHO: Prominent Australians including Members of Parliament, doctors, academics, journalists, artists, influencers and community members
HOSTED BY: Action Aid Australia, Amnesty International Australia, Caritas, ChildFund Australia, MAA International, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Oxfam Australia, Plan International Australia, Save the Children Australia.
For 24 hours, Members of Parliament, doctors, journalists, academics, actors, writers, and community members will read the names of over 17,000 Palestinian children killed in Israel's 22-month-long assault on Gaza.
Israel's brutal campaign has claimed over 58,000 lives to date, with tens of thousands more wounded or missing under rubble. The event will honour the children killed in Gaza, reading their names and ages aloud continuously over 24 hours.
We welcome the strong statement signed overnight by the Foreign Minister on Australia's behalf, calling for an immediate end to the war on Gaza and for the full flow of aid. But without urgent and concrete action, these words ring hollow. The Australian Government must now take concrete action to pressure Israel to end the illegal siege, uphold the rights of civilians, and demand accountability after months of injustice faced by Palestinians in Gaza.
The 24 hour vigil will coincide with Federal Parliament's first sitting week and is jointly hosted by seven leading Australian civil society organisations, Action Aid Australia, Amnesty International Australia, Caritas Australia, ChildFund Australia, MAA International, Oxfam Australia, Plan International Australia, Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to demand immediate and concrete action from the Australian Government to end the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
The vigil will be a time for mourning and commemoration. The Voices For Gaza group will also make the following demands on the Australian government:
- Apply pressure on Israel for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to end the ongoing killing of civilians;
- Use its power in international forums to demand Israel abide international law and to support international accountability mechanisms, including those of the International Court of Justice;
- Immediately suspend the export of weapons parts, munitions and military support to Israel, directly and via intermediate countries, to ensure Australia is not complicit in crimes committed in the illegally occupied Palestinian Territory;
- Apply full diplomatic pressure to restore safe, unimpeded, and sustained access for humanitarian relief in Gaza, led by United Nations aid delivery mechanisms and grounded in international humanitarian law;
- Advocate for a political solution that ends Israel's decades-long illegal occupation, lifts the blockade on Gaza and upholds the Palestinian right to self-determination.
Mohamed Duar, Amnesty International Australia's Occupied Palestinian Territory Spokesperson says:
"This 24-hour action is an urgent call to conscience. While Parliament sits, we will not remain silent. Australians across the country are demanding that our leaders move beyond empty rhetoric and take immediate, concrete steps to end the atrocities in Gaza and uphold justice for Palestinians.
"Palestinians continue to endure horror after horror, war crime after war crime. Israel's ongoing actions over the past 22 months are unjustifiable and indefensible. In the face of this injustice, we must stand united in resistance and demand an end to the illegal siege on Gaza."
Michelle Higelin, ActionAid Australia Executive Director says:
"Today we stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza and we raise alarm over the failure of the international community to protect the most vulnerable. It is indefensible that the Israeli military continues to starve, maim and kill innocent children on a daily basis.
"These children had dreams and hopes for the future and today we honour the lives of the 17,000 Palestinian children who have been killed in this conflict. We call on the Australian government to take urgent action with governments globally to bring an end to these atrocities in Gaza and hold Israel to account for continued violations of international law."
Jennifer Tierney, Executive Director, Médecins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders Australia and New Zealand says
"This 24-hour vigil is a moment to mourn, to bear witness, and to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza who continue to suffer unimaginable violence and deprivation. As a medical humanitarian organisation, we have seen firsthand the horrific cost of this war on civilians - entire families killed, health workers and patients targeted, and a healthcare system deliberately devastated.
"The Australian government must use every diplomatic avenue available to it to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. It must push for the enforcement of international law. Australia has a responsibility to act with urgency to permit humanitarian aid to reach those in critical need, and to push for a political solution that puts a stop to the unlawful blockade and occupation. These are not simply political demands - they are moral obligations founded on international law and the unconditional rights of civilians. Too many lives have already been forfeited. This cannot persist."
Andrew Buchanan, Oxfam Australia Acting Chief Executive says:
"This vigil is an act of witness and solidarity. Behind every one of the 17,000 names is a life and a family torn apart.
"Gaza is being literally erased-its health, water, energy and education systems shattered. This is about the right to live, not just to barely survive. We call on the Australian Government to take urgent, concrete action to end this humanitarian catastrophe and uphold the rights and dignity of Palestinians."
Margaret Sheehan, ChildFund Australia Chief Executive Officer says:
"Gaza has become a graveyard for childhoods, with over 17,000 children killed. This vigil is an act of remembrance for every young life lost. It's an urgent, collective call on the Australian Government to do everything in its power to ensure an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to the unconscionable killing of children.
"Children are facing unimaginable grief and trauma, enduring daily displacement, severe malnutrition and a complete denial of their right to education and safety. We demand the protection of children's rights and an end to this humanitarian crisis."
Mat Tinkler, Save the Children Australia Chief Executive Officer says:
"Every name read at this vigil is a child whose life was stolen. They were newborns in their mothers' arms, they were toddlers learning to walk, teenagers dreaming of being doctors, artists, footballers. Their lives were full of hope.
"The Government of Israel's relentless assault on Gaza has turned childhood into a death sentence. No justification, no military objective, can excuse the killing of thousands of children. This is not collateral damage, this is the systematic destruction of life, of families, of the future itself."
Dr Unni Krishnan, Global Humanitarian Director, Plan International, says:
"With hundreds of humanitarian workers killed and targeted, the war in Gaza has become a war on aid itself. This must stop. Humanitarian workers are not-and must never be-targets. Ever."
"The Israeli government has militarised aid in Gaza- starving Palestinians, including many children, are killed as they risk their life seeking food and vital supplies for their families. This is a moral stain on humanity."
Dan Skehan, Programs Director at Caritas Australia says:
"This vigil is not only a moment of mourning, but a call for justice, humanity, and peace. Over 17,000 children have been killed in Gaza, each a life unjustly taken."
"At Caritas, we mourn this loss while calling for a lasting ceasefire that protects the lives of civilians. We do so in the shadow of the attack on Gaza's Holy Family Church, and honour those lost in this tragedy by continuing to call for the upholding of humanitarian law and the preservation of the sanctity of places of refuge, including hospitals, schools and places of worship."
Sara Saleh, Advocacy Director at MAA International says:
"Millions of people in Gaza are being starved as we speak. It is up to us to leverage our collective power – to mobilise, to speak, to act – and make sure our government knows: we will not stand by silently as this tragedy happens, we will demand immediate, meaningful action.
"This vigil is about honouring the precious lives lost by insisting on life for those still living. Every name read at this vigil is a call to the people: do everything you can, with everything you have. The time is now."
