More than 120 people gathered in silence on Douglas Promenade on Friday evening (May 23) to remember the children killed in Gaza in recent months.

The vigil, organised by the Isle of Man Amnesty International Group, took place at the shelter beside the sunken gardens opposite Promenade Methodist Church. It formed part of a series of weekly demonstrations held by the group since the ceasefire in Gaza was broken March.

Organisers described Friday’s gathering as especially powerful. It was held in silence and featured photographs of children and babies who have died in the ongoing conflict.

Some attendees brought toys wrapped in bin bags and plastic to represent children in body bags, laying them side by side along a path in the promenade gardens.

The group said the vigil was meant to highlight the scale of child deaths in Gaza.

According to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 16,500 children have been reported killed since the conflict escalated in October 2023. This figure may not account for those still missing under rubble or who have not yet been identified.

The Isle of Man Amnesty International Group believes the true number of child deaths is likely higher - exceeding 17,500 - a figure more closely aligned with estimates reported by researchers at the Qatari state-funded Al Jazeera network.

The group added that the vigil also served as a call for the Isle of Man Government to publicly oppose the UK’s continued arms sales to Israel and to demand that international law is upheld.

A spokesperson for the Isle of Man Amnesty International Group said: ‘The official figure is 17,500 children killed based on certified and named dead.

‘If these body bags were laid end to end, they would stretch from the sunken gardens in Douglas all the way to Ramsey.’

Further vigils are expected to continue every Friday from 6pm at the sunken gardens.