RESIDENTS in Bath have spent 18 hours reading out the known names of children killed in Gaza in a city centre vigil.

At 7am on the morning of Thursday, July 3, speakers — who included the city’s Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse, and Matt Owens of band Noah and the Whale— began reading out the names of the 15,618 children known to have been killed in Gaza over the last 21 months.

They did not finish until 1am that night.

The list of children’s names included Israeli brothers Ariel Bibas, 4, and Kfir Bibas, 9 months, who were killed after being taken hostage by Hamas on October 7.

People travelled from Bristol, Bruton, Frome, Stroud, and Bradford on Avon for the vigil, where speakers read names for about 15 minutes each.

Charlotte Rushmere from Frome said: “It was a painful privilege to be part of honouring the children and also such a relief to know I am not alone in thinking deeply about the children in Gaza every day.’’

Local Green Party councillor for the Lambridge area of the city Joanna Wright spent months trying to get Bath and North East Somerset Council to pass a motion calling on the government to urge a ceasefire in Gaza, following similar motions passed by the neighbouring Somerset Council and North Somerset Council.

It was originally judged to be unconstitutional as it did not relate to the council’s responsibilities and functions.

But after the members of Bath’s Palestinian community addressed the council in May 2024, describing receiving the “devastating news” of family members killed in Gaza, councillors had unanimously backed a reworded peace motion at their next council meeting, held in July 2024.

The vigil was organised and facilitated by Through the Cracks, who are a community collective based in Bath, which says it harnesses arts and events to rehumanise and connect.