Israel-Gaza peace mural in east London defaced
An Israel-Gaza peace mural which depicted two children painted on a street in east London has been defaced just over two weeks after it was unveiled.
Located on Old Street in Shoreditch, it was created by the charity Circle of Toys which aims to highlight that children are the “true victims of war”.
It shows two young girls standing side by side, one in a headscarf and clutching a teddy bear and an Israeli flag, and the other carrying a Palestinian flag.
It was unveiled on 10 February, with the charity saying the mural showed “even more the importance of shifting the focus away from political debate”.
Written alongside it are the slogans “Toys4Peace” and “AllChildrenAreInnocent.com”.
However, by 27 February, it had been defaced with red spray paint with the graffiti reading: “Palestinian children killed since 07.09.23 – 11, 500. Funded by your taxes. Murder is murder.”
While the first date is wrong, it is believed to allude to 7 October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel in a shock incursion which saw 1,200 civilians killed.
More than 250 people were taken hostage, with Israel launching devastating retaliatory attacks on the Gaza strip, which has seen 85 per cent of the 2.3m population displaced.
The Hamas-run health ministry claims that the death toll now stands at more than 30,000 while more than half of the enclave’s infrastructure is in ruins.
Palestinians trapped in the 365sq km territory face a lack of aid, water and food, meaning that one in four people are facing extreme hunger, while people in northern Gaza have resolved to eating animal food and leaves.
Since the outbreak of the conflict, tensions have repeatedly flared in London with a number of pro-Palestinian marches, while a war memorial was defaced with anti-Israel graffiti.
Hate crimes against both Jewish and Muslim communities have increased while the government have stepped up security for MPs after several faced threats over calls to back a ceasefire.
Since learning of the vandalism, the charity has said the mural may be cleaned or re-painted and that they were in talks with the artists to decide next steps.
