In the heart of Almere, the Netherlands, thousands of small shoes lined Stadhuis Square in a solemn tribute to the children killed in Gaza. Organised by the Plant an Olive Tree Foundation, the powerful vigil gave voice to a silenced generation, with volunteers reading aloud the names of Palestinian children lost to Israel’s ongoing assault.

“This is our twelfth vigil, and it won’t be the last,” said Esther van der Most, the foundation’s director. “Condemnation alone is meaningless. The killing must stop. Real pressure, sanctions, is the only way to end this impunity.”

As leaflets detailing the humanitarian disaster were handed to passers-by, the message was clear: Dutch silence is complicity. Van der Most criticised her country’s stance, calling for a shift from passive diplomacy to decisive action.

Since October 2023, the war on Gaza has left nearly 190,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them women and children. As the world watches, the people of Almere mourn, not just with words, but with the haunting absence marked by empty shoes.