The Wall of Tears exhibition, memorialising the 18,500 children officially recorded as killed by Israeli forces over two years in Gaza from October 7, 2023, opened at the Pitt Street Uniting Church, in Sydney, on October 9.
The exhibition is supported by Amnesty International Australia (AIA) and Palestinian Christians in Australia. The 15-metre-long artwork is on loan from Perth Doctors Medical Aid for Palestine and is open to the public until October 28.
The Wall of Tears lists the names of children killed in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and July 19, 2025, alongside photographs and stories.
Barbara Gorman, convenor of AIA's Pennant Hills Action Group, told Green Left that the exhibition “confronts us with the human reality behind the devastating number of children killed in Gaza. Every name on this Wall represents a child, a life, a family and a future.
“We hope that by bringing the Wall to Sydney, people will take the time to see those names, reflect on the scale of this loss and remember the children behind the numbers.”
Created by United States artist Phil Buehler, the Wall was first displayed in Brooklyn, New York, in January. A replica was later brought to Australia and has been displayed in Western Australia and on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra.
“If you approach from a distance, it looks almost like an abstract painting and that draws people in to see, what is that?” Buehler explained. “Then you’ll see they are names of the children killed in Gaza since October 7 and there are thousands of them...
“You see these faces full of joy and hope, snapshots from graduations and birthday parties and family gatherings and knowing that these kids’ lives were just cut short.
“I hope that might lead people to think about how they might help, even if it’s just, tak[ing] a photo of the mural and pass[ing] it along on their social media or to their friends.”
Guest speakers at the moving Sydney launch included international human rights lawyer Chris Sidoti; Dr Saira Hussain, four-time volunteer doctor in Gaza; and Suzan Wahhab, president of Palestinian Christians in Australia. Other speakers included representatives of Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Hindu faiths.
Sidoti told the audience, which numbered more than 100: "The Wall of Tears is about hope, not just tears. In singling out a list of individual children who were killed in Gaza, the Wall shows the true identity of these children, not just names."
Importantly, said Sidoti, the Wall lists children who have died directly from Israeli military attacks, not those who died of starvation and disease, or whose bodies have not been recovered so far.
Dr Hussain said: "Many more Palestinians in Gaza will die unless the Israeli attacks are stopped. This exhibition is part of the essential movement to end the Israeli genocide in Palestine.”
[Visit the Amnesty Internation Pennant Hills Action Group's website for opening hours.]