Hundreds have backed the nomination proposed by Professor Mazzarella via *Avvenire*. PD leader Schlein has also taken a stand: there must be no silence regarding the dire situation facing minors. Father Ibrahim Faltas states that recognizing their sacrifice is an act of truth and justice.
By Antonella Mariani, AVVENIRE
Three hundred children and adolescents killed in 300 days. One a day since October 2025—during a period that should have seen a halt to the fighting. Yet, children in Gaza continue to die. Those who survive—amidst malnutrition, disease, contaminated water, and a lack of medical care—”are still waiting for the end of the violence that was promised to them.”
It is in the name of this promise that *Avvenire* has relaunched the proposal by Eugenio Mazzarella—a professor of philosophy at the University of Naples Federico II—to nominate the children of Gaza for the Nobel Peace Prize.
It is a powerful initiative, a way to cry out: “Enough. If you possess any compassion, stop—you who kill, you who lie, you who do nothing. Stop, if there is still anything in you that resembles a human being.”
The proposal has circulated widely, particularly on social media, and has sparked significant interest; hundreds of people have signed on in support—ranging from Massimo Cacciari and Francesca Izzo to Luigi Manconi and Stefano Zamagni (some of the signatures are listed below, and people can join the initiative by writing to petizione.gaza@avvenire.it).
Elly Schlein, the leader of the Democratic Party (PD), also responded on Sunday to the call issued by our newspaper.
“We must not let silence fall over Gaza and the dramatic plight of minors,” the Democratic leader emphasized, noting that “the necessary humanitarian aid has never fully reached the Palestinians, and hunger is being used as a weapon of war.”
An authoritative voice of support also comes from Jerusalem: “The children of Gaza are silent witnesses to the need for peace—an essential right denied to those who have had to endure deprivation, suffering, and devastating loss,” writes Franciscan friar Ibrahim Faltas, director of the Custody of the Holy Land schools, in a message to *Avvenire*. “Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the children of Gaza means reaffirming the value of the word ‘peace’; it means enshrining in history the right to remembrance for children who will never reach adulthood, and the right to a peaceful future for those who have survived horror and hatred.”
The innocent victims of war include not only the children of Gaza but also the Israeli children killed in Hamas’s bloody raid on October 7, 2023, and those who subsequently died in terrorist captivity. They include Ukrainian and Russian children, as well as children from Iran and Sudan.
Childhood in wartime—in every instance and throughout history—finds recognition in this Nobel nomination. For what holds true in Gaza—innocent suffering, and every child’s right to be loved and protected rather than becoming a defenseless target of adult hatred and violence—applies everywhere in the world and in any historical era.
But today, there is something more: the numbers. There are the 300 Palestinian children and adolescents who have died over 300 days of ceasefire—one each day—to which must be added the 21,000 who lost their lives due to Israeli bombardments and military actions following October 7, 2023. And there are the tens of thousands of children wounded, maimed, displaced, and orphaned. It is upon the very bricks of their suffering that the realization must be built: war solves nothing, while peace solves everything.
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The first to nominate the children of Gaza for the Nobel Peace Prize was—exactly one year ago—the *L’isola che non c’è* association from Latiano (Brindisi), which submitted the proposal to the Senate.
Since then, the initiative has garnered dozens of endorsements, including those of numerous mayors from the Puglia region.
Now, the same initiative is being relaunched by a large group of intellectuals from across Italy. And—it should be noted—this is not merely a provocation or a symbolic gesture. Or, at least, not entirely. For while it is true that a university professor—such as Mazzarella—is entitled under the rules to submit a nomination to the Norwegian Committee (Article 5), it is equally true that the Nobel Prize, given that it comes with a substantial monetary award, can only be bestowed upon flesh-and-blood individuals or organizations capable of putting the funds to good use, rather than an entire people. Yet this is an obstacle that can be overcome: in 2025, Cristina Machado was awarded the Nobel Prize for her political and civic commitment to the rights of the Venezuelan people. So, why not?
“Recognizing the sacrifice of the children of Gaza is an act of truth and justice,” writes Father Faltas. “Recognizing it over time with the Nobel Prize will be an indelible mark left by those who firmly believe in peace.”
Here are some of the people who have joined the appeal:
Egidio Addis, Clotilde Esperance Adikpeto, Giorgio Amedeo, Osvaldo Aime, Simone Aime, Isabella Aime, Mario Aliberti, Annalisa Allunto, Elisa Amerio, Grazia Amendola, Laurent Amour Amouzou, Patrizia Amoroso, Pierandrea Amato, Anna Maria Anedda, Manuela Anselmo, Robert Antal Berbecaru, Andreea Antal Berbecaru, Ornella Arca, Angela Arietti, Rossana Arietti, Marco Asunis, Dario Aversa. Flavia Bachetta, Cristian Balarini, Cecilia Balocchi, Luigina Balboni, Barbara Bolasco, Paolo Bonandin, Sofia Bonandin, Valentina Bonandin, Alice Bono, Ugo Bologna, Federico Bardone, Rodica Bargan, Paola Barzanti, Giulio Bassanese, Paola Bassignana, Luciano Bassignana, Erica Bassignana, Giulia Bassignana, Raffaele Bauccio, Antonino Begani, Elena Bedei, Marinella Bellando, Loredana Bellone, Raffaella Bellucci Sessa, Sonia Benedetto Diamante, Anna Maria Beneduce, Francesco Benzo, Chiara Bergerone, Giulia Bernardi, Carla Bertone, Helen Louise Bertoletto, Sara Bertolatti, Daniela Bezzi, Daniela Bina, Liliana Bianco, Alberto Biuso, Rosanna Bivi, Renata Bogino, Giovanni Carlo Bonotto, Barbara Borini, Mirco Borsoi, Marco Antonio Borsi, Giovanni Borsetti, Piera Borsani, Marisa Brasso, Elena Brunetti, Emanuela Bussolati. Massimo Cacciari, Giovanna Cacciato, Ennio Cabiddu, Pier Paolo Calcagno, Maria Calvelli, Elisa Camandona, Leonardo Campanelli, Anna Capecchi, Grazia Capparelli Scalea, Ilaria Carleo, Eliana Carli, Giovanni Carluccio, Antonio Carluccio, Letizia Carlucci, Agostino Carrino, Andrea Castagneri, Rossella Castello, Margherita Cataldi, Maria Cristina Cavallo, Luigi Cavo, Giorgia Cavo, Bruna Cedeghini, Ersilia Cecchetto, Maria Marta Cena, Domenico Cena, Elisa Cesan, Claudia Cerutti, Alessandra Chesta, Antonio Giovanni Chessa, Paola Chiama, Silvia Chieregato, Paola Chiesa, Aldo Cigliano, Claudio Ciancio, Emanuele Ciancio, Benedetta Ciancio, Cristiana Cocco, Claudia Colangelo, Valerio Colombaroli, Flora Cometto, Alessandra Consolaro, Maria Luisa Coppo, Ornella Corda, Consuelo Cordara, Marisa Cordero, Maura Corvetti, Giuseppe Costarella, Cristina Crapanzano, Donatella Cresta, Eugenio Creso, Enrica Cubeddu, Silvia Cuffini, Alberto Cucatto, Simone Cucatto, Anna Curti, Michele Dalmasso, Angelica D’Alessandro, Angiolo Dall’Aste Brandolini, Alfonso D’Amaro, Laura Davì, Giuseppe Decandia, Maria Piera De Cicco, Piero De Gennaro, Laura De Angelis, Monica De Lorenzis, Roberta De Macchi, Sebrina De Miceli, Daniela Debernardis, Roberto Delizia, Guglielmo Del Gaudio, Alessandro Della Corte, Daniela Dezzani, Mariuccia Papa Diamante, Carmela Mandato Diamante, Rossella Di Giovanni, Roberta Anna Di Martino, Davide Di Naro, Enrico Di Rosa, Laura Di Simone, Stefania Di Terlizzi, Gabriella Dogliani, Maria Angela Donna, Luigi Dompè, Andrea Dosio, Anna Doria, Augusto Dotto, Gabriele Dotto, Aurora Dotto, Maria Luigia Dragoni, Anatolie Dulea, Emma Dovano. Piera Egidi Bouchard, Roberto Esposito. Martina Fabbretti, Davide Calogero Falci, Silvia Fania, Franca Faranda, Marlena Fantinuoli, Grazia Favata, Franco Felizia, Domenico Reinaldo Fernandez Del Real, Natalia Ferrazza, Pasquale Ferrara, Silvana Ferrero, Franco Ferrari, Silvia Ferrari, Silvana Festichino Sinchetto, Vittoria Fiorelli, Pierluigi Filloramo, Genny Fissore, Miranda Fico, Ebba Folonari, Anna Forlati, Marina Formica, Ambasciatore Luca Fornari, Claudio Frassinelli, Francesca Frediani, Maria Frieri, Maria Vittoria Frigero, Diego Fulcheri, Filippo Furioso, Carlo Galli, Lorena Maria Gallo, Silvia Maria Gallo, Giorgio Gamba, Gialma Gasparotto, Luigina Gatti, Walter Gerbaudo, Sonia Gesnelli, Rosanna Ghista, Fabrizia Giacobbe, Tullia Giacobbe, Valerio Giacobbe, Giuseppe Giacobbe, Mara Giacoletto, Gloria Gibellini, Giuseppe Gianfrante, Enzo Giannone, Antonio Ginetti, Stella Giordana, Buono Giorno, Tommaso Giorno, Lorenza Giorgi, Massimo Giovara, Mauro Gobbo, Alessandra Golle, Cristoforo Gorno, Anna Rosa Gosio, Anna Laura Grandis, Fabio Granata, Elvira Gravina, Silvia Grasso, Gianclaudio Greco, Lia Grignani, Maria Antonietta Guadagnino, Gianna Maria Guelpa, Valentina Guerriero, Rocco Guerriero, Anna Elisabetta Iannelli, Aniello Iaccarino, Salvatore Dario Impellizzeri, Daniela Isoardi, Stefano Isola, Francesca Izzo. Salvatore Labruna, Laura Lai, Andrea Lebra, Elisabetta Lenta, Giuseppe Lesca, Enrica Lisciani Petrini, Elisabetta Lisa, Danilo Lillia, Anna Li Veli, Stefania Lombardo, Carmela Lombardo, Laura Lombardi, Maria Rosa Loreto, Agnese Lorenzini, Aldo Lotta, Andrea Lotta, Corrado Lotta, Rosaria Lotta, Camilla Lucamarini, Thomas Lussi, Stefano Macaluso, Simona Mana, Franco Manina, Luigi Manconi, Sandro Mancini, Mariasole Mainenti, Rina Mallus, Antonio Marchina, Marianna Marcovei, Francesca Marinaro, Colette Mariani, Mari Mariani, Eva Mariani, Giuseppe Marino, Federico Mariotti, Maria Rosa Giovanna Masoero, Maria Regina Mascia, Manuela Massa, Franca Massa, Viola Mazzoleni, Annika Mazzucco, Lorenzo Mazzotti, Silvia Mazzuca, Gerardo Mele, Rosa Alba Meloni, Nicola Melis, Angela Meroni, Mariarita Mercurio, Graziella Miccoli, Maria Migliorati, Cristina Minolfi, Maurizio Momo, Sebastiano Molineri, Antonello Murgia, Nicoletta Murdaca, Tiziana Mulas, Anna Musini. Patrizia Nardo, Luisella Nardo, Elisabetta Negro, Giancarlo Nonis, Anna Maria Oberto, Grazia Oliva, Lauretta Ottolenghi, Giulia Orecchia, Maria Eleonora Ortoleva, Fiorella Orlandi. Gesuina Pala, Cristiano Palmieri, Lara Palmieri, Vincenzo Infantino Palmi, Emanuele Pieve, Maria Gaetana Paolino, Maria Maddalena Paolino, Ferdinando Pappalardo, Marialetizia Parise, Lidia Parma, Salvatore Passari, Marcosebastiano Patanè, Francesca Pavese, Roberto Penna, Rosa Anna Pellerino, Rebecca Pelle, Ezio Perno, Luciana Petrolo, Adria Petani, Marcello Pettiti, Enrico Peyretti, Lanfranco Peyretti, Stefano Piazzese, Daniela Picotto, Federico Piovano, Maria Pisano, Raffaele Pisano, Clara Pistorino, Maria Teresa Piumatti, Marinella Poggi, Francesca Pola, Lucia Pologruto, Maria Teresa Ponzio, Maria Donatella Ponti, Carlo Franco Porrati, Marina Prandi, Anna Procacci, Gaetano Proto, Petra Probst, Chiara Maria Aynur Puccio, Anna Maria Quintieri, Adriana Rabezzana, Anna Maria Rabezzana, Anna Maria Rabufo, Patrizia Rickler, Graziella Rondano, Grazia Roncaglia, Liliana Rodriguez, Silvana Rolando, Elisa Romano, Liliana Rosso, Francesco Rossi, Tiziana Rotundo, Giuseppe Ruzza. Giuseppe Sacco, Maria Teresa Sacco, Marco Sabatini, Mariagrazia Sala, Raffaella Salerno, Luigi Saladini, Matteo Saladini, Antonella Salvalaggio, Fabrizio Salmoni, Valeria Sammartino-Milano, Anna Simbula, Enrico Sanna, Tommy Sanna, Sara Santoro, Francesca Santoro, Erika Scarfone, Emilio Scalzo, Vanessa Scalzo, Laura Schina, Maria Pia Sciascia, Angelo Secci, Michele Angelo Sereno, Ornella Serra, Claudio Serra, Spartaco Serra, Alice Serra, Luigi Maria Sicca, Daniele Simeoni, Franco Simone, Eugenio Simonelli, Anna Irene Sordellini, Laura Sozzi, Maria Spinoglio, Erica Squeo, Vincenzo Squadrone, Laura Squadrone, Adriana Stancati, Rosa Stara, Giuseppe Stocco, Daniela Sterpone, Barbara Strambaci, Alessia Strambaci, Angela Suppo, Isabella Susa, Angelo Tacconi, Anna Tamburini Torre, Marcello Tamburini, Generoso Tarallo, Giulia Tarallo, Anna Totaro, Giuseppe Trematore, Matteo Trematore, Massimo Trombi, Teresa Torrero, Mario Titli. Giuseppe Vacca, Marisa Vadori, Laura Valcauda, Ida Vagli, Sara Vargiu, Georgia Vargiu, Giancarlo Varcelli, Aldo Vayr, Piera Maria Vicari, Maria Luisa Vicentini, Anna Viacava, Chiara Maria Vigliano, Elena Vigna, Cristina Villa, Maria Adriana Vindigni, Stefano Zamagni, Agnese Zago, Omar Zaher, Carmelo Zarbo, Irene Zaccheo, Luisa Zampini, Francesca Zelli, Michela Ziccardi, Giorgio Zurrida.
Antonella Mariani – She has been with *Avvenire* for several years, having worked on the foreign desk and coordinated a supplement on family as well as digital initiatives; she currently works on the central editorial desk. She writes about women and human rights, has co-coordinated campaigns such as *Noi afghane* (We, Afghan Women) and *Donne per la pace* (Women for Peace) with other colleagues, and curates the *Protagoniste* column—which has introduced her to women making a difference around the world. She is also the co-author of *DONNE PER LA PACE: VOCI CHE HANNO CAMBIATO LA STORIA* (Women for Peace: Voices That Changed History).
