CAMPAIGNERS in Bradford have launched a bid to name a bridge across one of the city's main roads the 'Peace Bridge'.

More than 100 people gathered at the foot of the red bridge on Manchester Road on Saturday, where ribbons were tied to the bridge to commemorate the thousands of children who have died in Gaza. 

According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, more than 12,300 Palestinian minors – children and young teens – have been killed in Israel’s war against Hamas.

It means minors make up some 47 per cent of the total number of Palestinians killed so far, which the ministry puts at a total of 28,176.

About 8,400 women were also among those killed. 

The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians and provided the breakdown of minors and women at the request of The Associated Press.

Israel claims to have killed thousands of Hamas fighters.

The event at the Manchester Road bridge was organised by the Bradford Friends of Palestine, which said people also gathered to show ongoing solidarity with those who will have to live with the consequences of the conflict once a ceasefire comes into effect.

A spokesperson said: "By launching this campaign, Bradford Friends of Palestine want to build on the city’s long history of welcoming people fleeing conflict and persecution as evidenced by its City of Sanctuary status. 

"Bradford also boasts a Peace Studies and International Development department at the University of Bradford and the UK’s only Peace Museum.

"Naming the red bridge to Bradford’s Peace Bridge would further amplify the resolve of the city’s residents that building bridges between people is the best way to achieve peace and community cohesion."

The Israeli military said it has rescued two hostages from captivity in the Gaza Strip after a night of air strikes over the weekend that killed at least 67 people.

Israeli forces stormed a heavily guarded apartment in the southern Gaza Strip to extract the captives.

To assist the rescue forces, heavy airstrikes pounded the area near the apartment in Rafah, a city on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip.

Lt Col Richard Hecht said the operation was based on “precise intelligence” and that the site, on the second floor of a building, had been watched for “some time”.

He said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined Israel’s military chief and other top officials as the raid unfolded.

Israel has described Rafah as the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza and signalled that its ground offensive may soon target the densely populated city.

This comes despite warnings from US President Joe Biden not to conduct a military operation in the Gaza border town without a “credible and executable plan to protect civilians."