by Arzu Dutta, BBC News
A church exhibition honouring people who have lost their lives in Gaza has been removed from show after it emerged the display was said to feature names of several Hamas fighters.
Stitch Their Names Together by Mary Evers was due to run at Leeds Minster until Sunday.
The Leeds Jewish Representative Council said it provided evidence that the 16,800 names displayed included fighters linked to the armed Palestinian group.
The church said it wanted to “work with all faith groups within the city and acknowledges that by hosting this exhibition we have harmed our relationship with some in the Jewish community for which we apologise and now seek to rebuild trust.”
On 7 October 2023, Hamas-led gunmen breached the Gaza border fence and attacked nearby Israeli communities, military bases and a large music festival.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken back to Gaza as hostages.
Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which at least 73,670 people have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.
The exhibition featured a series of fabric panels, each stitched using the colours of the Palestinian flag to honour Palestinians killed in Gaza – red for women, black for men and green for children.
The Stitch Their Names project said on its website: “By threading each name with deliberate care, we create a communal space for grief, remembrance, mourning, and bearing witness, affording each victim the dignity of time and reflection.”
The project has been contacted by the BBC for comment.