Group of WVU students memorialize Palestinian lives lost with flag display

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — A group of West Virginia University students spent this week putting up a display to memorialize the Palestinian lives lost amid Israel's ongoing conflict with Hamas.

The WV Coalition for Justice in Palestine put up 2,000 red flags at various points on campus with each flag representing 100 lives lost. The display is meant to symbolize the estimated 186,000 lives that the student group said have been lost in the conflict so far.

The Gaza Health Ministry estimates the death toll to be more than 41,000 , but the student group cited a piece in the medical journal "The Lancet" that estimated casualties to be at least four times that.

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Omar Ibraheem, an organizer in WV Coalition for Justice in Palestine said that they put up the display so that "people can actually understand that each and every individual life was a life lost —was a life that had a family, that had a future, and now that's come to an end."

The display includes a sign that reads, " $17.9 billion sent to Israel by US since October 7 ." Ibraheem said that he hopes the display adds to the conversation about the United States' aid to Israel. "This is something we need to wake our eyes up to. We have a voice that matters, especially when our government is heavily funding these actions in Palestine," Ibraheem said.

The flags have been on display throughout the week at various locations around Morgantown, including downtown, the Health Sciences Center and the Evansdale Campus.