A THOUGHT-PROVOKING exhibition highlighting the suffering of Palestinian children in Gaza is on show at Liverpool Cathedral.

Loss of Innocence, on show until tomorrow, features art and testimonies from children who have had to endure violence and loss.

The exhibition was the idea of Rod Cox, from Chester, who went to Gaza in March to work with schoolchildren who were using art to express their experiences and their hopes for the future.

Much of the art reflected the death and devastation seen all around.

Mr Cox promised the children that he would allow their stories to be heard by showing their pictures around Europe, and the exhibition has now come to Liverpool Cathedral.

He is a member of CAPE, Chester and Palestine Exchanges, a non-profit company, which works to highlight the situation in the Middle Eastern territory.

The organisation has previously attempted to bring Palestine’s youth football team over to the UK.

He last visited Gaza in spring and said: “Everywhere you go, there are demolished and bombed-out buildings, fatherless and motherless children.

“It breaks your heart.

“I thought it would be a good idea to let the children themselves show the world what is going on there.”

More than 300 children were killed, many more injured and 1,400 children lost at least one parent in the 22-day rocket attack on Gaza by Israeli forces in January this year.

One of the children featured in the exhibition is 11-year-old Mohammed, eldest of five children, who saw his entire family being buried alive inside their demolished home.

His testimony can be heard on video, and other children express their hopes for a future of peace and harmony.