A vigil calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza will take place today, Saturday 5 April between 1 and 2pm on the Kirk Green, Broad Street, Kirkwall.

 As the date coincides with the international Palestinian Child’s Day, the organisers are asking those attending to bring along children’s toys, books, clothes, shoes, etc to display in memory of all the children who have been killed and injured in Palestine.

Fifteen medical personnel and humanitarian aid workers were targeted by Israeli soldiers and killed in Gaza even though they were in clearly marked vehicles. Their murders have raised further concerns over the commission of war crimes by the Israeli military, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, told the Security Council on Thursday, 3 April.

Volker Türk said he was appalled by the killing of the medical and humanitarian personnel. 

“There must be an independent, prompt and thorough investigation into the killings, and those responsible for any violation of international law must be held to account.”

The bodies of 14 murdered people were found in a shallow mass grave. They had been bulldozed over with sand along with the clearly marked emergency vehicles they were in. Eight were Red Crescent medics, five were Civil Defense workers, and one was a UN agency employee.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies outraged at the deaths of eight medics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, killed on duty in Gaza, issued a statement following the murders.

An emergency medical team of nine disappeared along with their ambulances when they came under heavy fire in Al-Hashashin on 23 March. After seven days of silence and having access denied to the area of Rafah where they were last seen, the bodies of ambulance officers Mostafa Khufaga, Saleh Muamer and Ezzedine Shaath and first responder volunteers Mohammad Bahloul, Mohammed Al-Heila, Ashraf Abu Labda, Raed Al Sharif and Rifatt Radwan were retrieved on 30 March. Ambulance officer Assad Al-Nassasra is still missing. 

IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain said:

“I am heartbroken. These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to wounded people. They were humanitarians. They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked. They should have returned to their families; they did not.

“Even in the most complex conflict zones, there are rules. These rules of International Humanitarian Law could not be clearer – civilians must be protected; humanitarians must be protected. Health services must be protected.     

“Our network is in mourning, but this is not enough. Instead of another call on all parties to protect and respect humanitarians and civilians, I pose a question: ‘When will this stop? All parties must stop the killing, and all humanitarians must be protected. 

“The number of Palestine Red Crescent volunteers and staff killed since the start of this conflict is now 30. We stand with Palestine Red Crescent and the loved ones of those killed on this darkest of days.” 

The killings represent the single most deadly attack on Red Cross Red Crescent workers anywhere in the world since 2017. 

Since 1 March this year, Israeli military operations have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians, including at least 320 children. It is estimated that 15,000 children have been killed since 7 October 23.

It is now over a month since Israel blockaded aid from getting into Gaza. This includes: food, water, electricity, fuel and medicines. This is a war crime.

“One of the darkest times for our common humanity we vowed would not happen again.” – Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General 

Violence has also increased in the West Bank where Israeli illegal settlers are attacking, bulldozing, and killing Palestinians, whilst the IDF, stands by.

UNRWA report that: In the West Bank, the Israeli Forces’ large-scale operation that started in Jenin camp and other areas in the north on 21 January 2025 is ongoing, making it by far the single longest Israeli Forces’ operation in the West Bank since the second intifada in the early 2000s and causing the largest population displacement since the 1967 war. UNRWA and partners continue to provide urgent humanitarian assistance and psychosocial support (PSS) to families displaced within the northern West Bank, in addition to adapted services such as mobile health clinics and online learning.

The Peace campaigners in Orkney invite all those who wish to see an immediate ceasefire, the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages, to join them on the Kirk Green between 1 and 2pm.

Fiona Grahame