A large flotilla of small vessels carrying humanitarian aid is on its way to Gaza. The Global Sumud Flotilla is also carrying hundreds of activists from over 45 countries who aim to break the illegal Israeli siege of Gaza.
Other vessels are joining with the Flotilla which set off from Barcelona, as it crosses the Mediterranean, bringing the total number of ships to 50.
Jewish Voice For Peace commented:
“We stand in solidarity with their mission.”
“Support the Sumud Flotilla by spreading the word, contacting your representatives, and joining protests to demand the fleet’s safe and unimpeded passage. See their updates on telegram: t.me/globalsumudflotilla.”
Today, Saturday 6 September, Peace campaigners in Orkney will again stand in Vigil on the Kirk Green, Broad Street, Kirkwall, between 1 and 2pm, as they have done so since the end of October 2023. They invite all those to join with them who share their calls for an immediate ceasefire, the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages.
UNICEF’s Tess Ingram described Gaza City as ‘a city of fear, flight and funerals.’
And she continued that the “unthinkable is not looming – it is already here. The escalation is underway.”
“Palestinian life is being dismantled here, steadily but surely. The suffering of children in the Gaza Strip is not accidental. It is the direct consequence of choices that have turned Gaza City and indeed the entire Strip into a place where people’s lives are under attack, from every angle, every day.
“For example, hospitals in Gaza City are on their knees. Of the 11 hospitals partly functioning, only five still have neonatal intensive care units. The 40 incubators between them are running at up to 200 per cent capacity meaning as many as 80 babies are fighting for life in overcrowded machines, utterly dependent on generators and medical supplies that may run dry at any moment. How do they survive an evacuation order?”
She went on to say:
“And, finally, on the international community, especially states and stakeholders with influence, to use their leverage to end this. If not now – when?
“Because the cost of inaction will be measured in the lives of children buried in rubble, wasted by hunger, and silenced before they ever had a chance to speak.
“The unthinkable in Gaza City has already begun.”
Last week The Orkney News published the list of journalists who have been killed since October 7 2023 in Gaza. ‘Silencing the Witnesses to the Gaza Genocide’ listed the 219 Palestinian journalists and media workers, the 4 Israeli journalists and media workers, the 9 Lebanese journalists, and the 1 Syrian journalist, all killed since October 7. That number has increased.
At least 235 journalists and media workers have been killed, dozens have been injured and others are missing. ..221 Palestinian, 4 Israeli, 9 Lebanese, and 1 Syrian. – War in Gaza IFJ
Earlier this week SNP and Scottish Green MSPs in the Scottish Parliament supported the following motion: “That the Parliament agrees with the recognition of the State of Palestine and that peace in the region must be pursued by all. ” The other political parties (Labour, LibDem, Conservative) MSPs either abstained or voted against.
You can read about that here:
Some of the people attending Orkney’s Vigil last Saturday shared their views on why they were attending.
The Orkney News will continue to document this extraordinary period of activism, unprecedented in the history of the islands, such is the strength of feeling among those attending the Vigils at the horrors taking place in the Gaza Genocide and in The West Bank.
Image credit Mike Robertson
Fiona Grahame
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