Gazan woman addresses Cork city rally

A Gazan woman who managed to escape the embattled enclave because she was married to an Irish man experienced the deaths of multiple members of her family during the Israeli offensive in her former home, she told the several hundred people who attended Saturday’s Cork city centre rally.

Abla Shaladan was speaking at the Grand Parade starting point for the rally and march which has been organised weekly since the October 7 massacre by Hamas of over 1,200 attendees at a rock concert which led to a massive Israeli offensive causing more than 33,000 deaths to date.

Ms Shaladan told those attending the 27th weekly march that she had been prevented from leaving Gaza when her Irish husband in October and only managed to escape eventually at the end of February. 

She said that during the time she was in Gaza under Israeli bombardment, she was forced to flee six different houses where she had been staying with family members because of Israeli attack and she had suffered extreme hunger during that time.

A number of her relatives had been killed, she told protesters, and this number included her uncle who was killed while out looking for bread.

The rally was also addressed by Gary Baus of Community Actions Tenants Union of Ireland who called for the boycott and divestment from corporations which he said were ‘complicit’ in Israel’s military operation against the Palestinian people.

Cork Palestine Soliditarity Campaign chairman Martin Shiel also addressed crowd, estimated by organisers to number 900 people. 

“We continue to call for immediate action from Ireland – sanctions now!”