Crowds gather for 30th weekly Cork rally in support of Palestine

An ongoing rally in support of Palestine marked its 30th demonstration in the city centre in as many weeks today.

Organisers of the weekly event, Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign, estimated that approximately 900 people attended this afternoon’s demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Speakers at today’s march and rally included Shawan Jabarin, general director of the Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq and a member of Human Rights Watch Middle East Advisory Board.

It also featured Abdelfattah Abusrour, a Palestinian author, actor and theatre director.

The demonstration comes as Israel has ordered new evacuations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, forcing tens of thousands more people to move as it prepares to expand its operation and adding that it is also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped.

Israel has now evacuated the eastern third of Rafah, pushing the operation to the edges of the heavily populated central area.

The order comes in the face of heavy international opposition and criticism.

US President Joe Biden has already said he will not provide offensive weapons to Israel for Rafah, and on Friday Washington said there was “reasonable” evidence that Israel had breached international law protecting civilians in the way it conducted its war against Hamas — the strongest statement the Biden administration has made on the matter.

The United Nations and other agencies have warned for weeks that an Israeli assault on Rafah, which borders Egypt near the main aid entry points, would cripple humanitarian operations and cause a disastrous surge in civilian casualties.

More than 1.4 million Palestinians — half of Gaza’s population — have been sheltering in Rafah, most after fleeing Israel’s offensives elsewhere. Considered the last refuge in the strip, the evacuations are forcing people to return north where areas have been devastated by previous Israeli attacks.