Candlelight vigil held in London for Palestinian children in Gaza

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Protesters staged a candlelight vigil Thursday outside the Prime Minister's Office in London to draw attention to starving Palestinian children amid the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

Carrying Palestinian flags, they called for an immediate cease-fire while protesting Israel’s attacks on the enclave.

They also criticized the British government over its stance on the issue, with some of them chanting "Rishi Sunak, you can't hide. We charge you with genocide," referring to the prime minister.

Many speakers at the rally stressed the need for an immediate cease-fire, citing the plight of civilians, especially starving children.

Among them was Jenny Leong, a lawmaker from Australia's Green Party, who brought a message of solidarity and support from the tens of thousands of people who have been taking to the streets of Sydney every weekend since October.

Criticizing the insufficient response from the international community in the face of the Israeli attacks, she said that what is occurring now in Gaza is "genocidal attempts."

She also denounced the Australian government's support for Israel and called for a cease-fire.

Claudia Webbe, a British member of parliament for Leicester East, said those who were attending the protest were standing on the right side of history.

Also defining the situation in Gaza as a "genocide," she stressed that Israel is using starvation as a "weapon of war."

"Political leaders are not listening," noted Webbe, citing surveys indicating that over 80% of the British public wants the killing of Palestinians to stop

"We know that none of us are free until Palestine is free," she added.

Israel launched its war on Gaza after a Oct. 7 cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas. It has since killed more than 31,300 Palestinians and pushed the territory to the brink of famine.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while most of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.