'It is genocide and needs to stop': Northern Ireland first minister on Gaza

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The first minister of Northern Ireland has expressed her solidarity with the people of Palestine and said what is happening in Gaza is "genocide and needs to stop."

In an interview with Anadolu, ahead of the National March for Palestine in London, Sinn Fein's Michelle O’Neill said she is proud to be at the rally in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

"It's great to see thousands of people again to be on the streets to call an end to the slaughter of the Palestinian people," she said.

"We're all witnessing in horror, the devastation of Gaza, the devastation of the people of Gaza and it is genocide, and it needs to stop," she underlined.

O’Neill stated that the international community needs to "make it stop."

In response to a question on the UK government's stance on Israel, she highlighted that the British government "must stop arming Israel."

Last month, the first minister said she raised "grave concerns" over the situation in Palestine during a meeting with US President Joe Biden on St Patrick’s Day.

In February, O'Neill made history after she was appointed as Northern Ireland's first nationalist first minister.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, which Tel Aviv said killed less than 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,400 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 77,400 injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. 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.