Ahead of International Women’s Day, several of the UK’s largest international aid charities and networks joined together to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.
Action Against Hunger, Action For Humanity, CARE International UK, ActionAid UK, GAPS, Oxfam and Plan International UK participated in the demonstration.
More than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the horrific attack on 7th October. Over 70% percent of those killed in Gaza are women and children. Representatives of the charities gathered on the Millennium Bridge in London on Thursday 7th March with a floral wreath spelling out CEASEFIRE NOW.
The conflict in Gaza has had a devastating effect on the lives and dignity of women and girls, whose specific needs are often overlooked. Women in Gaza are having to give birth in shelters, in their homes, in the streets amid rubble, or in overwhelmed health care facilities. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are particularly vulnerable as illness and hunger have spread. The lack of clean drinking water and hygiene facilities also increase the risks that women and girls face.
Kate Munro, Head of Advocacy, Action Against Hunger, said, “Severe hunger, malnutrition and dehydration are now the order of the day in Gaza. 97% of groundwater is now unfit for human consumption, 40% of land for growing crops is damaged or destroyed and aid is still not reaching those most in need. We know that women, especially nursing mothers, are in a dire situation, and having to make impossible choices. This must end. An immediate and permanent ceasefire is the only solution. Waiting is not an option.”
The charities participating in the demonstration are calling for:
- An immediate and permanent ceasefire;
- The release of all hostages and unlawfully detained persons;
- Full compliance by all parties with International Humanitarian Law, including the protection of hospitals, schools
and refugee camps; and - The facilitation of aid and supplies into Gaza at scale.
The charities also stand firmly in support of all survivors seeking justice for gender-based violence. Conflict-related sexual violence is a gross violation of human rights and prohibited under international humanitarian law.