As the Genocide continues in Gaza Sheffield continues to demonstrate.

Protesters gathered at Mount Pleasant Park yesterday to march to the city centre. As they arrived they were entertained by the Sheffield Street Band and the combined forces of various samba bands, including the 5 Rivers Rising and the Manchester Drummers for Palestine.

Annie O’Gara spoke first about the brutal illegal treatment of Palestinians in Israeli jails. There are now over 9000 hostages in Israeli jails who are treated with the uttmost degredation and cruelty. Israel openly admit their prison system is a network of torture camps. Israel has no shame about this and have even broadcast on TV the gang rape of a Palestinian prisoner. Listen to Annie.

Next Hils spoke about upcoming events this week.

You can find details of some of these here but it is best to sign up to the Whats App group. An important meeting is tomorrow, Monday Jan 25th,organised by Medact about Palentir and how we can take collective action to keep them out of the NHS. Palantir is a US-based tech firm specialising in data. The use of their software extends from military targeting in Palestine, leading to them being named by the UN as a corporate actor in the genocide in Gaza, to racist predictive policing tactics and many other ethically intolerable practices.

Next was a speaker from Prisoners for Palestine. Most of the Hunger Strikers have now ended their strike, but there is great concern for Umer Khalid, 22, who has stopped drinking water as well as food. He is one of the Filton 24, whose 5 key demands are : immediate bail, the right to a fair trial (which they say would include the release of documents related to “the ongoing witch-hunt of activists and campaigners”), ending censorship of their communications, “de-proscribing” Palestine Action, which is classed as a ‘terrorist’ group, and the shutting down of Elbit Systems, the Israel-based defence manufacturer with several UK factories.

Next Harriet spoke for Sheffield Families for Gaza. Since the ceasefire roughly one Palestinian girl or boy has been killed every day. What sort of ceasefire is that? She read part of letter from Munira Elnajar, a mother raising four kids in Gaza, Palestine.

“In Gaza, we do not live we wait. We wait for bread, for water, for the faint signal of safety.

We wait to count our children every evening, and tremble at the thought that one may be missing by dawn.

Mothers of the world, We do not ask for pity but for witness. We do not ask for silence but for a voice beside ours. So that your children, when they grow up, will know that we had children too. That we had arms and hearts and fears just like you.

Let the world remember that in Gaza, mothers still give birth under fire, raise children in tents, and teach them that love survives, even in war.

From my small tent, I write to you with the voice of every mother who endured, every mother who grieved, and every mother who still dares to dream… of peace.”

Next a speaker from the National Palestine Youth Movement railed against the Labour Party. She said “the British Government have actively supported this genocide by licencing the export of weapons to Israel and providing political cover for Israeli war crimes. This Labour Government claimed to suspend export licences to the Israeli Government is September 2024 but we know that this Government continues to send military goods to Israel.” She looked forward to Labour being resoundingly beaten by Greens and Independents in the May elections. Listen to her speech.

Sheffield Green Councillor Alexi Dimond said

“Since the so-called ceasefire, Israel has murdered hundreds of people, including children, across Gaza and the West Bank, and other countries such as Lebanon. The Labour government continues to arm and support Israel, as it continues the genocide: killing with impunity, deliberately starving the people of Gaza, kidnapping and torturing civilians, including children and demolishing homes and building settlements across Palestine.

Trump’s “Board for Peace” is a rogue’s gallery of the world’s worst war criminals including Labour’s very own Tony Blair. It represents a return to naked colonialism and imperialism and must be opposed.”

Next there was a short speech about Sudan which is facing the largest humanitarian crisis in human history. The film Khartoum is showing on 5th February.

Next was Leigh Cadno, who gained international attention following a powerful and widely shared video at the Rafah border crossing where he appealed for humanitarian access to reach Gaza for when the Zionist entity blocked aid coming into Gaza.

Leigh explained that “in Nazi Germany only 3% activly supported the attrocities of the regime. 7% stood up against them, but 90% stood aside and let it happen. Our movement is greater than this. We are now 1/7 th of humanity standing up for Palestine.”

Unfortunately technical problems meant I was not able to record all of this or the following speeches.

Sometimes it is difficult watching videos from Palestine, the horrors on show can seriously effect people’s mental health. But it is important that we don’t ignore it, keep informed and keep speaking out. This video from Double Down News has no shocking images, but lays down the current position. It’s about the UN’s Independent Commission of Enquiry on the Genocide in Gaza.