CANDLELIT vigils will be held across Northern Ireland next week to mark 200 days since the outbreak of war in Gaza.
The October 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel killed around 1,200 peoplle with hundreds taken hostage.
The ongoing Israeli response has since killed over 33,000 people and sparked a humanitarian crisis with the United Nations estimating that around1.7 million people have been displaced from their homes.
Among the events being staged across Ireland by the Gaels Against Genocide in Gaza group will include candlelit vigils in Portadown on Monday, Dungannon on Tuesday and outside Belfast City Hall at midnight on Tuesday.
Wednesday will also see a protest outside the Israeli Embassy in Dublin and another vigil in Camlough
village in south Armagh,
Fears that the conflict will escalate now continue with speculation that Israel had responded to Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault earlier in the week.
After spotting drones early on Friday morning, Iran fired air defences at a major air base and nuclear site in the central Iranian city of Isfahan.
The Israeli military has not responded to speculation that they were behind the latest incident.
Ireland’s deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheal Martin, has already urged Israel not to become drawn into a larger conflict with Iran.
Speaking on Wednesday, he said: “The implications for the wider region and the civilians in the wider region are extremely dark if conflict escalates – and for the world itself in terms of lives and in terms of livelihoods.”
He continued: “We must not forget about the plight of the people of Gaza who are close to famine, too many civilian lives have been lost, the trauma and terror that the children of Gaza have been through must end, and that war has to end very quickly and we have to get around the table in terms of charting a pathway for the reconstruction of Gaza and also for moving towards a political solution along the lines of a two-state approach.”
