Protesters Show Solidarity with Gaza on the Fringes of COP28 in Dubai
(AWP) - Hundreds of climate activists staged a demonstration in Dubai on Saturday, on the fringes of the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) to demand climate justice, the protection of human rights and to express solidarity with Gaza, where Israel’s war has entered its third month.
Salma al-Zaabi, a demonstrator, said, “We came for COP28 but it is also important to discuss the Palestinian issue. We are on day 63 of the war. We demand a ceasefire in Palestine because this is a human right rather than a state right.”
According to media reports, the demonstration was the largest since the beginning of the climate change conference and protesters chanted slogans calling for an end to the war on Gaza.
The demonstrators raised placards that read ‘Ceasefire Now’ and ‘Right to Return’ in the colours of the Palestinian flag.
Uwais Uqba, one of the protesters, said, “We are showing solidarity with our Palestinian brothers. We are trying as much as possible to express our support for them and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. This relentless war on Gaza has entered its 63rd day. We wish we could help them – even in a small way.”
The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip announced on Saturday evening that the death toll from Israeli attacks since October 7 has risen to 17,700, with 48,780 injured.
In a daily briefing, the ministry added that 210 killed and 2,300 wounded had arrived at hospitals in the previous few hours while a large number of victims were still trapped under rubble or on the streets.
The ministry stated that dozens were killed or wounded in an “Israeli massacre” in a school in northern Gaza, describing the conditions of displaced people as “disastrous” and noting that the wounded are left to die in northern Gaza due to Israel’s siege of the hospitals.
Israel has continued its war on the Gaza Strip since Hamas and other Palestinian factions launched a surprise attack on Israeli towns and sites adjacent to the enclave on October 7.