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Pictures show huge crowds at pro-Palestine rally in Aberdeen city centre

Hundreds gathered in Aberdeen to protest the conflict in Gaza.

Palestine rally Aberdeen
Hundreds gathered in Aberdeen city centre on Saturday. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

Hundreds of north-east residents have gathered in Aberdeen to protest the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Those in attendance at the rally were standing in solidarity with Palestine but calling for an end to violence to protect all civilians.

Protesters held pro-Palestine rallies across the UK on Saturday, including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee.

Speakers shared messages from people living in Gaza who have been left without electricity, clothes, water and food following an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.

Organisers also collected donations from protesters to go toward humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Crowd of people at the pro-Palestine demonstration in St Nicholas Square
The demonstration was held in St Nicholas Square. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

Pro-Palestine rally in Aberdeen

The rally held in St Nicholas Square in Aberdeen was supported by a number of local groups and organisations, including the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC), Aberdeen Trades Union Council (ATUC) and CND North East Scotland.

Many held high Palestinian flags and signs stating “Stand with Gaza” and “Free Palestine”, while calling for humanitarian support and intervention.

One speaker shared the story of a former Aberdeen University student whose home has been “destroyed” in Gaza.

She sent a message to say the lives of her sons and parents are in “great jeopardy”.

Woman holds Palestine flag at rally in Aberdeen
Other protests were held in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

Another shared an account from a father trapped in Gaza.

It said: “No electricity or water. No food. I have no clothes. I haven’t eaten for a day and a half. My daughter is in a very bad psychological state. Tell the world this is happening so they know.

“Tell the world I ‘m waiting to die with my baby in my arms. I’m still alive but I am amazed we’re still alive.”

On Saturday, the Scottish Government pledged £500,000 of funding to support projects providing access to clean water, food and shelter in Gaza.

Conflict escalating

Protesters brought Palestinian flags to the rally along with signs that read: 'Boycott apartheid Israel'.
Protesters brought signs and flags to the rally. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

The event comes a week after Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since local elections in 2006, launched an unprecedented attack on Israel.

More than 1,000 people were killed while others were taken hostage on October 7.

In response, Israel launched air strikes which has increased the death toll to more than 2,200, while thousands more have been injured.

Palestinians were ordered to leave their homes in northern Gaza but the United Nations warned a “forced evacuation” would have devastating consequences.

It is not clear how many people remain in the north – but it is understood a million people have been displaced in one week.

Tonight, the Israeli military has said it is “preparing to implement a wide range of offensive operative plans”.

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