‘Stop the Genocide in Gaza’ rally fills Derry’s Guildhall Square

Upwards of 2,000 people assembled in Derry’s Guildhall Square for the ‘Stop Genocide in Gaza’ rally organised by the Derry - Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (DIPSC).

The rally on Sunday afternoon marked International Quds Day - an annual event expressing support for Palestinians which takes its name from al-Quids, the Arabic name for Jerusalem.

Addressing the crowd, Catherine Hutton, DIPSC chairperson said 600 people, mostly women and children, were “slaughtered” in Gaza in Israel’s “Ramadan massacre” on Tuesday.

‘Stop the Genocide in Gaza’ rally in Derry’s Guildhall Square

“Under cover of darkness, like cowards, Zionist terrorists rained down US bombs on sleeping families,” said Ms Hutton.

Derry 'Stop Genocide in Gaza' Quds Day rally - @DerryNow digital report thread.

Upwards of 2,000 people assembled in Derry’s Guildhall Square for the ‘Stop Genocide in Gaza’ rally organised by the Derry - Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (@ipsc_derry).

The rally marked… pic.twitter.com/1YKcRV93qr

— Catherine McGinty (@CathMcGin_Tea) March 23, 2025

“Entire family groups were wiped out. There are still many bodies trapped under the rubble and thousands more injured. 

“Before this massive attack, Israel had imposed a total siege on Gaza for the past 18 days - no food, fuel, or humanitarian aid has been allowed to enter. UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) said on Friday there is a maximum of six days worth of flour left in their stores. There are 2.2 million people in Gaza, so the levels of starvation are massive. 

‘Stop the Genocide in Gaza’ rally in Derry’s Guildhall Square.

“That was just the beginning. The genocide has now accelerated and is becoming industrial, just like the Nazi’s when they exterminated millions of Jews in the Holocaust. So too, Israel is openly saying it will annex Gaza and exterminate those who don’t forcibly leave. 

“One difference between the Nazi Holocaust and the genocide in Gaza is that it has been live-streamed to each of us in an endless reel horrors, each one more barbaric than the one before. Not one person can say they didn’t know. Even the biased coverage of BBC, Sky and ITV couldn’t completely ignore the magnitude of Israel’s crimes against humanity,” said Ms Hutton. 

Davy McAuley of United Against Racism  - Derry and North West said everyone present in the Guildhall was “united against the horrors being visited upon our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza once more”.

‘Stop the Genocide in Gaza’ rally in Derry’s Guildhall Square.

He added: “After starving the people of Gaza for weeks, legally preventing aid to get to desperate people, the sickest regime of the 21st Century has sought once more to bomb children from the air.

“No buildings for shelter. Nowhere to hide or to run. The most vulnerable people on Earth are left at the mercy of one of the most corrupt, disgraceful, evil b******s to ever draw breath.

“We witness this horror and the huge death tolls and our hearts ache. We cry for the children of Gaza because we are empathetic beings. We are made human by our care and our compassion. These values shape our lives, our city and our sense of justice. Values of ordinary, decent people, all around the World that make the ruling classes tremble.

“For their wealth and power and their futures are all based on their counter-humanity values. While we try to stop war, they bring endless war. They profit from death, destruction and raw hatred. The billionaires like Musk and Trump tell us we must forgo the values instilled in us from our parents and our community, and instead we should worship at the altar of greed and spite,” said Mr McAuley. 

Saoirse O’Neill from Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign Mid Ulster said it had never been more important for “all corners of the island to stand up for the people of Palestine”.

“This past week, we have seen the supposed ceasefire broken. The humanitarian aid promised never materialised. Instead of water and blankets, medical aid and tents, the men, women and children of Palestine received bullets and bombs,” she added.

“More than 500 were killed in 24 hours under the wrath of our Western leaders, Keir Starmer and Donald Trump.

“Just days before, while students in the US were having their civil rights trampled on, for standing up for humanity, Micheál Martin brought shame to every single one of us with his humiliating display in the White House. 

“Closer to home, it was disgraceful to see the motion in Mid-Ulster to boycott the White House fall yet again.

“When Motaz was here in August, he expressly asked us to stop the weapons manufacturing in Ireland. Across the North, including Moyola Engineering in Castledawson, Invest NI is still not coming clean on the companies it funds to supply components to war planes. Are these companies creating parts for war planes that are raining down bombs on Gaza? If so, Caoimhe Archibald and her Department are complicit in using public money for genocide,” said Ms O’ Neill.

Speaking about Quds Day, Adam McGinley from BDS Strabane said this year marked the 46th year since the event was first held in 1979.

He added: “This year Quds Day is happening amidst an ongoing genocide in Gaza and a full blown campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Occupied West Bank.

“Armed colonial settlers and troops are running rampage, invading, looting and attacking Palestinian towns and villages, with the international community turning a blind eye or being actively complicit in the slaughter.

“Monday, at the start of this week, marked the 14th day since Israel blocked life-sustaining humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza and the 7th Day since Israel has cut off all electricity and drinking water in the strip, where some two million Palestinians still reside. 

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“Even after all these patent war crimes, we have all watched as Israel, in full sight of the World, and with the full backing of the new US administration under Donal Trump, resumed its bombing and massacring of Palestinian men, women and children,” said Mr McGinley.

Caroline White of the Palestine Solidarity Society in Letterkenny’s Atlantic Technical University said: “Today, on Quds Day, we stand in global unity with Palestine”. 

Concluding the Rally, Annie Ward from IPSC Inishowen said: “In Gaza there is a genocide In Gaza children of primary school age don’t bat an eyelid at the marble white corpse of a baby, lying on the kerb, waiting on someone to claim her.

“In Gaza, babies freeze to death in tents, while their parents are obliterated by carpet bombing. 

‘Stop the Genocide in Gaza’ rally in Derry’s Guildhall Square.

“In Gaza, grandfathers wail as fathers register both births and deaths in one go. This is a genocide and our governments are complicit.”

Those attending the rally then marched across Guildhall Square, up Waterloo Street, into the Diamond and Back down Shipquay Street.