Derry gym owner undertakes five-day fast in solidarity with Gaza

Derry gym owner Gareth McGonagle has begun a five-day solidarity fast to draw urgent attention to the catastrophic humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, where over one million children are facing starvation due to Israel’s ongoing siege.

Gareth’s fast, which began on Saturday, July 26 at 8pm is not just a personal act of resistance, it is part of a wider effort to raise vital funds for direct humanitarian relief.

All donations will go through RISE for Palestine, a grassroots Derry-based organisation recently formed in response to the escalating crisis in Gaza. Funds will be transferred directly to Helena Kearns, Chair of Gaza Ground Aid, a trusted and independent initiative ensuring aid reaches families most in need inside Gaza.

“This fast is nothing compared to what people in Gaza are enduring every single day,” Gareth said. “Children are starving to death in full view of the world. If we can’t act now, when will we?”

Gareth is joined by fellow Derry man and local Sinn Féin councillor, Conor Heaney, who began his own fast on Sunday, July 27. The action reflects the urgency felt by people across Ireland and the world in the face of what human rights experts have called a deliberate policy of starvation as a weapon of war.