RISE for Palestine rally in Derry

One of the co-founders of the new Derry-based organisation RISE for Palestine has called for “unity across all groups and people” for the ‘Rise and March for Gaza’ event in the city.

The rally will assemble at Bishop’s Gate in Derry, at 2.00pm, on Sunday, August 10, 2025 and make its way to the Guildhall Square. 

RISE for Palestine describes itself as a “grassroots initiative” which believes in the “power of community action, solidarity, and collective responsibility in the fight for justice and equality”.

Speaking to The Derry News, Catherine Hutton said RISE for Palestine was a “call to raise awareness, challenge injustice, and take action in solidarity with the people of Palestine”.

“In Gaza, food is blocked. Aid is denied. Children are dying, not just from bombs, but hunger and thirst. This is not a natural disaster. It is a deliberate, man-made atrocity,” she added.

“Derry will not stay silent. We will not look away. On Sunday, we are calling for the community to fill the streets of Derry for Gaza. Your presence matters.

“Answering the call from journalist Bisan Owda, we are asking everyone to bring their pots and pans, bring anything they can bang for Gaza and let's turn Derry into a roar of resistance and compassion they can’t ignore,” said Catherine Hutton. 

Explaining the formation of RISE for Palestine, she said while the group supported the range of pro-Palestine actions in the city, there was an “urgent and desperate need to get money on the ground in Gaza”. 

“We are working with people who are actually getting money into the hands of the people,” she added.

“What inspired us most was when the young Palestinian journalist Adu Bakr Abed arrived in Ireland. He has been touring everywhere, trying to keep the cause of Gaza foremost in people’s minds. He said quite recently, ‘Do not be giving your money to NGOs because it is not getting in’. They are brilliant organisations but they are controlled by what Israel dictates. 

“Gaza Ground Aid, the charity we are helping, is run in Ireland by Helena Kearns who has contacts across the globe. What Gaza Ground does is to facilitate getting the money into the people in the community in Gaza. 

“They are cutting back on the amount of commission that has been taken off because a lot of the time, you could send £100 and maybe only £20 of it gets to the people. 

“We have taken advice from Mothers Against Genocide and we are working to the same kind of method it is. So, Gareth McGonagle did a five-day fast last week and raised more than £3,500. Now Helena has taken the baton of him and she is doing it and already I think RISE for Palestine has had an impact because the money has gone into Gaza,” said Catherine, who added it had paid for tents.

“RISE for Palestine is just happy to be able to get the money into Gaza and to respect the dignity of the people receiving it," she added.

“We feel we have found somebody we can trust and we know we are going to get money into Gaza and provide help where it is needed.

“There are different needs at the minute. Shelter is the big one and people are thinking it is all about food but these people are being moved around all the time and their tents are being destroyed.

“RISE for Palestine is about getting aid into Palestine and raising awareness about what is happening to the children, to the women, to all the people but to also bring an awareness about the hunger, especially because it is just the most dire need there at the minute.”