Crowd of 100,000 expected to attend demonstration calling for Gaza ceasefire

A national demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza is to be held in Glasgow and organisers believe that more than 100,000 people will attend.

Those attending have been urged to write their names on their hands as a gesture of solidarity with the besieged population of Gaza, who have used the method so they can be identified and buried with relatives if they are killed.

According to Palestinian health authorities, at least 11,470 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, while about 2,700 people have been reported missing.

The war has displaced more Palestinians than since 1948, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) which works in Gaza and the West Bank.

UNWRA has warned it would be “devastating” if cholera were to spread due to lack of clean water.

Organisers of the demonstration at Glasgow Green wrote: “At the demonstration, inscribe your names on your arms. A powerful visual call for justice, emphasising shared responsibility. Each name is a testament to our global commitment to awareness, solidarity, and an end to Gaza’s atrocities.

“Let’s echo the voices of those facing daily challenges. Our written names symbolise shared responsibility and unwavering determination against injustice.”

The war was triggered by Hamas’ October 7 attack in southern Israel, in which the militants killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 men, women and children as hostages.

Demonstrations have taken place each weekend since the conflict started, in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and as far away as Lerwick, Shetland.

The Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee said Saturday’s demonstration is intended “to show politicians we mean it when we say we want a ceasefire now”.

The demonstration starts at 1pm and is organised by a variety of organisations including the Muslim Council of Scotland, the Muslim Association of Britain, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Palestine Action Scotland.

A statement on social media said: “It’s time to speak up and demand a world that values human rights and respects the right to live in peace.”

Previous speakers at a Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstration have included Jeewan Wadi, aged eight, from Gaza, who led the crowd in a chant of “ceasefire now”.