DUBLIN, Ireland

A pro-Palestine rally was held in Ireland's capital of Dublin on Saturday to protest Israeli forces' ongoing brutal attacks on the Gaza Strip, which have killed nearly 40,700 people in less than 11 months, as well as recently intensified attacks on West Bank cities.

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign organized the march, which began at Dublin's Garden of Remembrance Park and ended at the Irish Parliament.

Participants called for an end to attacks on Palestine and expressed solidarity with Gazans.

The march was attended by members of Irish civil society organizations as well as a good number of people.

Helen Mahony, an activist who participated in the demonstration, told Anadolu that "today's march is for the children of Palestine. We know that over 17,000 children were murdered during this genocide and that children suffered more than in any other war on record."

"Children have lost their homes, their families. They have suffered the most severe injuries and then had to be treated without medicine, anesthesia, or hospitals," she added.

Mahony noted that 80% of schools and 12 universities in Palestine have been destroyed, effectively wiping out the education system. She emphasized that statistics show that an average of 70 children are killed daily in these brutal attacks.

"We want to focus on (Israeli products) boycotts," Mahony said, with a particular emphasis on a well-known IT company that manufactures computers, laptops, and other accessories, blaming the firm for being deeply complicit in Israel's genocide and apartheid.

This company also creates biometric identification systems to control the Palestinian people, she added.

Demonstrators carried Palestinian and Irish flags and held signs that read “Expel the Israeli Ambassador” and “Stop the Genocide.”

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in over 40,600 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 93,800 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas