Vigil attendees gathered around banners bearing the names of health workers and journalists killed or missing in Gaza in the British capital, London, on December 29, 2023.

London, December 31 (RHC)-- Dozens of health workers and journalists have attended a vigil in the British capital, London, to pay tribute to colleagues killed in Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and call for an immediate ceasefire.   The vigil was held in front of 10 Downing Street on Friday, as participants gathered around banners bearing the names of health workers and journalists who have been killed or gone missing in Gaza.

Prominent figures like Omar Adel-Mannan, a pediatric neurologist, and Lemis Andoni, a seasoned Palestinian journalist, were among the vigil attendees.  Mannan, who had previously worked in Gaza, urged the “silent majority” to “break their silence and take action in response to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.”

“This is a basic humanitarian crisis. This is a genocide. This is a holocaust of 2023 because that is the reality,” he said, underlining the severity of Israeli atrocities in Gaza.   Mannan further noted that it’s time to “stand up, have some courage, and some humanity,” urging the silent majority to overcome hesitations and actively contribute to efforts to address the ongoing crisis.

Israeli airstrikes in the central part of the Gaza Strip have left at least 100 Palestinians dead and 158 others wounded over the past 24 hours.  Andoni held the British government, particularly Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, accountable for the ongoing violence, saying London is “guilty of these murders” as much as Tel Aviv.   He also criticized Western media for the distortion of facts, calling for a commitment to justice, while emphasizing that “There is no commitment to journalism without commitment to justice.”   The participants further underscored the urgent need for a ceasefire and a lasting resolution to the devastating conflict.

The latest development comes as the Government Media Office in Gaza has said a total of 106 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war in early October.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said last week that the first 10 weeks of the Israel-Gaza war were the deadliest recorded for journalists, with the most journalists killed in a single year in one location.

More than 300 health workers have also been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war, and Gaza’s healthcare system has been destroyed by the occupying regime’s offensive.