A vigil is being held at the Spire on Dublin’s O’Connell Street in solidarity with journalists in Gaza.
The Dublin protest was organised after five journalists were killed in an Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in Gaza on Monday.
Among the journalists killed were those working for The Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Reuters and UK-based media outlet Middle East Eye.
It comes weeks after prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif (28) and four of his colleagues were killed while sheltering outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on August 10th.
At the Dublin event organised by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), reporters and photographers read out the names of more than 240 Palestinian journalists killed.
Dozens of photographers, broadcasters and correspondents from various Irish outlets attended the demonstration.
NUJ assistant general secretary Seamus Dooley said journalists were being killed because they were recording what was happening in Gaza.
“We gather in anger, we gather in sorrow.
“But above all else we gather in solidarity, solidarity with those who have been murdered because they were journalists.”
He added: “That record of the Israeli government is an indictment, and we will never forget that.
“We demand an end to be killing. We demand a ceasefire.”
[ Residents flee as Israeli tanks close in on Gaza CityOpens in new window ]
Meanwhile, President Michael D Higgins has said that Europe will find it “very difficult” to repair the damage that has been done by its “lethargic response” to the daily horror being witnessed in Gaza.
Mr Higgins has also spoken of the “reputational damage” that has been done to the EU over its response to the war in Gaza.
In a statement on Wednesday, he said too many in Europe have stayed silent and “however late they break their silence, don’t reach for the words that are appropriate to what is happening”.
“In reacting to the horror that is a daily occurrence in Gaza, and now threatening the West Bank, some leaders seem unable to use an appropriate language to express what is taking place – be it the starvation of hostages held in Gaza or the condemning of young children to a slow death by malnutrition. A comprehensive breach of international law in all its aspects,” he said.
“Shockingly, more than 200 journalists, those whose words provide immediate reports of the devastation, have been killed. I agree with those leaders, such as President Macron, who are now acknowledging the reputational damage to the European Union.
“Europe will find it very difficult to repair the damage that has been done by a lethargic response that has tolerated impunity.”
Mr Higgins also cited a set of measures announced by the EU on July 15th as having been agreed that would have allowed humanitarian relief into the Palestinian enclave.
“How many have died since 15th July?” he added. “How many children have been put into an irrecoverable place?
“As somebody who has lived by language all my life, it saddens me to have to say that even an appropriate language has also become a victim of this conflict.” - Additional reporting PA
