Starting Thursday, Amnesty International (AI) will hold “silent and flag-free” vigils in various parts of the country, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
According to a statement sent to Lusa, these vigils are scheduled to begin on Thursday at 18:30 in Cais do Sodre in Lisbon, where “Amnesty International invites everyone who wants to join, to bring or hold in place an “origami” dove-shaped symbol support for a ceasefire.”
According to AI, other vigils are planned for the same day in Coimbra and Estremoz, as well as on Friday in Ponta Delgada, followed by Horta (12th) and Fundan (13th).
“Amnesty International calls on all sides for a ceasefire, recalling that stopping unlawful attacks will stop both the suffering of civilians on both sides and the death toll, which is growing every day,” the organization defended in its statement.
A ceasefire, he continued, would also provide an opportunity to negotiate the release of hostages held by Hamas and “allow humanitarian aid organizations and agencies to safely and unconditionally support the Gaza Strip.”
AI’s petition for a ceasefire in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories has already collected at least five thousand signatures, with the support of 56 civil society organizations.
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, firing thousands of rockets and invading armed militias, taking more than two hundred hostages.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, the movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and which the European Union and the United States classify as terrorist, bombing several of the group’s infrastructure in the Gaza Strip before launching a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. enclave and the introduction of a total blockade of the territory with the cessation of water, fuel and electricity supplies.
The conflict has already caused the death and injury of thousands of military personnel and civilians in both territories.