Solidarity walk in Valletta in support of people of Gaza

A group of around 150 people this evening held a peace walk in Valletta as a sign of solidarity with the residents of Gaza.

Coincidentally, Egypt this evening also announced that a ceasefire had been reached to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip. According to Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, the ceasefire will come into effect at 9pm.

According to reports, Israel had agreed to a truce - ending eight days of fighting in Gaza that has killed more than 140 Palestinians - but will not lift is blockade of the Palestinian territory.

In Malta, Palestinian nationals residing on the island said they were worried about their relatives back home.

Flanked by Palestinian ambassador Jubran Taweel, the group walked from City Gate up to the law courts chanting "free Palestine, free Gaza". The walk was accompanied by Palestinian music.

In comments to MaltaToday, Taweel said it was high time that the international community intervened to resolve the state of affairs in Gaza.

"The Israeli attacks must stop. 140 people have already been killed many of which were women and children. A further 1,400 were injured as the hospital in Gaza cannot keep up with the casualties," he said.

Taweel said that once again, Palestinian civilians have fallen victim to the brutality of the Israeli military, which was unleashed last week against the occupied Gaza strip.

Taweel added that the embassy was in constant contact with the Maltese government and welcomed the statement issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in which Tonio Borg called for an end to the violence. He said that the government was set to meet with the Palestinian embassy next week to see how Malta could be of help.

In a statement, the Embassy of Palestine said that it was shameful that certain countries were still justifying the murder of Palestinian citizens. "It is time for the international community to assume its political, legal and moral responsibility and to mobilise immediately to stop this escalation and compel Israel to stop its aggression against our people in Gaza and ensure their protection," the embassy said.

The walk was organised by Moviment Graffiti together with the Arabic Culture and Information Centre in Malta.

Peace ambassador Sanaa el Nahhal said she wanted the media to know what was going on in Gaza. "Children are dying. They are the victims of this war," she said while insisting that the conflict in the Arab World, especially in Syria, must also come to an end.

"In Gaza, the citizens are the victims of oppression. For 64 years, this has been the life in Gaza," she added.

Her daughter Lina explained that the rest of their extended family lives in Gaza and they were constantly worried about them.

"One of our relatives died last Saturday. Three others were forced to flee their homes. We are worried about their safety as we constantly follow what's going on through the news or when we manage to make contact with them," she said.