Cara Hunter decries ‘atrocities in Gaza and ongoing cruelty’ as UN warns of ‘imminent famine’

Speaking this week as the death toll continued to climb above 30,000 and the United Nations warned of imminent famine, the SDLP MLA said: “I have attended rallies and spoken to activists and my constituents. We are all rightly outraged by the ongoing atrocities. How many life-saving supplies are so close, yet so far, to those who need them?

"Knowing that, every day, women there are going without adequate and appropriate period products, instead using things like tent material and cloths, is absolutely heartbreaking. It creates a sense of indignity that they do not deserve.

"Newborn babies and pregnant mothers are malnourished. Ultimately, in our role as politicians, we are humans first and must use our platforms to speak about the importance of acting with humanity.”

The former Derry deputy mayor raised the humanitarian catastrophe in Palestine by way of a Members’ Statement at Stormont on Tuesday.

"It has been exceptionally difficult to watch the images of injured and murdered families, especially children, under the rubble in Palestine. They love as we love, feel as we feel and mourn as we mourn.

"The horrific treatment and ongoing dehumanisation of the Palestinian people have been truly horrifying to watch since October. Relentless bombings and shootings have contributed to the deaths and murders of over 30,000 people. They were people just like us. They lived lives and loved,” she said.

The SDLP MLA referred to reports of journalists and media workers being targeted in Gaza.

"Journalists and their families are also being targeted. Recently, an Al Jazeera journalist was freed after being held for 12 hours and severely beaten in Israeli custody. I want to use the opportunity to highlight the incredible bravery of journalists like Bisan Owda.

"She is a young woman of a similar age to me who is risking her life to share stories of suffering, truth and injustice from inside Gaza.

"As representatives, we have a moral duty to use opportunities like this...to continue to talk about Palestine and the suffering of its people, to advocate for peace, to use our voice to call out the horror, injustice and suffering for them and to let them know that we stand with them,” she said.

A bloody disgrace: Baby boys and girls dying and power players still won't say 'ceasefire'