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Rallies Held Across Iran to Support War-battered Gaza

An Iranian man sits next to the symbolic shrouds of Gaza children's dead bodies during a gesture in a street in Tehran, Iran November 13, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/ File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
An Iranian man sits next to the symbolic shrouds of Gaza children's dead bodies during a gesture in a street in Tehran, Iran November 13, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/ File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
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Rallies Held Across Iran to Support War-battered Gaza

An Iranian man sits next to the symbolic shrouds of Gaza children's dead bodies during a gesture in a street in Tehran, Iran November 13, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/ File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
An Iranian man sits next to the symbolic shrouds of Gaza children's dead bodies during a gesture in a street in Tehran, Iran November 13, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/ File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

Thousands of Iranians held rallies across the country Saturday against Israel's unrelenting bombardment of the Gaza strip following the shock attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas last month.

The demonstrations in the capital Tehran and other cities were held in "support of the oppressed children of Gaza" under the slogan "Palestine is not alone", according to local media.

Israel's air and ground campaign has killed an estimated 12,000 people in the Palestinian territory, including 5,000 children, according to Hamas authorities, which have ruled Gaza since 2007.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in response to the group's October 7 attacks which Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and in which about 240 people were taken hostage.

In Tehran, crowds of demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, while others held banners reading "Down with America" and "Down with Israel", according to AFP journalists.

Others burnt Israeli flags while some waved the flags of Lebanese group Hezbollah, Iran's ally, which has been engaged in border skirmishes with Israel since October 7.

"The Zionist regime (Israel) can no longer see peace and security," Hossein Salami, the head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, said in a speech during the Tehran rally.

"Muslims will take revenge on behalf of the oppressed people of Gaza, and this revenge has no expiration date."

Similar demonstrations took place in other major cities including Shiraz, Kerman and Isfahan.

Iran has made support for the Palestinian cause a centrepiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Tehran, which supports Hamas financially and militarily, has hailed the October 7 attacks a "success" but denied any involvement.

It has also lambasted Israel's bombardment of Gaza as "genocide" while denouncing the United States over its support for Israel.

On Saturday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani decried Israel's "attacks" on hospitals in the Gaza strip.

"Attacking hospitals is in conflict with all human rights standards, international law and Geneva Conventions and makes the criminal nature of this regime even more obvious to the world," he said on X, formerly Twitter, in reference to Israel.

His statement came as hundreds of people fled Gaza's main Al-Shifa hospital, where more than 2,000 patients, medics and displaced people were trapped.

Israel has been pressing military operations inside the hospital, searching for a Hamas operations centre it says lies under the sprawling complex -- a charge Hamas denies.

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UN Report: 40% of War-Related Deaths are Women, and 30% are Children

The majority of recorded deaths, 70%, occurred in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the deadliest conflict for civilians in 2023 (Reuters)
The majority of recorded deaths, 70%, occurred in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the deadliest conflict for civilians in 2023 (Reuters)
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UN Report: 40% of War-Related Deaths are Women, and 30% are Children

The majority of recorded deaths, 70%, occurred in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the deadliest conflict for civilians in 2023 (Reuters)
The majority of recorded deaths, 70%, occurred in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the deadliest conflict for civilians in 2023 (Reuters)

While the proportion of women killed in armed conflicts doubled last year compared to 2022, the situation will not be any better in 2024, according to the annual report by the Office of UN Secretary-General on the protection of civilians in war contexts.
The report, released a few days ago, paints a very bleak picture of what women have suffered in armed conflicts in 2023.
It said 40% of civilians killed in armed conflict in 2023 were women, twice as many as in 2022. The number of children who lost their lives (30%) also tripled.
The report also highlights an exponential increase in civilian casualties, with at least 33,443 non-combatants killed in 2023, a 73% rise from the previous year.
Gaza City...70% of Recorded Deaths
The majority of recorded deaths, 70%, occurred in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the deadliest conflict for civilians in 2023, the report said.
Policy Specialist on Peace and Security at UN Women, Pablo Castillo said the increase in the proportion of women who died in armed conflict occurred “in all wars.”
“The reason [for this trend] is the growing disregard for international law and humanitarian standards amid a backdrop of both cold and hot wars between superpowers, along with a general geopolitical climate that challenges multilateralism,” said Castillo. “Additionally, there is a discernible trend of attacking anything that can be identified as feminism.”
UN Women contributed to reports on women, peace, and security and which highlighted the alarming figures regarding female mortality in conflict zones.
“The world is caught in a frightening spiral of conflict, instability and violence. In 2023, more than 170 armed conflicts were recorded, and approximately 612 million women and girls lived within 50 km of these conflicts, 150% more than just a decade ago,” stated the UN report on women, peace and security.
Another “alarming” finding revealed by the study is the 50% increase in cases of sexual assault in conflict zones, along with a 35% rise in serious rape cases involving girls in these countries.
This is emphasized by Cristina Sanchez, a law professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid and an expert on the intersection of war and gender.
“These are not random acts; sexual violence is a targeted and effective weapon of war. It not only serves to displace populations from their homes but also functions as a bargaining chip, with women being sold among terrorist groups as a means of financing,” she said.
The UN describes this situation as “a war on women,” noting that they are affected in numerous ways beyond death and rape.
For instance, access to healthcare is becoming increasingly restricted.
Every day, 500 women and girls in conflict-affected countries die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
“An estimated 52,000 pregnant women have been caught in the war, with an estimated 180 deliveries every day, most of them without access to anesthetics for cesarean sections and without water, sanitation, nutrition or postpartum care,” stated the UN report.
“A pregnant patient from a rural area had to wait two days to get the money she needed to receive care,” said Maria Fix, head of the Doctors Without Borders team in South Darfur, Sudan.
“When she finally reached a health center, they had no medicines, so she returned home. After three days, her condition worsened, but she again had to wait five hours to be transferred. She was in a coma when she reached us. She died of a preventable infection,” she added.
Absence of International Awareness
For the first time, the report mentioned a direct criticism to the so-called “basic public awareness about these injustices.”
The report also criticized the lack of media coverage: although reports on wars increased sixfold between 2013 and 2023, only 5% focused on women’s experiences.
“In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war has been denounced for decades. And nothing happens. This also sends a message of impunity,” said Sanchez.
In that country, the UN reported over 123,000 cases of gender violence in 2023, a 300% increase over three years, which has not been accompanied by a rise in convictions.
The neglect is also evident in the reduced funding for organizations focused on gender equality and specific programs aimed at mitigating the impact of war on women, the report showed.
Women are frequently excluded from peace negotiations, “despite the fact that it is known that increased female participation leads to more robust and lasting agreements,” said Castillo.
Instead of progress, attacks against women’s rights activists have intensified. “Anti-gender and anti-feminist movements are well-organized and have at their disposal considerable financial resources,” said the report.
In several countries, including Iraq, Libya, and Yemen, local or national authorities have even banned the term “gender” and restricted or persecuted activities advocating for equality.
In Afghanistan, “the oppression of Afghan women is severe,” the report said.
Girls over the age of 12 have been denied the right to education for three years, among various other restrictions that have led the UN to classify the situation as gender apartheid.