A second wave of protesters gathered outside the Sheffield City Council building to show solidarity with Palestine and highlight the “atrocities” against Palestinians and the “unfair” reporting of the war.
Many protestors were outraged by the media coverage and condemned the British media’s reporting of the war.
Adhm Alshamy said: “The British media’s reporting is a massive shame because they are complicit, and they are not doing their duty to expose the truth and speak out against the oppressors. They are just part of the war machine, part of the establishment, and part of a system of spreading lies and propaganda.
The demonstration occurred when contested reports about an explosion of a Palestinian hospital came to light.
“It is very clear now that, with the story of the hospital, the Israelis gave a warning to the hospital on Twitter, and they uploaded boastings about the bombardment of the hospital and that they did it, despite the media saying otherwise.”
Palestinian health officials said that 471 people were killed by the explosion and that Israel is to blame, but Israel’s military claims that the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Hillary Smith, one of the members of the Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign and who helped last year to set up the Sheffield Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, said: “This is about being as visible as possible. In the mainstream media, on TV screens, and in the newspapers, people are seeing relentless support for Israel from our political leaders.
“Seeing people out on the street, seeing people in the city centre, seeing people unite and make speeches, is really important for the people of the city.”
“Back in the 1980s, I think Sheffield was the first city in the country to create a movement against apartheid in South Africa.
“We have that legacy in Sheffield, and we need to show it again. We need to show that ordinary people can recognise injustice and inhumanity.”
President Joe Biden publicly demonstrated his support for Israel by visiting the country and its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on the same day as the Sheffield protest.
Dr Richard Pit, another member of the Palestine Committee Campaign and founder of the Stop the War coalition said: “The media points out individual horror because it makes good TV, but they are not pointing out who is doing it, why they are doing it, and who is supporting them. We have to say that this has to change.
“The politicians here and the politicians in the government are supporting Israel and when they say that Israel has the right to defend itself, they know what Israel is doing, they know that 3000 Palestinians are dead, including 800 children, they know about the blockade of food, water and electricity in Gaza.
“When the media reports and the government’s support, they have no morality. The media have in their heads that Israel is wonderful, and they have forgotten Palestine completely.
“The actual reports say Israel is an apartheid state, which is not a slogan, it is a hard analysis.”
