About 300 people gathered in Aotea Square tonight to mourn the victims killed in the Israel-Hamas war as innocent people continue to suffer from the conflict.
A massive blast rocked Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City overnight, when the building was packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter. The explosion killed hundreds of people.
Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike, while the Israeli military said the hospital was hit by a rocket misfired by Palestinian militants.
The peaceful vigil held tonight in Auckland also involved a police presence.
Nehad Al Battniji was at the vigil thinking of his nine brothers, sister and parents who are in Gaza.
He said he cannot sleep as he awaits a few hours of precious communication during the two hours of electricity the highly dense strip of land has per day.
“No place in Gaza is safe at the moment,” he said.
He said his father desperately needs medicine but pharmacies have been damaged in bombings or closed as their owners flee.
Minas Al-Ansari said she was thinking of her aunt and family in Gaza as she attended the vigil.
“They feel really dehumanised. We feel as though their lives do not matter,” she said.
“Today is 10 times worse than yesterday and 100 times worse than last week. Absolutely nowhere is safe.”
She said her aunt has been moving locations every two days.
“They don’t even know where they are going. They have no idea where they are going to be hit.”
Humanitarian and development manager for Anglican Missions, Mark Mitchell, who has worked closely with the Al Ahli Arab Hospital, said the incident demonstrates that “no one in Gaza is safe”.
“Hospitals and civilian infrastructure are protected under international humanitarian law,” Mitchell said.
”Each of the hospitals is well marked, and everybody will know on all sides of the conflict that these are hospitals and as international law is well understood and well documented that they should not be attacked.”
Mitchell said those in Gaza are not able to escape the horrors of war.
Israeli military strikes on Gaza, in retaliation to Hamas terror squads killing, wounding and kidnapping thousands of Israelis just over a week ago, have killed at least 2778 people and wounded 9700, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Nearly two-thirds of those killed were children, a ministry official said.
Another 1200 people across Gaza are believed to be buried under the rubble, alive or dead, health authorities said.
Earlier today, Te Pāti Māori called on the New Zealand Government to expel the Israeli ambassador if Israel does not immediately implement a ceasefire in its ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.
In a series of posts on social media, the party condemned Israel and Hamas for their actions during the conflict and say both have breached international law.
In one of the posts, Te Pāti Māori’s co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer are “demanding” the Government expel the Israeli ambassador. The Herald has sought comment from Israel’s embassy in Wellington.
Te Pāti Māori Co-leaders @Rawiri_Waititi and @whaeadeb are demanding that the NZ Government expel the Israeli ambassador if Israel does not immediately implement a ceasefire and open safe humanitarian aid corridors into Gaza.
— Te Pāti Māori (@Maori_Party) October 18, 2023
The pair said Hamas must “immediately release hostages and work towards peace” and Israel “must end their violent onslaught in Gaza and allow international aid groups to help the Palestinian people”.
Te Pāti Māori also called out “Western countries” for being “willfully in denial” about what they said was Israel’s past aggression against Palestine.
The Auckland vigil comes a week after a similar event held at the same location for the victims in Israel, when 200 people gathered in Aotea Square holding Israel flags and lighting candles to mourn those killed, captured and wounded.
- Additional reporting by AP
Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.