PEOPLE from across West Yorkshire gathered in Bradford over the weekend for a Palestine march.

Organised by Bradford Friends of Palestine, in conjunction with Bradford Speaker’s Corner and Nation of Al Quds, more than 1,000 protesters gathered at Thornbury roundabout from 1pm to march down Leeds Road.

The march ended outside City Hall, where those in attendance heard various speeches.

A spokesperson for Bradford Friends of Palestine said: “Our leading political parties need to pay attention to the concerns of the majority of UK citizens who profoundly disagree with the government’s handling of this crisis. 

“We call for the end of arms sales to Israel, a lift of all the obstacles to delivering aid across the Gaza strip and an immediate ceasefire.”

Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah over the weekend killed 22 people, including 18 children, health officials said on Sunday.

Israel has carried out near-daily air raids on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza population of 2.3 million have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere.

It has also vowed to expand its ground offensive to the city on the border with Egypt despite international calls for restraint, including from the US.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “In the coming days, we will increase the political and military pressure on Hamas because this is the only way to bring back our hostages and achieve victory. We will land more and painful blows on Hamas soon.”