LONDON: The member of the UK trade union on Friday staged a protest demonstration and blocked a British military equipment factory in southeastern England, demanding a cease-fire in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, Western media reported.
Demonstrators were carrying banners and placards reading “no business as usual” and “taxpayers have blood on their hands” in front of the gates of the BAE Systems factory in Rochester.
Organizers said they were trying to shut down the factory that makes components for military aircraft currently being used by Israeli forces in the bombardment of Gaza.
Protest part of International Day of Action for Palestine
They said that the protest was part of an International Day of Action for Palestine organized in response to a call by Palestinian trade unionists.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Friday said that 11,078 people have been killed in five weeks of Israeli bombing since October 7.
According to health ministry statement the death toll includes 4,506 children, while 27,490 people have been injured in the war.
Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has asked Israel to take immediate measures to protect Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
International aid organizations have said that a full cease-fire is needed to help to civilians in Gaza injured in Israeli bombardments, and to transport crucial aid to the 2.4 million people living in the territory, one of the most densely populated area in the world.
However, Benjamin Netanyahu has said that a cease-fire without the release of the hostages would amount to surrendering Hamas.
