MORE than 70 people attended a vigil in Oxford on Saturday paying tribute to Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli forces and protesting against the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

The names of the dead were read aloud one by one as their photos were held high in a moving ceremony, followed by a minute’s silence.

At least 186 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been murdered by Israeli attacks in Gaza over the last 22 months and international press freedom organisation the Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned Israel for “engaging in the deadliest and most deliberate effort to kill and silence journalists” that it has ever documented.

The vigil was organised by Oxford Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and the local branch of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Anna Wagstaffe of Oxford NUJ condemned the killings as a war crime and called for those responsible to be held to account before the International Criminal Court.

Deputy mayor of Chipping Norton Cllr Steve Akers, invited as a speaker following his involvement in the recent protests in Charlbury against US Deputy President JD Vance, also addressed attendees. He said: “The Gazan people are suffering mass starvation.

“Children are dying daily of malnutrition. They are in a living hell. Aid should be allowed in immediately. 

“Maximum pressure must be exerted on the Israeli government to lift the blockade. This should include economic sanctions, a ban on arms sales and other military support and diplomatic isolation.”

Oxford PSC chairman Ahmed Murad called for a huge turnout at the next national demonstration in London on September 6 and the forthcoming lobby of Parliament on September 10.