ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL has backed calls for an immediate ceasefire and international players to back an urgent UN-led humanitarian relief effort in Gaza.

The move was brought by Labour councillor Simon Watson and seconded by his colleague Tauqeer Malik.

Mr Watson said: “Gaza has half the population of Scotland squeezed into an area just twice the size of Aberdeen.

“In one year, well over 80 per cent of the buildings in Gaza were destroyed or damaged.

“The entire population has been displaced.

“Every day in 2024, 42 children were killed. Over a class of children, every day, every week, for over a year. Blown apart, obliterated.

“This is not a conflict of two equals. This is not a war. This is a slaughter.”

Welcoming the decision, Aberdeen Trades Council president Tommy Campbell told the Star: “The councillors by adopting the motion have shown their solidarity with the Palestinian people as well as adding their voice for a permanent peace between Israel and Palestine.

“Their support will be very much appreciated by the Palestinian people and all of us who wish to see a Palestine free from apartheid and the genocidal death and destruction they have suffered since 1948.”