There is an 'urgent need' to support Palestinian children, the Irish National Teachers' Organisation has said.
INTO will be holding a conference today that will call for support for Palestinian children amid ceasefire hopes.
In a statement, the group said the event will "reflect the hope and aspirations of educators worldwide that peace holds firm and that the pressing need to support Palestinian children becomes top priority."
"As teachers and members of INTO, we are bound by our commitment to the welfare and future of children," INTO's president Carmel Browne said.
"Schools, meant to be places of safety and learning, have become sites of destruction and despair in Gaza.
"This is not just a humanitarian tragedy; it is an assault on the very future of Palestine."
Palestinian children walk through rubble following an Israeli strike. (Photo: Mohammed Skaik/News Images) in, on 1/14/2025. (Photo by Mohammed Skaik/News Images/Sipa USA) Credit: Sipa USA/Alamy Live NewsThe conference will hear from Palestinian children through recorded messages and from representatives from the General Union of Palestinian Teachers.
INTO have said the conference will focus on three "actionable steps".
These steps include "INTO’s call for European governments to impose sanctions on Israel and support for the Occupied Territories Bill and BDS campaign in Ireland".
INTO General Secretary John Boyle said the conference "cannot be about words alone" and should be about making a "tangible difference".
The conference will take place at 9.30am in Dublin.
Feature image: Children play soccer at a tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
