Thousands of people are taking part in a pro-Palestine protest in Dublin calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The demonstrators are marching from the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square to the Department of Foreign Affairs on St Stephen's Green, where a rally is being held.
The 'National Demonstration for Palestine’ has been organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC).
It is the latest in a series of marches in the capital since Israel launched an assault on Gaza following the 7 October Hamas attacks and the IPSC said today's march was the "fifth such national mobilisation since October."
The IPSC is calling an end to what it describes as "Israel's genocidal assault on the people of Gaza" and for the Irish Government to take action to hold Israel accountable.
Chairperson of the IPSC Zoe Lawlor said one of the purposes of the demonstration is "to show the Palestinian people that we're still with them".
Ms Lawlor said she knows people in Gaza feel "very disheartened and abandoned by the international community".
"We still are standing in solidarity with Palestine, we always will," she insisted.
Ms Lawlor renewed the IPSC’s call on the Government to take a tougher stance with Israel.
Ms Lawlor said: "It's crucial that we keep up the pressure on our Government to sanction Israel for its crimes."
"We absolutely demand that they take action to sanction Israel. There must be some meaningful sanction on Israel," she added.
She described the Government’s criticism of Israel and appeals for a ceasefire as "the very bare minimum".
"We need action, we need sanction for the Palestinians," she said.
"Words are no good to them," she added.
She also appealed to people to continue to take part in protest marches in Dublin and around the world to oppose Israel’s actions.
She said: "It's really important that it's maintained and I understand how people can get downhearted, and I can feel that sometimes, but we have to keep going.
"I know that to allow this to die in the darkness, without standing up against it, would be a much, much worse thing."
Ms Lawlor said: "It's crucial that we keep standing with Palestine and keep coming out."
The organisers say the march is being supported by more than 120 civil society organisations.
Political parties, trade unions, students and are among those taking part in the protest, while community groups have also travelled to Dublin from across the country, including Cork and Donegal.
Protesters are also calling for the expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland.
Speakers at the rally also included independent senator Frances Black.
Among the groups who participated in the march, teachers from Múinteoir ar son na Palaistíne carried small empty school chairs as a symbol of the children who have been killed in Gaza.
The IPSC Vice-Chair, Fatin Al Tamimi, whose sister is trapped in the enclave, said the situation is "getting worse by the day".
She said: "There is no words to describe what's happening in Gaza at the moment.
"People in the north are hit worse than the people in the south, although nowhere is safe in Gaza," she added.
Ms Al Tamimi's sister is living in a tent in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in Gaza, which she described as a "horrible situation, with the least basic human necessities, even the toilet is not there".
"Every few thousand people have one toilet to share," she said.
She said an immediate ceasefire in the conflict is urgently needed and she called for the siege of Gaza to end and for the border crossings to be opened to allow for the delivery of aid.
"It's inhumane and this has to stop," she added.
