October 2025 marked two years since the events of 7 October in Israel and Gaza. Hamas and Israel remain in conflict with casualties continuing to be reported.
On 7 October 2023, the long-standing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people escalated when the lives of at least 1,219 Israeli people were lost in attacks by Hamas from Gaza, who also took 251 hostages.
This has caused a great deal of media attention as the Israeli government then embarked on retaliatory attacks in which Gaza was left partially in ruins with thousands dead, many hungry and homeless with little access to medical facilities.
West Midlands campaigners raise awareness of Gaza
West Midlands-based activists are taking action; the West Midlands branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) recently met to mark the anniversary of 7 October in Birmingham. Local people who are passionate about the events in Gaza and Israel joined a panel discussion with people who have been on the ground to get an insight into what is happening and what support is needed.
At the event, campaigners, aid workers and local activists spoke about the present challenges, what is being done in the UK and abroad to support Palestinians affected by the conflict and how grassroots efforts are trying to address the humanitarian crisis.
The West Midlands PSC are also offering the community an opportunity to learn about Gaza by attending various events with people who have seen the situation first-hand.
The Chair of the West Midlands PSC, Naeem Malik, told the meeting:
We are trying to educate people about what is actually happening in Palestine and not just what we are hearing in our media.
Malik has also been part of the group of individuals boycotting items from big brands like McDonalds and Starbucks that campaigners claim are funding Israeli military forces.
He said:
Palestine needs to be free and Palestinian people need to have the right to self-determination. We should be investing in peace. We should be investing in health, education and in providing people with what sustenance they need to be able to live rather than providing bombs to destroy them.
The flotillas: getting aid into Gaza
A number of flotillas have set off attempting to take aid to Gaza. The meeting revealed that a recent flotilla carried West Midlands-based activists, including father of three from Walsall Sijaad Hussain, who joined Swedish activist Greta Thunberg trying to bring aid to the people of Gaza in September 2025. The Global Smud Flotilla involved more than 50 boats attempting to deliver aid to Palestinians before being intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters.
A Palestinian grassroots activist who asked to remain anonymous told me:
The flotilla represents the world’s conscience. Those on the flotilla have shown high levels of frustration and the ability to take action. They are my heroes for recognising an injustice and deciding to act. The treatment they have received is deplorable but there are going to be more flotillas and we are going to have to keep going.
The activist, working as part of an NGO, has seen first-hand what is happening. He has been providing food as well as eating with the people to get to know them in the community. He said:
The resilience of the Palestinian communities is very close to my heart and has been ever since the new wave of violence has been directed towards them.
It is very meaningful for me to work with the people who are facing the brunt of the occupation policies. We stand with the Palestinian people on the ground and we try to meet their needs.
Banning pro-Palestine protests is unjust
While local campaigners continue with their efforts, there are also concerns about public protests. The British government proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist group on 5 July 2025 under the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000. Prosecutions made are under section 13 of the Act, an offence subject to a maximum sentence of six months’ imprisonment.
This proscription raises serious concerns for many pro-Palestine activists like Birmingham-based Adala Khalil, a journalist who has been on the ground in the region. In my interview with her, she alleges that whilst filming a documentary she was brutally beaten by Israeli settlers on 16 September 2024 who were attacking an elementary school in a small Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank. She claims they “beat her until they broke my arm all while rampaging through the school and beating the children and teachers”.
Khalil told me:
The restriction on pro-Palestine protests is a blatant and disgusting infringement on the freedom of speech that the UK has upheld for so long. It is an embarrassment on the part of the UK government.
Gaza’s treatment by the press is also an issue
Khalil maintained that the press treatment of the story was “blatant racism rooted in the stark contrast between the depiction of Ukraine and Palestine [and] reveals the moral failure of modern day journalism.” She argued that there was “an outpouring of solidarity for the Ukraine, urgent headlines and calls for sanctions against the perpetrators. In contrast, the genocide in Gaza was treated by the media as a mere statistic climbing every day. Solidarity with the Palestinians was treated as a political issue rather than a humanitarian one.”
The Palestinian born journalist and activist concluded:
As far as I am concerned nothing, not even the UK government, will stop me from pursuing the truth and spreading it. I am continuing to do so as I am ensuring that no flagrant attempt at silencing the Palestinian narrative will affect my work.
Palestine to be recognised as a state by the UK government
On 21 September 2025 Sir Kier Starmer announced that the UK will recognise Palestine as an “independent sovereign state”. This marks a step closer to peace and a two-state solution. Palestinian independence means the legal right to self-determination and sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since 1967.
Despite the government recognizing an independent Palestine, many activists like Hala Evans believe there is still a long way to go. At the West Midlands PSC meeting, Evans, a Palestinian native and former public health academic said: “For me as a Palestinian, it’s a step in the right direction coming too little too late because that should have happened a long time ago but I’m happy that it came. Let them live. Let Gaza live.”The West Midlands PSC continues with its events in their efforts to raise awareness of what is going on in Palestine and speak out about the genocide. Local protests happen regularly in Birmingham’s city centre and coaches have taken people to London to participate in pro-Palestine protests.
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