CAMPAIGNERS staged a one-hour vigil in York city centre to highlight the plight of residents in the war-torn area of Gaza.

Nearly 30 members of the York branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (YPSC) met in Parliament Street yesterday between 12.45pm and 1.45pm.

They held placards calling for an end to Israel’s military bombardment of Gaza and spoke to passers-by to raise awareness of the suffering of the Palestinian population.

Terry Gallogly, secretary of YPSC, said he wanted to see the British Government put pressure on Israel to end the violence.

Carol Pearman, another member of the group, described the situation in Gaza as “absolutely despicable”. She said: “I made friends with a group of young dancers from the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza when they came to York in 2005.

“One of them, a young man called Mustafa, managed to send me an email from Gaza last week and he described it as hell on earth.

“I don’t think we can imagine what it would be like to be waking up in Gaza day after day with no electricity, no food, no sewage system and, for some, no homes.”