Charities team up for Gaza appeal at 2025 Great Scottish Run
Sponsored by Boss Pizza and the Asian Business Chamber, the move reflects a growing desire across communities for meaningful, direct action as the man-made famine and genocide in Gaza continues to worsen.
READ MORE: 'Deliberate starvation' of women and girls in Gaza is 'war crime', says UN expert
A spokesperson for The Well Foundation said: 'This isn't just about running, it's about solidarity, raising awareness and showing Gaza that people thousands of miles away care deeply and are ready to act.'
A joint crowdfunding appeal has been launched ahead of the annual 10K race, with a target set for £5000.
'The power of collective action can't be overstated', a spokesperson from Unity said.
'This campaign isn't about one organisation or one individual. It's about humanity, unity and compassion in action.'
Other businesses joining the fundraising effort include the Sarwar Foundation, Glasgow Ansar, Wheels to Heels and the Muslim Charity.
READ MORE: Human rights 'at risk' as Police Scotland arrest Palestine activists, watchdog says
Organisers have also ensured there are walking groups in place for those who cannot run due to mobility or other issues.
A WhatsApp group has been set up for those who wish to join the campaign, offering access to T-shirts, updates and support.
The 2025 Great Scottish Run will be held on October 5, starting at 8am. A £39 registration fee is in place, though financial assistance is available for those unable to pay.
Those wishing to donate to the fundraiser can do so here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
12 hours ago
- The Guardian
Microsoft launches inquiry into claims Israel used its tech for mass surveillance of Palestinians
Microsoft has launched an 'urgent' external inquiry into allegations Israel's military surveillance agency has used the company's technology to facilitate the mass surveillance of Palestinians. The company said on Friday the formal review was in response to a Guardian investigation that revealed how the Unit 8200 spy agency has relied on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform to store a vast collection of everyday Palestinian mobile phone calls. The joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call found Unit 8200 made use of a customised and segregated area within Azure to store recordings of millions of calls made daily in Gaza and the West Bank. In a statement, Microsoft said 'using Azure for the storage of data files of phone calls obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank' would be prohibited by its terms of service. The inquiry, to be overseen by lawyers at the US firm Covington & Burling, is the second external review commissioned by Microsoft into the use of its technology by the Israeli military. The first was launched this year amid dissent within the company and reports by the Guardian and others about Israel's reliance on the company's technology during its offensive in Gaza. Announcing the review's findings in May, Microsoft said it had 'found no evidence to date' the Israeli military had failed to comply with its terms of service or used Azure 'to target or harm people' in Gaza. However, the recent Guardian investigation prompted concerns among senior Microsoft executives about whether some of its Israel-based employees may have concealed information about how Unit 8200 uses Azure when questioned as part of the review. Microsoft said on Friday the new inquiry would expand on the earlier one, adding: 'Microsoft appreciates that the Guardian's recent report raises additional and precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review.' The company is also facing pressure from a worker-led campaign group, No Azure for Apartheid, which has accused it of 'complicity in genocide and apartheid' and demanded it cut off 'all ties to the Israeli military' and make them publicly known. Since the Guardian and its partners, +972 and Local Call, revealed Unit 8200's sweeping surveillance project last week, Microsoft has been scrambling to assess what data the unit holds in Azure. Several Microsoft sources familiar with internal deliberations said the company's leadership was concerned by information from Unit 8200 sources interviewed for the article, including claims that intelligence drawn from repositories of phone calls held in Azure had been used to research and identify bombing targets in Gaza. Israel's 22-month bombardment of the territory, launched after the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023, has killed more than 60,000 people, the majority of them civilians, according to the health authority in the territory, though the actual death toll is likely to be significantly higher. Senior Microsoft executives had in recent days considered an awkward scenario in which Unit 8200, an important and sensitive customer, could be in breach of the company's terms of service and human rights commitments, sources said. If you have something to share about this story, you can contact Harry Davies and Yuval Abraham using one of the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. To send a message to Harry and Yuval please choose the 'UK Investigations' team. Signal Messenger You can message Harry using the Signal Messenger app. Use the 'find by username' option and type hfd.32 Email (not secure) If you don't need a high level of security or confidentiality you can email SecureDrop and other secure methods If you can safely use the tor network without being observed or monitored you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform. Finally, our guide at lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each. According to leaked files reviewed by the Guardian, the company was aware as early as late 2021 that Unit 8200 planned to move large volumes of sensitive and classified intelligence data into Azure. At Microsoft's headquarters in November that year, senior executives – including its chief executive, Satya Nadella – attended a meeting during which Unit 8200's commander discussed a plan to move as much as 70% of its data into the cloud platform. The company has said its executives, including Nadella, were not aware Unit 8200 planned to use or ultimately used Azure to store the content of intercepted Palestinian calls. 'We have no information related to the data stored in the customer's cloud environment,' a spokesperson said last week. An Israeli military spokesperson has previously said its work with companies such as Microsoft is 'conducted based on regulated and legally supervised agreements' and the military 'operates in accordance with international law'. The new inquiry will examine the military's commercial agreements with Microsoft. Once completed, the company will 'share with the public the factual findings that result from this review', its statement said.
The Guardian
15 hours ago
- The Guardian
Microsoft launches inquiry into claims Israel used its tech for mass surveillance of Palestinians
Microsoft has launched an 'urgent' external inquiry into allegations Israel's military surveillance agency has used the company's technology to facilitate the mass surveillance of Palestinians. The company said on Friday the formal review was in response to a Guardian investigation that revealed how the Unit 8200 spy agency has relied on its Azure cloud platform to store a vast collection of everyday Palestinian mobile phone calls. The joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call found Unit 8200 made use of a customised and segregated area within Azure to store recordings of millions of calls made daily in Gaza and the West Bank. In a statement, Microsoft said 'using Azure for the storage of data files of phone calls obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank' would be prohibited by its terms of service. The inquiry, to be overseen by lawyers at the US firm Covington & Burling, is the second external review commissioned by Microsoft into the use of its technology by the Israeli military. The first was launched earlier this year amid dissent within the company and reports by the Guardian and others about Israel's reliance on the company's technology during its offensive in Gaza. Announcing the review's findings in May, Microsoft said it had 'found no evidence to date' the Israeli military had failed to comply with its terms of service or used Azure 'to target or harm people' in Gaza. However, the recent Guardian investigation prompted concerns among senior Microsoft executives about whether some of its Israel-based employees may have concealed information about how Unit 8200 uses Azure when questioned as part of the review. Microsoft said on Friday the new inquiry would 'expand on' the earlier one, adding: 'Microsoft appreciates that the Guardian's recent report raises additional and precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review.' The announcement comes as the company faces pressure from a worker-led campaign group, No Azure for Apartheid, which has accused it of 'complicity in genocide and apartheid' and demanded it cut off 'all ties to the Israeli military' and make them publicly known. Since the Guardian and its partners, +972 and Local Call, revealed Unit 8200's sweeping surveillance project last week, Microsoft has been scrambling to assess what data the unit holds in Azure. Several Microsoft sources familiar with internal deliberations said the company's leadership was concerned by information from Unit 8200 sources interviewed for the article, including claims that intelligence drawn from repositories of phone calls held in Azure had been used to research and identify bombing targets in Gaza. Israel's 22-month bombardment of the territory, launched after the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023, has killed more than 60,000 people, the majority of them civilians, according to the health authority in the territory, though the actual death toll is likely to be significantly higher. Senior Microsoft executives had in recent days considered an awkward scenario in which Unit 8200, an important and sensitive customer, could be in breach of the company's terms of service and human rights commitments, sources said. If you have something to share about this story, you can contact Harry Davies and Yuval Abraham using one of the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. To send a message to Harry and Yuval please choose the 'UK Investigations' team. Signal Messenger You can message Harry using the Signal Messenger app. Use the 'find by username' option and type hfd.32 Email (not secure) If you don't need a high level of security or confidentiality you can email SecureDrop and other secure methods If you can safely use the tor network without being observed or monitored you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform. Finally, our guide at lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each. According to leaked files reviewed by the Guardian, the company was aware as early as late 2021 that Unit 8200 planned to move large volumes of sensitive and classified intelligence data into Azure. At Microsoft's headquarters in November that year, senior executives – including its chief executive, Satya Nadella – attended a meeting during which Unit 8200's commander discussed a plan to move as much as 70% of its data into the cloud platform. The company has said its executives, including Nadella, were not aware Unit 8200 planned to use or ultimately used Azure to store the content of intercepted Palestinian calls. 'We have no information related to the data stored in the customer's cloud environment,' a spokesperson said last week. An Israeli military spokesperson has previously said its work with companies such as Microsoft is 'conducted based on regulated and legally supervised agreements' and the military 'operates in accordance with international law'. The new inquiry will examine its commercial agreements with Microsoft. Once completed, the company will 'share with the public the factual findings that result from this review', its statement said.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Several Palestinian people reported injured in overnight attack by Israeli settlers in West Bank – Middle East crisis live
Update: Date: 2025-08-15T07:12:02.000Z Title: Susya Content: Settlers attacked Palestinian people in village of , south of Hebron, while separately settlers reportedly attacked village of Atara and set fire to vehicles Yohannes Lowe Fri 15 Aug 2025 09.12 CEST First published on Fri 15 Aug 2025 09.02 CEST 9.12am CEST 09:12 Here is some more detail on the controversial plan to significantly expand a settlement near occupied East Jerusalem. The decision from the Supreme Planning Council, which meets next week, is expected to support the plan after rejecting objections by Israeli NGOs. The expected decision in favour will come after Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich – who backs both the plan and the imposition of Israeli sovereignty through the occupied West Bank – gloated that he believed construction on E1 would 'bury the idea of a Palestinian state'. Smotrich is a junior minister who also holds a position at Israel's defence ministry with oversight of planning issues in the occupied Palestinian territories. He was placed under sanctions along with fellow far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir by the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in June for 'repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities'. Standing at the site of the planned settlement in Ma'ale Adumim on Thursday, Smotrich, a settler himself, said the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and US president, Donald Trump, had agreed to the revival of the E1 development, though there was no immediate confirmation from either. While approval for the plan would be a significant step, it remained unclear on Thursday how much buy-in Smotrich has from Netanyahu and the Trump administration. Netanyahu has not commented on Smotrich's remarks, while the US state department appeared to dodge the issue of E1 when questioned. 9.02am CEST 09:02 Welcome to our live coverage of Israel's war on Gaza. Several Palestinian people are reported to have been injured in an overnight attack by Israeli settlers in the southern West Bank village of , south of Hebron, according to the Times of Israel. A man and his wife were reportedly injured in the attack and were taken to hospital to be treated. Separately, Israeli settlers were reported to have attacked the village of Atara, also in the occupied West Bank, and set fire to several Palestinian-owned vehicles. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or arrests. The attacks come amid a wave of violence in the West Bank, where more than 1,000 Palestinians are reported to have been killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers since 7 October 2023. Accountability for settlers who commit acts of violence against Palestinians is extremely rare, particularly under Israel's current rightwing government. Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said on Wednesday that about 3,400 new housing units would be built in key Israeli-occupied territory, effectively burying 'the idea of a Palestinian state'. As my colleague Peter Beaumont notes in this story, the so-called E1 plan would extend the existing Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Adumim towards Jerusalem, further cutting occupied East Jerusalem from the West Bank, and further separating the north and south of the territory. The plan still requires formal approval but it is expected to pass a final procedural hurdle, despite huge international opposition. The announcement comes after some of Israel's key western allies, such as Australia, Britain, Canada and France, pledged to soon recognise Palestinian statehood, under certain conditions, because of the humanitarian crisis Israel has caused in Gaza. 'This plan buries the idea of a Palestinian state,' Smotrich told journalists on Thursday. 'Anyone in the world today who tries to recognise a Palestinian state will receive an answer from us on the ground. Not in documents, not in decisions or declarations – but in facts.' We will have more on this and the other developments coming out of the Middle East shortly.
