Amid Gaza genocide, Palestinian delegation attends Hiroshima nuclear ceremony for first time

As the world watched in helpless horror the unfolding genocide in Gaza, leaving the Palestinian territory looking like the ground zero of a nuclear attack, the Japanese city of Hiroshima was marking 80 years since the US detonated the atomic bomb "Little Boy" on its population during the closing days of the Second World War.

Present at the ceremony for the first time, by coincidence or design, was a delegation from Palestine, listening to Mayor Kazumi Matsui's declaration of peace. His speech referenced the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, which had been fuelling global militarisation, and warned that "policymakers in some countries even accept the idea that 'nuclear weapons are essential for national defence'."

Israel is widely believed to possess nearly 100 nuclear warheads and has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Its military doctrine reportedly includes a 'Samson Option', to detonate nuclear weapons in the region if it perceives its existence to be at risk. Iran, for its part, is believed to have pursued nuclear weapons in the past, but there is no recent evidence to suggest it continues to do so.

This year's ceremony drew delegates from 120 countries and territories, including representatives from the Palestinian Authority and Taiwan, who were able to attend after Japan adjusted its protocol to allow participation by entities it does not officially recognise, while major nuclear powers Russia and China were among the few countries that stayed away.

Earlier this week, Japanese opposition parties urged the government to recognise the state of Palestine. Amid a French-led push that has seen the likes of the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand pledge recognition of Palestinian statehood in recent weeks, the Constitutional Democratic Party called on Tokyo to promptly follow suit and pressure Israel to accept a ceasefire in Gaza.

Hiroshima fell silent at 08:15 on Wednesday as the city marked the moment the nuclear holocaust was unleashed. Survivors, schoolchildren, diplomats and families bowed their heads in Peace Memorial Park as doves flew over the Atomic Bomb Dome, a skeletal shell preserved from the blast.

By the end of 1945, the bombing had killed an estimated 140,000 people in Hiroshima; a plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki three days later killed about 74,000 more.

This year, the names of more than 4,940 surviving victims who died over the past year were added to the cenotaph, bringing the official death toll to nearly 350,000.

Fewer than 100,000 survivors are still alive, most now in their late 80s and 90s. One survivor, 96‑year‑old Yoshie Yokoyama, told reporters that the suffering caused by the bomb "never truly ended".

The survivors’ group Nihon Hidankyo, which won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, described a "race against time" to share their testimonies and pressure nuclear‑armed states to disarm.

Mayor Matsui used his peace declaration to warn that the bombing must not be regarded as a relic of history. He noted that modern conflicts "flagrantly disregard the lessons the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history".

He appealed directly to younger generations, urging them to build a culture of peace through grassroots projects and to demand that governments sign and ratify treaties like the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

He urged governments to engage in dialogue aimed at abandoning reliance on nuclear weapons and to "visit Hiroshima. Witness with your own eyes what an atomic bombing does. Take to heart the peace‑loving spirit of Hiroshima".

During the US-Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Matsui was sharply critical of remarks by US President Donald Trump, who likened the airstrikes to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Trump had told reporters at a NATO summit: "When you look at Hiroshima, if you look at Nagasaki, that ended a war, too … This ended a war in a different way."

In response, Matsui told reporters in July that Trump "does not seem to understand that once used, atomic bombs kill friend and foe alike and threaten humanity".

He urged the president to visit Hiroshima to "see the reality of the atomic bombing and feel the spirit of Hiroshima" before making such comparisons.

The mayor said he would formally invite Trump via the US embassy in Japan to tour the Peace Memorial Museum and hear survivors' testimonies, but Trump was a no-show.

The controversy over Trump's comparison stems from the unprecedented US and Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear program. On 13 June, Israel launched "Operation Rising Lion", striking Iran's Natanz enrichment plant and assassinating more than a dozen Iranian nuclear scientists.

Israel also targeted ballistic missile sites and military leaders. A week later, US forces joined the campaign under "Operation Midnight Hammer", deploying B‑2 Spirit bombers and a submarine to attack Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan complexes.

President Trump declared the operation a "spectacular military success", claiming that Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities had been "completely and totally obliterated" - a claim widely disputed by experts and Iranian officials.

Iran's nuclear agency said the sites had been evacuated and enriched uranium had been moved elsewhere, noting that there were no signs of radiation contamination and that residents were not in danger.

A preliminary assessment by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, reported by Reuters, concluded that the strikes had likely set back Iran's nuclear program by only a few months and that Iran could restart enrichment in one to two months.

Analysts also noted that underground facilities like Fordow may had sustained structural damage but not total destruction, and that Iran’s stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium remained unaccounted for.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) condemned the strikes, emphasising that "armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place" and that there was no evidence Iran had decided to weaponise its nuclear programme.

The IAEA also reported that any radioactive contamination at the targeted sites was limited to damaged buildings. Experts warned that attacks on operational nuclear plants like Bushehr could result in major radiation releases.