Palestinian women rallied across Gaza and the West Bank on International Women's Day on Thursday, calling for the release of a female prisoner on hunger strike in an Israeli jail.

In Gaza, around 1,000 women attended a demonstration that marched from the centre of the city to the Red Cross headquarters to call for the release of Hanaa al-Shalabi, who has been on hunger strike for 22 days.
 

"Yes to the immediate release of Hanna Shalabi!" they chanted, holding pictures of the 30-year-old, who has been ordered jailed for four months without charge by an Israeli military court.
 

Shalabi's incarceration was expected to be the focus on an additional rally organised by women's groups and unions at the Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem.
 

Hundreds of women were arriving on buses ferrying them from across the West Bank for the demonstration, part of a variety of events to mark the day.
 

The Palestinian Authority has for several years marked Women's Day as a national holiday, with schools and government offices closing for the day.