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Sinn Féin has described a graffiti attack accusing the party of being pro-Israeli as "despicable".

The graffiti was painted on the front windows of an office in Dungiven, County Londonderry, used by party MLA Caoimhe Archibald.

The slogans accused the party of being a "Zionist lackey" alongside a "Free Gaza" message.

An image of the office daubed with paint appeared on social media on Thursday but was later removed.

Sinn Fein has been criticised for failing to back a number of council motions calling for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland.

Party councillors abstained in votes in Belfast and Derry city and Strabane district councils.

A Sinn Féin spokesperson said: "This is a despicable attack that is designed to create division at a time when people from all political persuasions and none should be united in support of the besieged people of Gaza who are being bombarded by the Israeli military.

He added: "All efforts must focus on ceasefires, dialogue and a negotiations process that can deliver a just and lasting peace in the Middle East based upon the creation of a viable Palestinian state."

Zionism refers to the movement to create a Jewish state in the Middle East, roughly corresponding to the historical land of Israel, and thus support for the modern state of Israel.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said more than 9,000 people had been killed in Israeli attacks since 7 October, two-thirds of them women and children.

The Israeli military said more than 1,400 people had been killed by Hamas on 7 October, with police estimating that more than 1,033 were civilians.