Thousands stage pro-Palestinian protests worldwide, on eve of Oct 7 attack that triggered Gaza war

PARIS (Reuters) – Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested in cities around the world on Sunday on the eve of the first anniversary of the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.

Demonstrations were held in major cities from Jakarta to Istanbul to Rabat, and followed protests on Saturday in major European capitals as well as Washington and New York.

“We are here to support the Palestinian resistance,” said protester Ahmet Unal in Istanbul, where thousands assembled.

In Paris, the Jewish community gathered on Sunday to mark one year since the attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, when militants attacked southern Israeli communities, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

Israel’s subsequent military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and laid waste to the enclave.

Israel launched air attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight and early on Sunday, the most intense bombardment of the Lebanese capital since Israel sharply escalated its campaign against Iranian-backed group Hezbollah last month.

In Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, at least 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on Sunday morning near the U.S. embassy demanding that Washington stop supplying weapons to Israel.

In Sydney, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered ahead of the Oct. 7 anniversary, chanting and waving Lebanese and Palestinian flags amid a heavy police presence. 

One person was arrested for waving an Israeli flag with a swastika in the middle of it instead of the Star of David.

In Rabat, thousands of Moroccans marched, calling for a halt to the violence in Gaza and Lebanon, in one of the largest protests in the country since the beginning of the war in Gaza. 

Protesters demanded an end to Morocco’s diplomatic ties with Israel, chanting “no to normalisation, Palestine is not for sale,” referring to Morocco’s establishing of diplomatic relations with Israel. 

Over the past year, the scale of the killing and destruction in Gaza has prompted some of the biggest global demonstrations in years, including in the U.S., which saw weeks of pro-Palestinian college campus encampments.

Advocates have raised concerns over antisemitic and Islamophobic rhetoric in some protests and counter-protests related to the conflict. Rights advocates have warned about rising threats against Jews and Muslims around the world.

The United States and other allies have supported Israel’s right to self-defence, but Israel has faced wide international condemnation over its actions in Gaza, and now over its bombarding of Lebanon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government is acting to prevent a repeat of the Oct. 7 assault by Hamas.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Giles Elgood)