Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities around the world for a weekend of demonstrations demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations took place Saturday in several cities, including Washington, DC; London; Paris; Berlin; Milan and Dhaka. In Turkey, a convoy of Palestinian supporters headed to a US military base in the south of the country for a protest that coincided with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s arrival in the country on Sunday.
At least 15 people were killed and dozens of others injured on Saturday in an Israeli attack on the al-Fakhoora school in the Jabalia refugee camp, as Israel continued its air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.
Since the war began, 9,488 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. According to the charity Save the Children, more children have been killed in this war in Gaza so far than in all the conflicts around the world in each of the past four years. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mainly during the October 7 attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas on southern Israel.
![Echoing Washington's position, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government has not called for a ceasefire. [JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/geno-London-1699124497.jpeg?resize=770%2C513)
United Kingdom
Large crowds held sit-down protests in London, blocking Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus before marching to Trafalgar Square and rallying.
Protesters held “Freedom for Palestine” signs and chanted “ceasefire now” and “in our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians.”
London’s Metropolitan Police estimated that around 30,000 people attended the meeting. Police said they had made 11 arrests, including one for displaying a sign likely to incite hatred, which breaches terrorism legislation.
Earlier, some demonstrators had also gathered outside the BBC headquarters in London to protest the network’s coverage of the war, which they called “biased”.
Echoing Washington’s position, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government has stopped calling for a ceasefire, instead advocating humanitarian pauses to allow aid to Gaza.
France
Thousands also marched in central Paris to call for a ceasefire with signs reading “Stop the cycle of violence” and “To do nothing, to say nothing is to be complicit.”
It was one of the first major gatherings in support of Palestinians legally allowed in Paris since the start of the war.
“We have come here today to show the solidarity of the French people with the Palestinian people and our support for peace, for a peace solution with two states, an Israeli state and a Palestinian state,” said Antoine Guerreiro, a 30-year-old civil citizen. servant.
Wahid Barek, a 66-year-old retiree, lamented the deaths of both Israeli and Palestinian civilians.
“I regret the civilian deaths on both sides. Citizens have nothing to do with these actions. It’s really a shame,” he said.
![People attend a demonstration demanding a ceasefire in Gaza in Paris, France, November 4, 2023. [REUTERS/Claudia Greco]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paris-1699124803.jpeg?w=770&resize=770%2C513)
Germany
In Berlin, around 6,500 people gathered around noon for a demonstration that took place under strict conditions, according to the police. Germany had previously banned Palestinian solidarity gatherings.
People carrying Palestinian flags and banners reading “Stop the Genocide in Gaza” or “From the River to the Sea – We Demand Equality” gathered on Alexanderplatz, a large square in the center of the city.
One speaker called for an end to the “apartheid culture” and an end to the bombing of Gaza.
Italy
According to local media, around 4,000 protesters marched through the streets of Milan in support of a ceasefire.
The demonstration under the slogan “Stop war, no racism” took place just as the far-right League party held a rally “in defense of the West” in a nearby square.
![In Berlin, about 6,500 people gathered for a demonstration that took place under strict conditions, according to police. [REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Berlin-1699125153.jpeg?w=770&resize=770%2C513)
Senegal
In the Senegalese capital Dakar, people gathered outside the central mosque with banners and Palestinian flags.
“This protest was supposed to take place last week but was banned,” Al Jazeera’s Nicholas Haque reported from Dakar.
“There are many Senegalese people, but the Lebanese Senegalese community has also come out in large numbers to show their support.”
![Pro-Palestinian supporters gather in Dakar, November 4, 2023. [GUY PETERSON / AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/33ZW7PY-highres-1699125468.jpeg?w=770&resize=770%2C513)
Turkey
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Istanbul and Ankara, a day before a visit to Turkey by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for talks on Gaza.
In Istanbul’s Sarachane Park, they held banners reading: “Blinken, the accomplice to the massacre, get out of Turkey,” with a photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blinken together with a red “X” on it.
In the Turkish capital Ankara, demonstrators gathered near the US embassy, chanting slogans and holding up posters that read: “Israel bombs hospitals, Biden pays for it.”
Meanwhile, a “freedom convoy for Palestine” was heading to the Incirlik military base near the southern city of Adana, which was mainly used by Turkish and US forces. Organizers expect thousands of vehicles to converge around the base on Sunday.
![Protesters gather in support of Palestinians in Washington, DC, on November 4, 2023. [OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/33ZR3F7-highres-1699126818.jpeg?w=770&resize=770%2C513)
United States
Tens of thousands took to the streets of Washington DC in the largest demonstration since the war began on October 7.
“I am surrounded by a sea of protesters, more than I have seen since the start of the war on Gaza,” Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro said.
“Organizers are calling this the big one, they’re expecting somewhere between 20,000 and 100,000 people,” she added. “The crowd around me consists not only of Arab Americans gathering in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, but also of many Americans from all walks of life.”
A Jewish American protester who attended a march on Gaza said President Joe Biden should stop funding the Israeli military.
“I am a human being and I think it is important that the people in Gaza are killed. I care about the genocide taking place in the name of the Jewish people by Zionists who do not represent Judaism,” he told Al Jazeera.
“I object to the US financing this genocidal war. That’s what we do – it wouldn’t happen if the US didn’t fund Israel,” he said.