Pro-Palestine rallies held globally to mark a year of Israel’s war on Gaza

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in major cities around the world to condemn the Israeli military operations in Gaza as the war in the Palestinian territory nears the one-year mark.

In the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, more than 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the embassy of the United States, demanding that Washington, Israel’s top military supplier and ally, stop sending weapons to Israel.

“We are appealing to the hearts of all the leaders of the world to rise up and move and liberate them [Palestinians] from the oppression carried out by Israel,” a demonstrator told Al Jazeera.

“This is no longer a religious issue but truly a humanitarian issue – not just for Muslims but all who claim to be Muslim,” said another protester, holding his child on his shoulders and carrying a Palestinian flag.In Caracas, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested outside the United Nations’s headquarters for Venezuela, carrying a giant Palestinian flag. They delivered a petition to the UN calling for an end to the “genocide” of the Palestinians.

The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023 when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,139 people and taking more than 200 captive, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The war in the besieged enclave has displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million people, who have been subjected to widespread hunger and disease, leading to genocide allegations against Israel by several countries at the International Court of Justice.

Police attack Rome protesters

Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters in Italy’s capital Rome as their demonstration turned violent, officials said.

Several thousand demonstrated peacefully on Saturday afternoon, chanting “Free Palestine, Free Lebanon!” They waved Palestinian flags and held banners calling for an immediate stop to the conflict.