Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrate in cities to support the Palestinians

LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied in cities across Europe, the Middle East and Asia on Saturday to show their support for the Palestinians as Israel’s army extended its air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

In one of the largest marches, in London, aerial footage showed large crowds marching through the center of the capital to call on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government to call for a ceasefire.

“The superpowers at stake are not doing enough right now. That’s why we’re here: we’re asking for a ceasefire, we’re asking for Palestinian rights, the right to exist, to live, human rights, all our rights.” said protester Camille Revuelta.

“This is not about Hamas. This is about protecting the lives of Palestinians,” he added.

Echoing Washington’s position, Sunak’s government has stopped short of calling for a ceasefire and instead lawyer humanitarian pauses to allow aid to reach the people of Gaza.

The UK has backed Israel’s right to defend itself after the October 7 attack by the militant group Hamas which Israel says killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

The death toll in Gaza has risen to 7,650, also mostly civilians, since Israel’s bombardment began three weeks ago, according to a daily report published on Saturday from Palestinian Ministry of Health.

There has been strong support and sympathy for Israel from Western governments and many citizens for the Hamas attacks, but the Israeli response has also sparked anger, particularly in Arab and Muslim countries.

In Malaysia, a large crowd of protesters chanted slogans outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

Addressing hundreds of thousands of supporters at a huge rally in Istanbul, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called Israel an occupier and repeated his stance that Hamas is not a terrorist organization.

Erdogan received a sharp rebuke from Israel this week for calling the militant group “freedom fighters.”

Iraqis took part in a demonstration in Baghdad and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian protesters in Hebron called for a global boycott of Israeli products on Saturday.

“Don’t contribute to the killing of the children of Palestine,” they chanted.

Elsewhere in Europe, people took to the streets of Copenhagen, Rome and Stockholm.

Some cities in France have banned demonstrations since the war began, fearing they could fuel social tensions, but despite the ban in Paris, a small rally took place on Saturday. Several hundred people also marched in the southern city of Marseille.

In New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, thousands of people carrying Palestinian flags and placards reading “Free Palestine” marched to Parliament.

In London, there were special restrictions restricting protests around the Israeli embassy.

Saturday’s march was mostly peaceful, but police said they had made nine arrests: two for assaulting officers and seven for public order offences, some of which were being treated as hate crimes.

The police estimated the participation between 50,000 and 70,000 people.

London police have faced criticism in recent days for not being tougher on slogans shouted by some protesters during another pro-Palestinian march in the capital last week, which drew around 100,000 people.

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