Tens of thousands of people have rallied across the world in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s brutal war on Gaza and to mark the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Jewish militias, remembered as the Nakba, or catastrophe.
The Nakba resulted in the permanent mass displacement of Palestinians after the creation of Israel in 1948. Activists say that history is repeating itself today in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
In Stockholm, thousands assembled at Odenplan Square, responding to calls from various civil society organisations to protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Participants waved Palestinian flags, displayed photographs of children killed, and carried banners stating: “Stop the Zionist regime’s genocide in Palestine”.
Many demonstrators bore placards listing the names of civilians killed in Gaza, seeking to highlight the ongoing massacre.
Meanwhile, in London, United Kingdom, hundreds of thousands marched towards Downing Street, demanding an end to what they described as Israel’s genocide in Gaza, 77 years on from the Nakba. Protesters, some dressed in keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags, chanted slogans such as “Stop the genocide in Gaza”, “Free Palestine”, and “Israel is a terror state”.
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The demonstrators denounced the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, accusing it of deliberately starving more than two million Palestinians, and criticised the UK government for its political and military backing of Israel, alleging complicity in the humanitarian crisis.
In Berlin, Germany, people gathered at Potsdamer Platz to protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and held signs reading: “Your silence is complicity” and “You cannot kill us all”. Women in traditional dress carrying Nakba-themed visuals were also present.
The event took place amid heavy security measures, with at least three people reportedly detained.
A solidarity march was held in Athens, Greece, where protesters, adorned in keffiyehs and carrying Palestinian flags, marched first to the embassies of the United States and Israel.
Protests have erupted after hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the past few days as Israel intensified its attacks, with the announcement of a new ground offensive.
Globally, May 15 was observed as the 77th anniversary of the expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians from their homes following the establishment of Israel in 1948.
The Israeli military has killed 53,272 Palestinians and injured 120,673 since it launched an offensive on October 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, noting that thousands still missing beneath the rubble are presumed dead.