Thousands march for cease-fire

PARIS/WASHINGTON — Thousands of protesters took to the streets in major cities around the world over the weekend demanding an end to the bloodshed in Gaza and the wider Middle East ahead of the first anniversary of the outbreak of the Gaza conflict.

About 40,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through central London, while thousands gathered in Paris, Rome, Manila, Cape Town and New York City. Demonstrations were also held near the White House in Washington, protesting against US support for Israel in military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon.

In Washington, more than a thousand protesters demonstrated outside the White House, demanding the United States, Israel's top military supplier, stop providing weapons and aid to Israel.

One man attempted to set himself on fire, Agence France-Presse journalists saw, succeeding in setting his left arm ablaze before bystanders and police extinguished the flames.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered at New York's Times Square to call for a cease-fire, chanting "Gaza!" to a drumbeat. Some wore keffiyeh scarves and waved Palestinian and Lebanese flags.

The fighting in Gaza was triggered when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. It has laid waste to the enclave, displacing nearly all of the 2.3 million population and causing a hunger crisis.

In Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, at least 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on Sunday morning near the US embassy demanding that Washington stop supplying weapons to Israel.

In London on Saturday, counterdemonstrators waved Israeli flags as pro-Palestinian marchers walked by. There were 15 arrests on the sidelines of the protests, according to police, who did not specify whether those detained were from either group.

In Rome, police fired tear gas and water cannons after clashes broke out. About 6,000 protesters defied a ban to march in the city center ahead of the anniversary.

In Berlin, a protest drew about 1,000 demonstrators with Palestinian flags, who chanted: "One Year of Genocide." The conflict in Gaza has led to genocide allegations against Israel at the World Court, which Israel denies.

German demonstrators also criticized what they called police violence against pro-Palestinian protesters. Israel supporters in Berlin protested against rising anti-Semitism. Scuffles broke out between police and pro-Palestinian protesters.

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

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

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

Israel has sharply escalated a campaign in recent weeks in Lebanon. Iran launched a barrage of missiles against Israel last week to which Israel vows to respond.

In Paris, Lebanese-French protester Houssam Houssein said:"We fear a regional war, because there are tensions with Iran at the moment, and perhaps with Iraq and Yemen." Houssein added: "We really need to stop the war because it's now become unbearable."

In Manila, activists clashed with anti-riot police after they were blocked from holding a demonstration in front of the US embassy in the Philippine capital against Washington's support for Israel.

International diplomacy backed by the US has so far failed to clinch a cease-fire deal in Gaza. Hamas wants an agreement that ends the conflict while Israel says fighting can end only when Hamas is eradicated.

Agencies via Xinhua