Thousands around the world protest against Middle East war as Oct 7 anniversary nears

PARIS/WASHINGTON – Thousands of protesters took to the streets in major cities around the world on Oct 5, demanding an end to bloodshed in Gaza and the wider Middle East as the start of Israel’s war in the Palestinian enclave approaches its first anniversary.

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 its ally Israel in military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon.

Protesters at Times Square in New York City wore the black-and-white keffiyeh scarf and chanted slogans like “Gaza, Lebanon you will rise, the people are by your side”. They held banners demanding an arms embargo against Israel.

The war in Gaza was triggered when

Palestinian Hamas militants 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 also displaced nearly all of the enclave’s 2.3 million people, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the world court that Israel denies.

In Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, at least 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on the morning of Oct 6 near the US embassy, demanding that Washington stop supplying weapons to Israel.

More protests were planned in several cities on Oct 6.

In London, counter-demonstrators 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. Around 6,000 protesters defied a ban to march in the city centre ahead of the Oct 7 anniversary of Hamas’ attack.

In Berlin, a protest drew about 1,000 demonstrators with Palestinian flags, who chanted: “One year of genocide”.

German demonstrators also criticised 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 protests in years, including in the US, which saw weeks of

pro-Palestinian college campus encampments.

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

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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government is acting to prevent a repeat of the Oct 7 assault by Hamas.

The war in Gaza has spread through the region, drawing in Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. Israel has sharply

escalated a campaign in recent weeks in Lebanon

. Iran launched

a barrage of missiles against Israel

this week, to which Israel has not yet responded.

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.” He 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. REUTERS