Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Malaysia and South Korea: Thousands of people, especially in Muslim countries, have demonstrated against the Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
Thousands of people around the world have demonstrated their solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The focus was on Muslim countries, but people also took to the streets in South Korea. The demands were similar everywhere: an end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip and the air strikes that Israel began after terrorist attacks by the militant Islamist Hamas, which rules in Gaza.
In Egypt Thousands protested against Israel’s actions. The government helped organize 27 rallies, something it rarely does. But there were also protests beyond that, for example on Tahrir Square in Cairo. People chanted “Bread, freedom, Arab Palestine,” a twist on one of the slogans of the 2011 revolution that toppled Egypt’s longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. Tahrir Square was the scene of weeks of mass protests at the time.
Hundreds of people also gathered in the courtyard of the Al-Azhar Mosque, the main religious institution for Sunni Muslims, in central Cairo.
In Istanbul and Ankara Thousands protested with Turkish and Palestinian flags after Muslim Friday prayers. Some posters read: “Stop the genocide!” and “Murderer Israel, get out of Palestine.” About a dozen men had donned red smeared doctor’s coats and were carrying dolls meant to represent dead babies. Others set fire to Israeli flags and an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Unlike a week ago, there were no reports of violent riots.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Israel to stop its attacks on the Gaza Strip. The attacks on the densely populated Palestinian area amounted to genocide, he wrote on the online platform X (formerly Twitter).
People all over the world took to the streets for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip – just like here in Istanbul.
In the Iraq Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the Trebil border crossing with Jordan. The protest was organized by an alliance of Shiite groups and militias supported by Iran. Several thousand people, including supporters of the pro-Iranian militia Hashd al-Shaabi, gathered for a demonstration in Baghdad.
In the Jordanian capital Amman 5,000 people took part in a rally to show their solidarity with the Palestinians. They shouted “Save Gaza!” and called for the border to be opened for aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip.
Thousands of people also demonstrated in the Tunisian capital Tunis as in Bahrain.
In the world’s most populous Muslim country, in Indonesia, protesters marched from various mosques to the US Embassy in Jakarta and condemned Washington’s support for Israel. There were similar demonstrations in front of the UN mission and the Foreign Ministry. Authorities estimated the number of protesters across the city at around 1,000.
In Malaysia Around 1,000 Muslims with Palestinian flags called for an end to the killing in Gaza.
In the South Korean capital Seoul About a dozen protesters waved anti-Israel banners and Palestinian flags. “Please think about human lives. That’s all I think about,” said Egyptian student Mohammed al-Schafei in Seoul. “If we really want to help, we must provide Gaza with humanitarian aid immediately.”