Tens of thousands of people have marched in major cities across Europe to protest against Israel’s war on Gaza, with mass rallies taking place in urban centers across the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
Protests on Saturday in Spain’s second-largest city, Barcelona, as well as in Madrid, were planned weeks ago, while calls for demonstrations in Rome and Lisbon followed widespread anger after Israeli forces intercepted a humanitarian aid flotilla—the Global Sumud Flotilla—that had set sail from Barcelona for Gaza, trying to break Israel’s blockade of the famine-struck Palestinian territory.
More than 40 Spaniards, including a former Barcelona mayor, are among the 450 activists that Israel detained from the flotilla’s boats this week.
Italy already saw more than two million people rally on Friday across the country in a one-day general strike to support Palestinians in Gaza.
Spain has seen a surge of support for Palestinians in recent weeks while its government intensifies diplomatic efforts against the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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