Tel Aviv [Israel], November 6 (ANI): Amid the Israel-Hamas war, hundreds of family members of hostages taken by Hamas in attacks on October 7 held a rally in front of the Kirya, the government’s military headquarters, in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, “to demand greater action by the government to release the hostages,” CNN reported on Sunday.
CNN reported quoting the statement released ahead of the event, organisers said “this evening is not an anti-government protest. This is a rally of families and community that would like to see more action done to release the hostages.”
More than 200 hostages are still being held in Gaza after Hamas’ attacks nearly a month ago.
Israeli police, meanwhile, said they arrested three people at anti-government protests in Jerusalem on Saturday.
Moreover, around 20,000 people participated in a pro-Palestinian rally in the Australian city of Melbourne on Sunday, CNN reported.
It reported that the rally was held in a peaceful manner without any issues or arrests, said senior constable Adam West.
This comes after tens of thousands of demonstrators on Saturday (local time) crowded the streets of American cities to criticise Israel’s military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack last month, The New York Times reported.
The protests in New York, Nashville, Cincinnati, Las Vegas and even Orono, Maine, demanded a cease-fire and an end to the siege in Gaza.
The demonstrations came a week after vast protests in Asian and European capitals and a day after the Israeli government appeared to reject the United States’ call for “humanitarian pauses” in the bombardment.
The protests were filled with messages like “Mourn the dead; fight like hell for the living” and “Let Gaza live!” They also sought a shutdown of American aid to Israel, blending policy demands with anguish and ambition.
Some of the chants, most especially “From the river to the sea!” have been condemned as an antisemitic call for Israel’s destruction, though many protesters have defended the slogan as a cry for freedom, as per The New York Times.
CNN reported that demonstrations also took place across Europe on Saturday – in Paris, Berlin and London, as well as the British cities of Manchester, Oxford, Newcastle and Liverpool.
Thousands of people gathered in the UK capital on Saturday to call for a ceasefire in Gaza as airstrikes and fighting on the ground continue. London police arrested 29 people in the protest, citing offences including inciting racial hatred, racially motivated crimes, violence and assaulting a police officer.
CNN reported that demonstrators at the rally, which took place in Trafalgar Square, waved Palestinian flags and banners calling for a “ceasefire now.” Some people held signs that read “Free Palestine” and called for the bombing to stop.
“40,000 people packed into Trafalgar Square today to stand with Palestine,” the organizer of the event, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, posted on social media. London’s Metropolitan Police has not released any figures for the size of the demonstration, CNN reported. (ANI)
