Thousands of people marched through the streets of central Istanbul last night to protest against Israel’s offensive in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s announced plans to occupy the entire Palestinian enclave, where more than 61,000 people have already died and civilians are suffering from hunger, thirst and disease with little access to humanitarian aid.
According to Turkish media and the Anatolia news agency, the protest – called by numerous non-governmental organisations – started on Saturday evening from Istanbul’s Beyazit Square and made its way from there to the Grand Mosque of Hagia Sophia, in Sultanahmet Square. Participants displayed their mobile phone lights along the route as part of the rally’s slogan, which read ‘Be a light of hope for Gaza’.
Slogans such as ‘Killer Israel, get out of Palestine’ and ‘Children of Gaza, wait for us’ were chanted during the march. Among the participants was the head of the Office of Religious Affairs, Ali Erbaş, who recited a public prayer in front of Hagia Sophia at the end of the march.
Other prominent figures at the demonstration included Bilal Erdoğan (son of the current Turkish president), Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, the well-known Turkish engineer and businessman Selçuk Bayraktar (president of the technology company Baykar, dedicated to drone manufacturing), as well as several trade union representatives. At the end of the event, a Palestinian girl recited a poem dedicated to her people written by the late Turkish poet Mehmet Akif İnan.
Protests against Netanyahu’s plans… Also in Israel
But also other countries witnessed yesterday protests against the humanitarian drama in Gaza and Netanyahu’s policies: United Kingdom, Spain or even Israel itself, where thousands of Israelis demonstrated in the last hours against Netanyahu’s plans to occupy all of Gaza, accusing him of perpetuating the war to stay in power. Groups representing the families of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas have also called for a general strike across the country on 17 August to demand an end to the war and a halt to Netanyahu’s occupation plans.
Israel is facing growing international pressure for its actions in Gaza, where since the offensive launched in October 2023 in response to the Hamas attack more than 61,000 people have died, the vast majority of them Palestinian civilians, mainly women and children; even the US government, led by Trump – its main ally – has hesitated to comment on Netanyahu’s new plans, which the United Nations has already warned will further aggravate the dramatic situation of the Palestinians.
On top of all this, there is the arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, who are accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a charge of genocide before the International Court of Justice for the actions and methods employed during the Gaza offensive, including mass population displacement and the use of starvation as a weapon of war.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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