PARIS/ WASHINGTON: Tens of thousands of protesters marched in cities around the world over the weekend calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon as the war in the Palestinian territory neared the one-year mark.
In Washington, more than a thousand protesters demonstrated outside the White House, demanding the United States, Israel’s top military supplier, stop providing weapons and aid to Israel.
One man attempted to set himself on fire, AFP journalists saw, succeeding in lighting his left arm ablaze before bystanders and police extinguished the flames.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters also gathered in cities across Europe, Africa, Australia and the Americas to demand an end to the conflict, which has killed nearly 42,000 people in Gaza.
Candlelight vigils are set to take place on the anniversary on Monday (Oct 7) of Hamas’ attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,825 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the territory’s health ministry and described as reliable by the United Nations.
With Israel now mounting a ground operation in Lebanon and vowing to respond to a barrage of missiles fired by Iran this week, there are fears the conflict could spiral into a wider war.
Underlining international polarisation over events in the Middle East, demonstrations in support of both Israel and the Palestinians are planned worldwide – sometimes with rival events scheduled in the same city.
