ROME: Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the streets of Rome to protest the war in Gaza, in a rally called by opposition parties denouncing the government's alleged "complicity" in the conflict. "Stop the massacre, stop complicity!" read a wide banner held by protesters at the start of the march, amid a sea of red, white and green Palestinian flags, peace flags and "Free Palestine" signs.
The peaceful protest attracted a massive crowd estimated by organisers at 300,000 people. Police later said those estimates were "largely confirmed", according to Italian news agency AGI.
It made its way from Rome's central Piazza Vittorio to San Giovanni, where speakers took to a stage to urge an end to the violence and denounce what some called the silence of the far-right Italian government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, called the turnout "an enormous popular response" in opposition to the war. Italy's Five Star Movement and the Greens-Left Alliance were also behind the protest.
The demonstration was "to say enough to the massacre of Palestinians, to say enough to the crimes of Netanyahu's far-right government" and to show the world "another Italy", Schlein told journalists. "An Italy that does not keep silent as the Meloni government does, an Italy that instead wants peace, wants an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, humanitarian aid, and wants recognition of the state of Palestine," she said.
Former prime minister Giuseppe Conte told the crowd he was there "to not be a partner to genocide" and rejected any accusation of antisemitism on the part of protesters. Israel has come under increasing international criticism over the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations warned in May that the entire population was at risk of famine.
In Italy, Meloni has been pushed by the opposition to condemn the actions of Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza, but her criticism has been tempered. Last month, Meloni called the humanitarian situation "increasingly dramatic and unjustifiable" and said she had had "often difficult conversations" with Netanyahu, while at the same time noting that "it was not Israel that started the hostilities".
Many protesters came from across Italy to participate in the demonstration, including Gabriella Branca, a lawyer from Genoa. "It's unbearable to witness the massacre of 60,000 people, including 20,000 children. We have to say enough," the 67-year-old said. "In other countries, as you know, demonstrations have drawn millions of people, so I hope that today in Rome we can send a signal to all of Italy, so that everyone takes to the streets to say enough and above all, to try to find peace," she said.
Meanwhile in Gaza, civil defence agency said Israeli attacks on Sunday killed at least 10 people including two girls in the Palestinian territory, as the Israel-Hamas war entered its 21st month. "Five martyrs and dozens of wounded were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis after the (Israeli) occupation forces opened fire on civilians at around 6:00 am," agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said.
The civilians had been heading to an aid distribution centre west of Rafah, near a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed group that has come under criticism from the United Nations and humanitarian agencies. The United Nations refuses to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality.
Asked to comment on the latest killings, the Israeli military said it fired on people who "continued advancing in a way that endangered the soldiers" despite warnings. It said the area around the distribution point had been declared an "active combat zone" at night.
"Around 4:30 am, people started gathering in the Al Alam area of Rafah. After about an hour and a half, hundreds moved towards the site and the army opened fire," Abdullah Nour al Din said. Outside the Nasser hospital, where the emergency workers brought the casualties, AFPTV footage showed mourners crying over blood-stained body-bags.
Dozens of people have been killed near distribution points since late May, according to the civil defence. Bassal said another five people, including two young girls, were killed around at 1:00 am in a strike that hit a tent in the Al Mawasi in southern Gaza. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
