Tens of thousands march in Barcelona to protest against Israel’s war in Gaza

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of people marched in Barcelona on Saturday ahead of other demonstrations across Spain, Italy and Portugal to protest Israel’s two-year war in Gaza.

The protests in Spain’s second-largest city and in Madrid were called for weeks ago, while calls for demonstrations in Rome and Lisbon followed widespread anger after the Israeli interception of a humanitarian aid flotilla that had set sail from Barcelona, trying to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Over 40 Spaniards, including a former Barcelona mayor, are among the 450 activists that Israel removed from the flotilla’s boats this week.

Barcelona’s town hall said police estimated that 70,000 turned out for Saturday’s demonstration, while the activists who organized the march said 300,000 people attended.

Italy already saw more than 2 million people rally on Friday across the country in a one-day general strike to support the residents of Gaza. Spain has also had protests of thousands of people this week in support of the flotilla.

Spanish protesters are in line with the government

Spain has seen an upsurge of support for Palestinians in recent weeks while its left-wing government intensifies diplomatic efforts against the far-right Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Protests against the presence of an Israeli-owned cycling team repeatedly disrupted the Spanish Vuelta last month, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the destruction in Gaza a “genocide” and asked for the ban of all Israeli teams from international sporting events.

The calls for protests in Southern Europe come as Hamas said it has accepted some elements of the plan laid out by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war, which has left Gaza’s largest city in famine and stirred accusations of genocide against Israel.

A push for Europe to act

People packed Barcelona’s wide Passeig de Gracia, the city’s main central boulevard. Many families turned out, along with people of all ages. Protesters carried Palestinian flags or wore t-shirts supporting Palestine. Hand-held signs bore messages like “Gaza hurts me,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Hands off the flotilla.”

While the protests will likely not sway Israel’s government, protesters hope they could inspire other demonstrations and encourage European leaders to take a harder line against Israel.

María Jesús Parra, 63, carried a Palestinian flag high after making an hourlong trip from her home in another town to Barcelona. She wants the European Union to act against what she described as the horrors she watches on televised news on a daily basis.

“How is it possible that we are witnessing a genocide happening live after what we (as Europe) experienced in the 1940s?” Parra said. “Now nobody can say they didn’t know what was happening.”

The protests in Rome, Madrid and Lisbon are to follow later on Saturday. There are also protests called across many other Spanish cities.

The war in Gaza started after Hamas’ attack on Southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead, while 251 others were taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has so far killed over 67,000 people and wounded nearly 170,000 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government. U.N. agencies and many independent experts view its figures as the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.