Protesters across Europe on Thursday railed at Israel's assault on a flotilla that was carrying aid for Gaza's besieged Palestinians, urging greater sanctions from European governments in response.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Barcelona last month to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza, where the United Nations reports famine conditions after nearly two years of Israeli genocidal attacks, before being intercepted by Israel on Wednesday.
Forty-one ships with more than 400 people aboard, including activists, politicians and climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, were attacked by the Israeli navy and prevented from reaching the coastal territory.
The navy forcibly commandeered boats and detained hundreds of passengers, including citizens from several European countries. The vessel Marinet continues sailing toward Gaza but is still far away after a late arrival due to technical malfunctions, according to organizers.
Some 15,000 people marched through Barcelona in protest at Israel's actions, according to the municipal police force in Spain's second city, chanting slogans including "Gaza, you are not alone," "Boycott Israel" and "Freedom for Palestine."
Police beat back a portion of the protesters who attempted to climb over barriers with truncheons, forcing them to retreat, images broadcast on Spanish public television showed.
A boat carrying former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau was among those prevented from proceeding. Colau and her fellow activists, including Nelson Mandela's grandson Mandla Mandela, face deportation by Israel.
Around 10,000 people took part in a similar protest in Madrid, local officials said. Protests were held in other Spanish cities on Thursday night, including Bilbao, Seville and Valencia, with weekend marches expected to draw even larger crowds.
Chants of "Boycott Israel," "Stop the genocide," and "Free Palestine" echoed through the capital, while some protesters attempted to block main roads, leading to brief clashes with police.
Around a thousand people marched in Paris's Place de la Republique, Agence France-Prese (AFP) reported, while in the port city of Marseille, in southern France, around a hundred pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested in the afternoon after attempting to block access to offices of weapons maker Eurolinks, accused of selling military components to Israel.
In Italy, where the country's main unions have called a general strike for Friday in solidarity with the flotilla, thousands took to the streets to urge Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to defend the activists.
Besides Rome, where police said 10,000 people joined a march, other protests took place in cities such as Milan, Torino, Florence and Bologna, among others.
"We are prepared to block everything. The genocidal machine must stop immediately," the demonstrators chanted.
One protester, 76-year-old Gianfranco Pagliarulo, told AFP that Meloni had not done enough to deter Israel.
Although Italy sent a frigate for the Global Sumud Flotilla's protection en route, the far-right premier urged the fleet to turn back and the naval vessel did not accompany the activists past Israel's blockade.
"Instead of defending the victims, the government is defending the aggressors, and it's absolutely intolerable," said Pagliarulo.
Around 3,000 demonstrators also took to the front of the European Parliament building in Brussels, with one banner urging the EU to "break the siege."
"The message is that each boat must be protected," a protester named Isis told AFPTV at the demonstration, urging the European Union's leadership to halt the "astronomical sums of money sent to Israel" through the bloc's agreements with the country.
A similar-sized crowd rallied in Geneva, according to AFP and Swiss broadcasters, with the mostly young protesters lighting a bonfire near the central station.
The protesters then headed to the Swiss city's Mont Blanc bridge, at the end of Lake Geneva, to be met by a line of police in riot gear, who pushed the demonstrators back after brief clashes.
In Greece, thousands marched in Athens toward the Israeli Embassy, chanting "End the genocide in Gaza" and "Break the blockade, free Palestine."
Organizers read a joint statement condemning Israel for violating international law and stressing that the flotilla's mission was a legitimate attempt to deliver humanitarian aid.
Dozens also rallied in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, in front of the embassy of the United States, Israel's key ally.
"We are very upset... Upset, angry, disgusted because what they are doing is for humanity," said Ili Farhan, 43.
"They are just bringing in aid and baby food... this arrest is unjust."
Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million, for nearly 18 years, and further tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine.
Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 66,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The U.N. and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly.
