Thousands of Istanbulites protest Israeli onslaught on Gaza

Nearly 4,000 people in the Turkish metropolitan city of Istanbul have protested against the ongoing Israeli attacks in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza. 


Holding Palestinian flags, the protesters gathered on Thursday at Sultanahmet Square in the Fatih district upon a call by the Palestinian Initiative and marched toward Eminonu Square while chanting slogans against Israel.

Local and foreign tourists passing by also supported the protesters, while police teams took security measures in the surrounding area.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian enclave since an October 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, in which 1,139 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,500 Palestinians have since been killed and more than 74,900 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli army has also imposed a blockade on Gaza, leaving most of the population, particularly residents of the north, on the verge of starvation. 


The Israeli war, now in its 174th day, has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN. 


Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

In its Thursday verdict indicating additional measures, the top court ordered Israel to ensure "unhindered provision" of urgent aid to Gaza.

The ICJ said: “Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine ... but that famine is setting in.”