Protesters outside Met Gala in New York demand end to Israel's war on Gaza

Protesters in New York have converged near the Met Gala to demand an end to Israel's brutal war on Gaza.

Among the rallying points were the gates of Columbia University, which has been the centre of Pro-Palestine demonstrations, before protesters marched through Manhattan to American fashion's biggest night on Monday

The Met Gala, which attracts celebrities, fashion designers and mass media attention, is a yearly mammoth fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

It was unclear how many arrests were made as stars walked the carpet and posed for photos, but journalists confirmed several arrests while the New York Daily News reported the number was about a dozen, out of hundreds that gathered near the soiree.

Organisers on X, formerly Twitter, posted a flier for an event dubbed as the "Citywide Day of Rage for Gaza."

For its part NYPD said on X: "as hundreds of spectators gathered to watch their favourite celebrities walk up the carpet at the annual @metmuseum Gala, your NYPD Officers were out there ensuring everyone’s safety and security."

Israel's brutal war

Israel has pounded Gaza after the Palestinian resistance group Hamas launched an operation on October 7.

More than 34,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,100 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85 percent of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.