Thousands Of People Protested In Support Of Palestinians In Major Cities Around The World

On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes hit a refugee camp, killing eight children, and a building housing international media.

by Jane Lytvynenko

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Posted on May 15, 2021, 10:54 pm

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{ "id": 127065999 } Sopa Images / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

A protester in London shows support for Palestinians.

{ "id": 127065997 }

Thousands of people across the world showed their support for Palestinians in protests amid some of the worst fighting between Israelis and Palestinians since the 2014 Gaza War, with demonstrators from Canada to Japan waving flags and chanting "Free Palestine" on Saturday.

The protests come as tension and violence in the region grows, with at least 145 Palestinians and 10 Israelis killed, including children.

The violence began when Israeli security forces raided Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan last week, injuring scores of worshippers and causing Hamas to retaliate with rocket fire. Israeli police also violently clamped down on protesters demonstrating against the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

Videos also showed Israel’s Iron Dome defense system lighting up the night sky as it intercepted a flurry of rockets.

On Saturday, an Israeli airstrike hit a refugee camp in Gaza, killing eight children and two women. Hours later, more airstrikes destroyed a 12-floor residential building in Gaza that housed international news organizations, including the Associated Press and Al Jazeera, in a move widely condemned as a threat to the free press in the region.

The Israeli military claimed that the strike on the building — which came so quickly that reporters had to leave equipment behind — was necessary because it contained "Hamas military intelligence assets." The AP, however, said there was "no indication Hamas was in the building or active in the building."

"This is something we actively check to the best of our ability," said a statement from the news organization. "We would never knowingly put our journalists at risk."

{ "id": "1393616068564987905", "params": { "conversation": "none" } } Ali Younes @Ali_reports

Video shows AP, AJ and other journalists gathering their equipments and gear to evacuate their offices in the 12-story al-Jala’ residential building in the heart of Gaza before bombed and destroyed it to the ground by missiles fired from its warplanes today. #Gaza #غزة_الآن

05:15 PM - 15 May 2021 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @Ali_reports { "id": 127065997 }

President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, expressing "grave concern" about the situation but not mentioning Israeli airstrikes directly, according to a readout of the call.

The latest round of violence has caused people across the globe to rally in solidarity, with some protesters facing police violence as a result.

In Paris, riot police fired tear gas at thousands of peaceful protesters. { "id": 127066064 } Thomas Coex / AFP via Getty Images { "id": "1393584956027322371", "params": { "conversation": "none" } } Lara @thegazangirl

MOMENTS BEFORE WE WERE GASSED IN #PARIS #barbes

03:11 PM - 15 May 2021 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @thegazangirl Organizers of a London protest estimated that the crowd reached 100,000 people Saturday. { "id": 127066046 } Sopa Images / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images { "id": "1393528352800190466", "params": { "conversation": "none" } } James Waterhouse @JamWaterhouse

Palestinian passions very much on display at Marble Arch. They plan to walk to the Israeli embassy which is a mile across Hyde Park.

11:27 AM - 15 May 2021 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @JamWaterhouse About 300 protesters rallied in Tokyo on Saturday. { "id": 127066049 } Anadolu Agency / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Thousands rallied in Madrid. { "id": 127066055 } Nurphoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images "We have been silent for many years. It is time for us to speak for all those Palestinians who are dying and defend them, because if we don't, no one else will," one protester in Madrid told Reuters. { "id": 127066060 } Marcos Del Mazo / LightRocket via Getty Images Protesters also gathered in Mexico... { "id": 127066069 } Claudio Cruz / AFP via Getty Images ...and in Canada... { "id": 127066077 } Anadolu Agency / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images ...and in the US. { "id": 127066079 } Anadolu Agency / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images { "id": "1393664873507196937", "params": { "conversation": "none" } } #FreePalestine, #FreeMumia & #FreeEmAll @jaybeware

Philly right now. #FreePalestine

08:29 PM - 15 May 2021 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @jaybeware { "id": "1393677840583774208", "params": { "conversation": "" } } joeyneverjoe (he/him) @joeyneverjoe

They've taken the roofs.

09:21 PM - 15 May 2021 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @joeyneverjoe People gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in Ireland... { "id": 127066083 } Nurphoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images ...and in front of the White House in Washington, DC. { "id": 127066090 } Anadolu Agency / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Even in Tel Aviv, a woman raised a Palestinian flag in front of the Israeli military. { "id": 127066093 } Ahmad Gharabli / AFP via Getty Images { "data": {"label-char-limit": 31, "links": [{"article-url": "https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/piapeterson/israel-hamas-palestinian-gaza-rockets-airstrikes", "author": "Pia Peterson", "id": "5951272", "published": "1620773230", "title": "Horrifying Photographs Capture The Deadly Israeli\u2013Palestinian Violence"}, {"article-url": "https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/instagram-facebook-censored-al-aqsa-mosque", "author": "Ryan Mac", "id": "5952228", "published": "1620839406", "title": "Instagram Censored Posts About One Of Islam\u2019s Holiest Mosques, Drawing Employee Ire"}], "title": "More on this", "title-char-count": 12}, "formatName": "related_links", "renderKitUrl": "https://www.buzzfeed.com/static-assets/buzz-format-platform/related_links/js/render_kit.ab3b4361d5d5701cdd7b.js", "context": { "bfpId": "1027874", "buzzId": "5955009", "buzzTitle": "Thousands Of People Protested In Support Of Palestinians In Major Cities Around The World", "clientEventTracking": {"context_page_id": "5955009", "context_page_type": "buzz", "destination": "buzzfeed_news", "page_edition": "en-us", "source": "web_bf"}, "editorialStatus": "Editorial", "env": "prod", "firstAnswer": "", "subbuzzId": "127066126", "tags": ["--primarykeyword-israeli-palestinian violence", "breaking team", "israel", "israeli-palestinian violence", "palestine", "protests"], "teaserMode": false } } More on this

• Horrifying Photographs Capture The Deadly Israeli–Palestinian Violence Pia Peterson · May 11, 2021
• Instagram Censored Posts About One Of Islam’s Holiest Mosques, Drawing Employee Ire Ryan Mac · May 12, 2021

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