As the death toll from Israeli attacks tops 2,700, hundreds of thousands of people marched in solidarity with Palestine around the world while global leaders like Colombia's Gustavo Petro, Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and Spain's Ione Belarra joined countries like Cuba and China in demanding an end to the killing.
Huge solidarity rally in Pakistan -- image via Twitter
A press release from the Palestinian People's Party (PPP) notes that on Sunday night (October 15) the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that 2,726 Palestinians had been killed and at least 10,800 wounded by Israeli attacks since October 7.
2670 of these deaths were in the Gaza strip -- many of them children -- while 56 had been killed in the West Bank.
According to reports a "large number of victims are still under the rubble as a result of the Israeli shelling of their homes, as attempts to retrieve them continue despite the lack of resources.
On Sunday morning, the residents of the Gaza Strip began digging a number of mass graves to bury the bodies of their families and loved ones scattered in the streets and hospital yards left behind by the ongoing Israeli aggression."
As the Israeli attacks continue and the number of those killed soars, protests in solidarity with the Palestinian people have been taking place around the world despite threats in some countries from government officials and police.
As many as 150,000 people marched in London, UK alone.
Previous days had seen solidarity protests across the Middle East, in France and by Jewish peace groups in the USA.
While the US and most other western countries have staunchly backed the Israeli attacks, some other countries and leaders are speaking up against them.
As we reported on The Left Chapter, Cuba and the People's Republic of China have demanded an end to the Israeli bombings, for meaningful peace talks, an independent Palestinian state and for justice for the Palestinian people.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has made numerous social media posts critical of Israel. According to Al Jazeera Israel has announced that it is “halting security exports” to the South American country following these remarks.
"In one post, Colombia’s first-ever leftist president compared Israel’s retaliatory targeting of Gaza to the Nazi persecution of Jews."
Meanwhile, Common Dreams reports that:
Spain's minister of social rights released a statement Monday calling on her country's coalition government to petition the International Criminal Court to open a war crimes investigation into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, citing the ongoing aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip and the devastating blockade that has prevented the free flow of desperately needed humanitarian aid.
"Using the horrific murders of Israeli civilians by Palestinian armed factions as an excuse to justify Israel's crimes in general and the massacre in Gaza in particular is unacceptable," Ione Belarra, the leader of Spain's left-wing Podemos party, said in a video statement posted to social media.
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro condemned what he called "indiscriminate attacks on the civilian population by Israel, causing thousands of deaths and injuries," which he said crossed "the line of respect for international humanitarian law" as reported by Reuters.
Speaking to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday, Maduro said that "Caracas would send more than 30 tonnes of humanitarian aid in the next few days, marking the start of a plan to provide "direct and constant support for the Palestinian people" via established channels.
The two leaders agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire in the area and for a humanitarian aid corridor to be opened for Gaza, the Venezuelan president added."
Comments