According to IRNA from Anadolu, the organizers of the march announced that it was the largest protest gathering in the country in the past 20 years. The demonstration, which took place in Malleveld Square, was organized by a wide range of international and local grassroots organizations.
According to official figures, more than 70,000 people participated in the demonstration, while Oxfam Nuweiba, one of the organizations organizing the march, reported the number at 100,000.
The speakers at the march emphasized that hundreds of people have died of hunger in Gaza since March. They accused the Dutch government of being silent in the face of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Amnesty International stressed in a statement that despite repeated violations of the laws of war by the Israeli regime, the Dutch government has yet to draw a “red line” and continues to refuse to take action to end impunity.
While marching behind a banner reading “Draw a red line for Gaza”, the crowd chanted slogans such as “The Dutch government is deaf”, “Shame on the government, your hands are stained with blood”, “The Netherlands pays, Israel bombs”, “Free Palestine”, “There is no peace under occupation”, “Stop the genocide” and “Stop the killing of children”.
The Israeli army has been carrying out a brutal offensive on Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 53,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the Hague court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of War Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
