Tens of thousands march in Barcelona to protest against Israel's war in
Gaza
[October 04, 2025]
By JOSEPH WILSON
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of people are marching in
Barcelona as Spain, Italy and Portugal gear up for mass demonstrations
to protest Israel’s war in Gaza.
Protests in Spain's second-largest city as well as in Madrid were called
for weeks ago, while calls for demonstrations in Rome and Lisbon
followed widespread anger after the Israeli interception of a
humanitarian aid flotilla that had set sail from Barcelona, trying to
break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.
Over 40 Spaniards, including a former Barcelona mayor, are among the 450
activists that Israel removed from the flotilla’s boats this week.
Italy already saw more than 2 million people rally on Friday across the
country in a one-day general strike to support the residents of Gaza.
Spain has seen an upsurge of support for Palestinians in recent weeks
while its left-wing government intensifies diplomatic efforts against
the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Protests against the
presence of an Israeli-owned cycling team repeatedly disrupted the
Spanish Vuelta last month, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez
called the destruction in Gaza a “genocide” and asked for the ban of all
Israeli teams from international sporting events.
The calls for protests in Southern Europe come as Hamas said it has
accepted some elements of the plan laid out by U.S. President Donald
Trump to end the two-year war, which has left Gaza's largest city in
famine and stirred accusations of genocide against Israel.
Barcelona’s town hall said police estimated that 70,000 turned out for
Saturday's demonstration.
People packed Barcelona’s wide Passeig de Gracia, the city’s main
central boulevard. Many families turned out, along with people of all
ages. Protesters carried Palestinian flags or wore t-shirts supporting
Palestine. Hand-held signs bore messages like “Gaza hurts me,” “Stop the
Genocide,” and “Hands off the flotilla.”
[to top of second column]
|
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally during a protest in Barcelona,
Spain, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025 in solidarity with the Global Sumud
Flotilla after ships were intercepted by the Israeli navy. (AP
Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
While the protests will likely not sway Israel’s government, protesters
hope they could inspire other demonstrations and encourage European
leaders to take a harder line against Israel.
María Jesús Parra, 63, carried a Palestinian flag high after making an
hourlong trip from her home in another town to Barcelona. She wants the
European Union to act against what she described as the horrors she
watches on televised news on a daily basis.
“How is it possible that we are witnessing a genocide happening live
after what we (as Europe) experienced in the 1940s?” Parra said. “Now
nobody can say they didn’t know what was happening.”
The protests in Rome, Madrid and Lisbon are to follow later on Saturday.
There are also protests called across many other Spanish cities.
The war in Gaza started after Hamas’ attack on Southern Israel on Oct.
7, 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead, while 251 others were
taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has so
far killed over 67,000 people and wounded nearly 170,000 others,
according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government. U.N. agencies and many
independent experts view its figures as the most reliable estimate of
wartime casualties.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
