With the participants' clothing adorned in red, the demonstrators chanted in unison, "We are all children of Gaza," a symbolic act of denouncing the crossing of all red lines in the besieged Strip.
"The idea is to sound the alarm about genocide in Palestine. This alarm has been sounded by several NGOs, but governments are not listening," said protester Stanley Mantor, adding that the action represents "civil mobilization par excellence."
The organizers emphasized that the rally's goal was to send a symbolic message that "all red lines have been crossed in Gaza," denouncing the "deadly inaction of our governments." They also called for no partisan slogans or flags of political organizations to be raised, but Palestinian flags were widely waved during the demonstration.
A new round of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas began in Qatar on Sunday evening, aiming to reach a ceasefire agreement. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an effort to "find a solution" to this "tragedy," as he put it.
For his part, Jean-François Courtet, president of Doctors of the World, said that any ceasefire that "allows humanitarian aid to reach the exhausted and starving population of Gaza is welcome," but he stressed that what is required is "a complete ceasefire and serious engagement from the international community, not mere media spectacles like we are seeing today."
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The genocide left more than 194,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands displaced.
