In the Australian city of Sydney, thousands of protesters braved torrential rain to march across the iconic Harbour Bridge on Sunday in an event called "March for Humanity," demanding peace and immediate access for aid into Gaza, which is suffering from a severe humanitarian crisis.
Some participants held up cooking pots, symbolizing hunger in the sector, while WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange also participated in the march. New South Wales state authorities had attempted to ban the march, citing "security risks," before the state's Supreme Court ruled to allow it to proceed.
A similar march took place in Melbourne, under heavy security, as international pressure on Israel escalated. France and Canada announced their intention to recognize the state of Palestine, while Britain warned it would follow suit unless Israel responded to demands for a ceasefire and a serious response to the humanitarian crisis.
In New York City, hundreds of activists demonstrated in Manhattan on Saturday, waving Palestinian flags and holding signs demanding the lifting of the blockade on Gaza and the delivery of essential food supplies.
The demonstrators demanded an end to the Israeli genocide in Gaza and an end to the starvation imposed by Israel on the Palestinian people in the Strip. Police took security measures in the area throughout the demonstration to ensure it proceeded peacefully.
In an unprecedented move within European decision-making institutions, more than 1,000 EU employees, including diplomats and legal experts, signed an urgent letter to EU leaders calling for immediate action against Israel for the "ongoing genocide in Gaza" and its flagrant violation of international law.
The letter emphasized that "the famine in the Gaza Strip is rapidly worsening and cannot be curbed by temporary aid or airdrops," emphasizing that the continued Israeli blockade constitutes a violation of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The signatories noted that the failure of the European-backed humanitarian organization in Gaza has led to the killing of more than 1,000 Palestinians by Israeli forces since last May, and considered the EU's silence "effective complicity that undermines European values."
The letter included five main demands, most notably the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement under the human rights clause; the imposition of a comprehensive embargo on arms and dual-use technology exports to Israel; the cessation of trade, scientific, and technological cooperation linked to the occupation, particularly within the Horizon Europe program; the suspension of diplomatic relations and the withdrawal of the European ambassador from Tel Aviv; and the establishment of accountability mechanisms for institutions and member states that violate their human rights obligations.
The US-backed genocide left more than 209,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many.
