The Turkish Ozgur Der Association called for the demonstration, and participants gathered in Siraj Khane Park shortly before the evening prayer. The gathering opened with a recitation of verses from the Quran, followed by songs in solidarity with Gaza and the aid flotillas heading to the coastal enclave.
In a speech delivered during the event, the association's president, Ridwan Kaya, said, "Support for the Palestinian resistance is embodied in support for the Hamas movement." He noted that the association has been organizing protests for two years in solidarity with Gaza, "which has not surrendered despite the fall of thousands of martyrs," as he put it.
Kaya added that "Zionism's hundred-year history is replete with massacres and brutality," noting that "what Muslims have been saying for years is now universally recognized," as he put it.
He also considered that the Global Steadfastness Flotilla contributed to "isolating Israel on the international stage," noting that thousands of solidarity activists from various countries and religions participated in this movement.
Editor's Picks
Qatar: Leaders begin arriving for an emergency Arab-Islamic summit to discuss the Israeli attack on Doha.
Martyrs and wounded in ongoing bombardment of Gaza... The occupation destroys a new residential tower and schools housing displaced people.
US Secretary of State arrives in Israel, affirming Washington's support despite Trump's criticism of the Doha strike.
Israeli police suppress demonstrations, Netanyahu links end of war to killing Hamas leaders amid expanding Gaza operation
At the end of last August, a convoy of ships within the fleet departed from the Spanish port of Barcelona, followed by another convoy at dawn on September 1 from the port of Genoa in northwestern Italy.
Last Sunday, ships from Spain and Italy as part of the "Resilience Flotilla" began arriving off the Tunisian coast, in preparation for their planned departure to Gaza to break the Israeli blockade and open a humanitarian corridor to deliver aid to starving Palestinians.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving 64,803 Palestinians dead, 164,264 injured, most of them children and women, hundreds of thousands displaced, and a famine that has claimed the lives of 420 Palestinians, including 145 children.
