Some participants arrived at the event site on foot or by boat, after the roads leading to the bridge were closed to traffic, while ships docked around the bridge were decorated with Turkish and Palestinian flags.
During the event, a large banner reading "Justice for Gaza" in both Turkish and English was raised, alongside the Turkish and Palestinian flags. Another banner bearing the slogan "Long Live Palestine" was hung on the side of the bridge. Participants chanted anti-Israel slogans, shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great), and waved Turkish and Palestinian flags, as well as the flag of East Turkestan.
Artists participated in the event by performing anthems and songs that resonated with the audience, while a large number of local and international media outlets covered the event.
The march was attended by a number of ministers, officials, members of parliament, heads of civil organizations and political figures, in addition to a wide presence from the Turkish sports community, including Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, heads of sports federations and clubs and prominent players.
In a speech during the event, Bilal Erdogan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Science Dissemination Foundation, said that the crowds gathered on the Galata Bridge in Istanbul would not allow the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip to be forgotten, in order to prevent its recurrence.
He added: "We will not forget Palestine, and we will not allow it to be forgotten. As the late Ali Izetbegovic said: A forgotten genocide is doomed to be repeated. We will not give up our struggle. We will continue this fight until Gaza, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa Mosque are liberated."
Erdogan explained that the Galata march is a way of saying that what is happening in Gaza and Palestine is not just a human tragedy, but a turning point that shows the instability of the foundations of the global order and reveals the failure of all international institutions that claim to be moral.
He pointed out that Israel is violating international laws and the Geneva Conventions by targeting civilians, destroying infrastructure, and using starvation and blockades, demanding that it be held accountable for war crimes and obligated to pay compensation for the reconstruction of Gaza.
He also pointed to the disparity in the positions of the Western world since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, saying: “There is Russia, which has been subjected to military, economic and political sanctions, and has been prevented from participating in sporting and cultural events, and in contrast, there is a world that embraces Netanyahu, who is considered the Hitler of the 21st century. This is the decline that Western civilization has reached.”
Erdogan stressed the importance of boycotting companies that support Israel, saying that "injustice is not perpetuated by weapons alone, but by the flow of money to those who support the machinery of extermination."
According to the organizers, the event was attended by approximately 520,000 people and concluded with speeches and prayers for the martyrs and the Palestinian people.
