Pro-Palestinian protests on second anniversary of Hamas’ assault on Israel

Protesters gathered in a number of international locations on Tuesday (October 7, 2025) to sentence the warfare in Gaza as Israelis marked the second anniversary of the Hamas assault that sparked the combating that has claimed tens of 1000’s of lives and spilt violence throughout the Middle East.

More than 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched to the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta to denounce Israel’s blockade of Gaza and the detention of activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla that attempted to interrupt via final week.

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Chanting “Free free Palestine” and waving flags, demonstrators referred to as for the activists’ launch and condemned two years of Israeli navy motion in Gaza.

Authorities in Indonesia — the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation and one which has no formal ties with Israel — deployed over 1,000 police to safe the embassy.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 individuals and kidnapped 251 individuals within the Oct. 7, 2023, assault throughout a serious Jewish vacation. Most hostages have been launched in ceasefires or different offers.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed greater than 67,000 individuals, destroyed huge areas of the strip, displaced round 90 per cent of the inhabitants of some 2 million and brought on a humanitarian disaster, with consultants saying Gaza City is experiencing famine.

The battle has despatched ripples throughout the area, bringing Israel into fight with Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, Yemen’s Houthis rebels and militant teams in Iraq and Syria, together with their patron, Iran, which suffered main losses in a 12-day warfare with Israel in June.

In Japan, a whole bunch of protesters, together with Palestinians, marched via downtown Tokyo demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and the hostages’ launch. Similar protests have been held in Osaka and different main cities.

Lena Grace Suda, a 30-year-old Tokyo resident who joined the rally, referred to as for sanctions towards Israel.

“Recognising the state of Palestine just isn’t sufficient in the event you’re nonetheless complicit within the genocide,” she mentioned. A rising variety of consultants, together with these commissioned by a UN physique, have mentioned Israel’s offensive in Gaza quantities to genocide — an accusation Israel vehemently denies.

A professional-Palestinian candlelight vigil was held in Taiwan.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticised pro-Palestinian protests deliberate at universities throughout the nation on the anniversary, calling them “un-British.” Writing in The Times newspaper, Mr. Starmer warned that such demonstrations threat fueling hate speech and antisemitism.

“This just isn’t who we’re as a rustic. It’s un-British to have so little respect for others,” he mentioned. “And that is earlier than a few of them resolve to begin chanting hatred towards Jewish individuals over again.” Starmer’s intervention comes at a tense second for Britain, days after a naturalised citizen of Syrian origin attacked the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester. Two males have been killed and three others have been critically injured.

After the assault, British authorities have stepped up safety round synagogues and criticised the rise of antisemitism. The authorities is contemplating giving police new powers to limit repeated protests deemed to have a destructive cumulative influence on the group.

Later on Tuesday, in Istanbul, the place public help for Palestinians runs deep, the enduring Galata Tower will probably be illuminated with the colors of the Palestinian flag to attract consideration to the humanitarian scenario in Gaza, Turkiye’s Tourism and Culture Ministry mentioned.

A protest was scheduled to happen close to the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul.

Turkish authorities, in the meantime, cancelled a live performance in Istanbul by British artist Robbie Williams that was scheduled for Tuesday night, over safety issues.