Rome, October 5, 2025: Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators flooded streets across Europe on Saturday, demanding an immediate end to Israel’s war in Gaza and the release of activists detained aboard a humanitarian flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces last week.
In Rome, police estimated crowds at around 250,000 — the largest in Europe — marking a fourth consecutive day of protests in the Italian capital. Families, students, and rights activists marched through the streets chanting, “We are all Palestinians,” “Free Palestine,” and “Stop the genocide.” Many waved Palestinian flags and wore black-and-white keffiyehs in solidarity.
The rallies followed Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a 45-boat convoy that departed Barcelona in early September aiming to deliver humanitarian aid and break the Gaza blockade. According to Spanish officials, around 50 Spanish nationals on board remain in Israeli custody.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said in a television interview that Madrid had lodged a formal request with Israel for consular access to its citizens, calling their detention “unacceptable.”
In Barcelona, police said nearly 70,000 people joined the demonstrations, while another 92,000 marched in Madrid, many carrying banners reading “Freedom for Gaza” and “Humanity before politics.”
Marta Carranza, a 65-year-old demonstrator in Barcelona draped in a Palestinian flag, said, “Israel’s policy has been wrong for many years and we have to take to the streets.”
In Dublin, thousands marched through the city centre, marking what organisers described as “two years of genocide in Gaza.” Irish protesters called for sanctions against Israel and demanded Palestinian participation in any future ceasefire talks. Ireland and Spain have been among the most vocal European critics of Israel’s military actions.
Protests also took place in London, where police said they made 442 arrests during a rally supporting the banned group Palestine Action, and in Paris, where roughly 10,000 people gathered near the Place de la République.
Addressing the Paris crowd, Helene Coron, a spokesperson for the French chapter of the Sumud Flotilla, vowed continued resistance. “This flotilla didn’t reach Gaza, but we’ll send another, then another — until Palestine and Gaza are free,” she said.
In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government faced criticism for what protesters called its “silence on Gaza.” Meloni, however, condemned demonstrators after graffiti was sprayed on a statue of Pope John Paul II near Rome’s main railway station, calling it a “shameful act.”
Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez renewed his call for Israel to be barred from international sports, comparing its actions in Gaza to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Spain also announced in September that it would ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law. The United Nations and humanitarian agencies warn that famine conditions are worsening in Gaza, where over two million people remain trapped amid ongoing airstrikes and severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.
