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SvennoJ on 07 June 2025
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Protesters rally in Rome to demand end to Gaza war


Tens of thousands of people have rallied across the world in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s brutal war on Gaza

Organisers say about 300,000 people turned out for today’s protest in the Italian capital, which saw calls for an immediate end to Israel’s war on Gaza and to alleged complicity by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government.

The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, called the turnout “an enormous popular response” in opposition to the war.

The demonstration is “to say enough to the massacre of Palestinians, to say enough to the crimes of Netanyahu’s far-right government” and to show the world “another Italy”, Schlein told reporters.

“An Italy that does not keep silent as the Meloni government does, an Italy that instead wants peace, wants an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, humanitarian aid, and wants recognition of the state of Palestine,” she said.

Meloni has been pushed by the opposition to condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza, but her criticism has been tempered.

Last month, the Italian leader called the humanitarian situation “increasingly dramatic and unjustifiable” and said she had “often difficult conversations” with Netanyahu, while at the same time noting “it was not Israel that started the hostilities”.


Bernie Sanders renews call to end US military aid to Israel

US Senator Bernie Sanders has condemned unwavering US support for “Netanyahu’s war of starvation against the Palestinian people” as a “horror unto itself”.

“It also sends a signal to every tyrant in the world that international law can be violated with impunity & that barbarism is acceptable,” Sanders wrote on X.

The progressive lawmaker has been pushing to suspend US transfers of offensive weapons to Israel amid the Gaza war. But the Senate voted down his latest efforts to block the sales in April.

The US gives Israel at least $3.8bn in military assistance annually, and it has sent billions more since the Gaza war began. Washington also provides staunch diplomatic support to Israel, including most recently vetoing a UN Security Council resolution this week that called for an immediate ceasefire.


Israeli police forcibly disperse antiwar protesters in Tel Aviv

Police have prevented activists from the NGO, Looking the Occupation in the Eye, from reaching a protest area in Tel Aviv, according to reports in the Israeli media. The activists were reportedly carrying placards protesting against Israeli war crimes and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.