Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Dublin and other European cities on Saturday to denounce Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, amid mounting global outrage over the two-year conflict.
Demonstrations had been long planned across Spain’s major cities, while in Rome, protests erupted following fury over Israel’s interception of a humanitarian flotilla that had departed from Barcelona in an attempt to break Gaza’s blockade. Protests had also taken place in Spanish cities on Thursday against the interception of the flotilla. ALSO READ: Thousands protest in Spanish cities against the Gaza flotilla interception.
The protests coincided with Hamas announcing it had accepted certain aspects of a US peace proposal presented by President Donald Trump to end the war — a conflict that has pushed Gaza towards famine and fuelled genocide accusations against Israel.
In Italy, police estimated the Rome turnout at 250,000, though organisers claimed around one million attended — the second consecutive day of mass demonstrations. On Friday, more than two million Italians had taken part in a nationwide strike in solidarity with Palestinians.
Several thousand people filled Dublin’s city centre to mark what organisers called ‘two years of genocide’ in Gaza.
Spanish officials reported 92,000 protesters in Madrid and 70,000 in Barcelona, while organisers raised those figures to 400,000 and 300,000 respectively. Demonstrations also took place in Valencia, Seville, Málaga and other Spanish cities.
Though the Spanish marches were largely peaceful, clashes broke out in Barcelona after the official rally ended, as several hundred protesters vandalised shops, sparking panic among bystanders.
Smaller solidarity rallies occurred in Paris, Lisbon, Athens, Skopje and in London and Manchester.
Alongside Ireland, Spain has been one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israel’s Gaza offensive, launched after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israeli communities near the enclave.
The Global Sumud flotilla, intercepted Wednesday, had sailed from Barcelona in early September with the goal of breaching Israel’s blockade of Gaza, where the UN says famine has taken hold. ALSO READ: Israel transfers Greta Thunberg and 90 other flotilla activists to port.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told public television on Saturday that around 50 Spanish nationals aboard the flotilla had been detained by Israel.
Spain has witnessed a surge of pro-Palestinian activism in recent weeks, as its left-leaning government steps up diplomatic pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition.
Demonstrators also disrupted the Vuelta a España cycling race over the participation of an Israeli-owned team. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has labelled the devastation in Gaza a ‘genocide’ and urged a ban on Israeli sports teams in international competitions. ALSO READ: Felipe VI on Israel’s ‘abhorrent acts’ in Gaza: ‘We demand this massacre be stopped now’.
Saturday’s protests began in Barcelona, where crowds flooded Passeig de Gràcia, waving Palestinian flags and holding placards reading ‘Stop the Genocide’.
In Madrid, demonstrators marched behind banners that read ‘Shame’ and ‘Racist War, Free Palestine’, chanting ‘Netanyahu (is a) Killer’.
The Gaza war began with Hamas’s October 2023 assault that left around 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 hostages taken. Israel’s subsequent offensive has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and wounded nearly 170,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose figures are considered the most reliable by UN agencies and independent observers. ALSO READ: Sánchez demands end to ‘barbarism’ in Gaza and calls for Palestine’s full UN membership.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.
#Canal24Horas | En Madrid, la cabecera de la manifestación en apoyo a Palestina está ya en Gran Vía.
Los detalles, con @asieranzo https://t.co/1YKsdA9W20 pic.twitter.com/iTNvypIhuv
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) October 4, 2025
🔸 Manifestación propalestina en Madrid.
La Delegación del Gobierno cifra en 100.000 asistentes.
Más detalles con @Irene_JimenezT
🔹 https://t.co/zy45IHQCfa pic.twitter.com/72ZzxTBiNt
— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) October 4, 2025
Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.
