Nakba Day: Major cities pay solidarity to Palestinians as Israel kills over 53,000

Tens of thousands of people have rallied across the world in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s brutal war on Gaza and to mark the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Jewish militias, remembered as the Nakba, or catastrophe. This year’s anniversary is the 77th. The protests have been held after hundreds of Palestinians have been […]

Tens of thousands of people have rallied across the world in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s brutal war on Gaza and to mark the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Jewish militias, remembered as the Nakba, or catastrophe.

This year’s anniversary is the 77th.

The protests have been held after hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the past few days as Israel intensified its attacks, with the announcement of a new ground offensive.

The Nakba resulted in the permanent mass displacement of Palestinians after the creation of Israel in 1948. Activists say that history is repeating itself today in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

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Major cities that mark Nakba Day

Stockholm

In Stockholm, thousands assembled at Odenplan Square, responding to calls from various civil society organisations to protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Participants waved Palestinian flags, displayed photographs of children killed, and carried banners stating: “Stop the Zionist regime’s genocide in Palestine”.

Many demonstrators bore placards listing the names of civilians killed in Gaza, seeking to highlight the ongoing massacre.

London

In London, United Kingdom, hundreds of thousands marched towards Downing Street, demanding an end to what they described as Israel’s genocide in Gaza, 77 years on from the Nakba. Protesters, some dressed in keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags, chanted slogans such as “Stop the genocide in Gaza”, “Free Palestine”, and “Israel is a terror state”.

The demonstrators denounced the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, accusing it of deliberately starving more than two million Palestinians, and criticised the UK government for its political and military backing of Israel, alleging complicity in the humanitarian crisis.

Berlin

In Berlin, Germany, people gathered at Potsdamer Platz to protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and held signs reading: “Your silence is complicity” and “You cannot kill us all”. Women in traditional dress carrying Nakba-themed visuals were also present.

The event took place amid heavy security measures, with at least three people reportedly detained.

Athens

A solidarity march was held in Athens, Greece, where protesters, adorned in keffiyehs and carrying Palestinian flags, marched first to the embassies of the United States and Israel.

New York

In the United States, pro-Palestinian protesters flooded the streets of New York City to commemorate the 77th Nakba anniversary and to condemn the US administration’s full support of its continuation through the Gaza genocide.

Melbourne

In Australia, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Melbourne on Sunday to mark Nakba Day. “We mourn and reflect on the violent ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians during 1948 and reinforce their right to return,” organizers of the march said in a statement.

Amsterdam

In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, pro-Palestinian protesters, on Saturday, marched through the city, chanting and waving Palestinian flags, while carrying signs with slogans such as “The 1 percent kill the 99 for profit,” “Stop killing kids,” and “Stop the murderer Netanyahu.”

Later, the crowd assembled at Dam Square to hear speeches by organizers and participants.

Madrid

In the Spanish capital, Madrid, pro-Palestinian protesters once again took to the streets in solidarity with the Palestinian people, rallying to mark the anniversary of Nakba.

Austria’s largest city

Pro-Palestinian protesters in Austria’s second-largest city, Graz, hit the streets on Saturday to protest the ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of Palestinians.

Dublin

Pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets in Dublin, Ireland, to mark  Nakba, calling for an immediate end to the genocide in Gaza.

Rome

In Italy, pro-Palestinian rallies have been held across the country over the past days.

On Saturday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets in Rome, Milan, and Florence to show solidarity with the people of Gaza.

São Paulo

On Saturday, May 17, hundreds gathered in Sao Paulo, Brazil to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza and mark the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, or “Great Catastrophe,” referring to the mass displacement of Palestinians following Israel’s founding in 1948.

What’s Nakba?

Marked on May 15, Ḏikrā an-Nakba in Arabic which literally translates to  ‘Memory of the Catastrophe’ is the day of commemoration for the Nakba, also known as the Palestinian Catastrophe, which comprised the destruction of Palestinian society and homeland in 1948, and the permanent displacement of a majority of the Palestinian people.

It is generally commemorated on 15 May, the day after the Gregorian calendar date of the Israel Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948. For Palestinians, it is an annual day of commemoration of the displacement that preceded and followed Israel’s establishment.

The day was officially inaugurated by Yasser Arafat in 1998, though the date had been unofficially used for protests since as early as 1949.

What happened in Palestine in 1948?

Every year on May 15, Palestinians around the world mark the Nakba, or catastrophe, referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948.

Having secured the support of the British government for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, on May 14, 1948, as soon as the British Mandate expired, Zionist forces declared the establishment of the State of Israel, triggering the first Arab-Israeli war.

Zionist military forces expelled at least 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands and captured 78 percent of historic Palestine. The remaining 22 percent was divided into what are now the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.

The fighting continued until January 1949 when an armistice agreement between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria was forged. The 1949 Armistice Line is also known as the Green Line and is the generally recognised boundary between Israel and the West Bank. The Green Line is also referred to as the (pre-) 1967 borders, before Israel occupied the rest of Palestine during the June 1967 war.

Israel’s military occupation of Palestine remains at the core of this decades-long conflict that continues to shape every part of Palestinians’ lives.

Update on Israeli military campaign

As more than dozen cities across the world staged pro-Palestine protests, Israel’s attacks on Gaza have killed at least 135 people on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military on Sunday announced the beginning of a large-scale ground offensive in Gaza. The operation involves forces from the military’s Southern Command, operating on the ground in both northern and southern Gaza, according to a statement.

The ground forces are supported by Israel’s air force.

The Israeli military has killed 53,272 Palestinians and injured 120,673 since it launched an offensive on October 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, noting that thousands still missing beneath the rubble are presumed dead.