Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated today in several cities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, expressing their support for the Palestinian people, as Israel expands its air and ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

In one of the largest gatherings, in London, a huge crowd marched through the center of the British capital demanding Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call for a ceasefire. “Superpowers aren’t doing enough right now. That is why we are here: we are asking for a ceasefire, for the rights of the Palestinians to be respected, their right to exist, to live, human rights, all our rights. The issue is not Hamas, but to protect the lives of Palestinians,” said one protester, Camille Revuelta.

Sunak’s government, following the US lead, it has only called for a “humanitarian pause” to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza’s civilians.

In Paris, many thousands of people took part in a peaceful rally this afternoon “in support of the Palestinian people”, although it had been banned by the French authorities. “Gaza, Paris is with you,” chanted the protesters.

Arriving at the Chatelet square in the center of the city, the crowd was prevented from proceeding by a heavy police force that had developed in the area. Among the protesters were many elected officials, such as Ecologist MP Aurelien Tasse and Radical Left (LFI) MP Jérôme Legavre. The deputy mayor of Corbeig-Esson, Elsa Touré, called for “an end to the killing of women, children and men” claiming that “the Israeli state has been violating international law for years”.

“It’s not normal that a ceasefire was not called, that thousands of people are dying and nobody is saying anything” and “in this country of human rights (including France) they prevent us from demonstrating,” said another protester, Samia Oroseman.

Large demonstrations also took place in Muslim countriesas in Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressing the crowd, reiterated that Hamas is not a terrorist organization and Israel is an occupying power.

In Malaysia, a large crowd had gathered and chanted slogans outside the American embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

Many Iraqis participated in a demonstration in Baghdad. In the occupied West Bank, protesters in Hebron today called for a global embargo on Israeli goods. “Do not participate in the murder of the children of Palestine” they shouted.

Demonstrations were also organized in Copenhagen, Rome and Stockholm. In Wellington, New Zealand, thousands of people carrying Palestinian flags marched to parliament.