Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
Istanbul’s Beyazıt Square was home to a major rally on Saturday evening against Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and to protest the starvation Palestinians are exposed to.
Thousands of protesters, brought together by the Support to Palestine platform, which comprised the country’s prominent nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), marched toward Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque from the square, holding small lanterns and flashlights from their cellphones for the “Be A Light of Hope for Gaza” rally.
Participants sought to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis and express solidarity with the people of Gaza amid escalating violence and severe shortages of food and medical supplies. Organizers called on the international community to take urgent action to end the suffering.
The crowd chanted slogans, “Killer Israel, Get out of Palestine” and “Children of Gaza, Wait For Us.” Among the participants was Ali Erbaş, head of the government’s Presidency of Religious Affairs (DIB), who recited prayers at the end of the rally. Others included Bilal Erdoğan, son of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who also serves as chair of the board of trustees at a prominent NGO, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, general secretary of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Eyyüp Kadir Inan, Türkiye’s most popular drone maker Baykar’s chairperson, Selçuk Bayraktar, and heads of several labor unions.
After speeches, a young Palestinian girl recited a poem dedicated to Palestinians by the late Turkish poet Mehmet Akif Inan.
Israel has faced mounting outrage for its genocide in Gaza, where it has killed more than 61,000 people since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and led to deaths by hunger and starvation.
Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its war on the enclave.
Among the demonstrators was Canadian-born educator Jenny Molendyk Divleli, who said the situation has reached an ever more serious stage.
“Everybody’s aware that there’s genocide going on, but the situation now with the forced starvation of the Palestinian people is extra dire every day. You know, tens of people, even maybe hundreds, are dying, so we really need to make sure that we’re making noise and doing what we can,” she told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Raised in a conservative Christian family, Jenny converted to Islam in 2006 after extensive personal research.
Now living in Istanbul since 2012, she creates social media content – often with her five children – that explains topics like Islam and the life of the Prophet Muhammad in both English and Turkish, aimed especially at young audiences.
Divleli also noted what she sees as a global shift in attitudes toward Palestine.
“I do think that the general public opinion has changed globally. I think that more and more organizations are starting to speak up. We’re seeing news agencies change and people who have been in the media, who have been anti-Palestine, are now changing their opinions. I don’t think that it can be denied anymore, which makes me hopeful,” she said.
Mohammed Ben Elsheikh, a Tunisian protester who has lived in Istanbul for four years, told AA that the protests aim to amplify the voices of Gazans.
“First of all, I would like to send my greetings to our brothers in Gaza and Hamas. May God help them. We will soon be free,” he said.
He condemned the international community’s inaction.
“It is a shame that children are dying. All of Gaza is dying. A lot of things are happening – murder, starvation, imprisonment. The world is not moving. The presidents are not moving. We, as Muslim people, are moving. But this is not enough.”
