TEHRAN- Millions of demonstrators rallied in cities in Europe, U.S., the Middle East, and Asia on Saturday and Sunday to show support for the Palestinians as Israel's military widened its air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip.

According to Middle East Monitor, over two million protesters gathered at the National Monument in Indonesia on Sunday to express solidarity with Palestinians and call for an end to Israel's bombing of the besieged Gaza Strip. This marks Indonesia’s largest public demonstration since October 7.

On Sunday morning, Indonesians dressed in white and wore traditional Palestinian scarves as they crowded the National Monument square, waving Palestinian flags, carrying posters, and chanting slogans calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and a free Palestine. 

The interfaith rally was organized by the Indonesian Ulema Council with the support of other main religious organizations, including Christians and Buddhists. It was attended by government officials and prominent public figures, including Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. 

“Every 10 minutes, a child is killed in Gaza. Thousands of parents have lost their children, while thousands of children have lost their parents,” Marsudi said as she addressed the crowd.  
“My Indonesia and I will never back down from helping. My Indonesia and I will always be with you until the colonizers leave your home. Palestine, you are my brother. And I, and my Indonesia, will always be with you.” 

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters also marched through downtown Washington DC on Saturday in what organizers hoped was the largest US demonstration of its kind since Israel began its bombardment of Gaza after Hamas attacked the country last month.

The crowd waved Palestinian flags, carried posters, and chanted slogans during the National March on Washington: Free Palestine, which took place alongside similar events across the US and elsewhere in the world.

The demonstrators directed their anger towards US President Joe Biden, accusing him of enabling genocide against Palestinians.

“Biden, Biden, you can’t hide; we charge you with genocide,” the protesters chanted.

In one of the biggest marches, in London, aerial footage showed large crowds marching through the center of the capital to demand the government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak call for a ceasefire.

Saturday’s march in London was mostly peaceful, but police said they had made nine arrests: two for assaults on officers and seven for public order offences – some of which were being treated as hate crimes.
Police estimated the turnout at between 50,000 and 70,000 people.

Echoing Washington’s stance, Sunak’s government has stopped short of calling for a ceasefire, and instead advocated humanitarian pauses to allow aid to reach people in Gaza.

London police have faced criticism in recent days for not being tougher over slogans shouted by some protesters during another pro-Palestinian march in the capital last week, which drew about 100,000 people.

"The superpowers at play are not doing enough at the moment. This is why we're here: we're calling for a ceasefire, calling for Palestinian rights, the right to exist, to live, human rights, all our rights," said protester Camille Revuelta.

"This is not about Hamas. This is about protecting Palestinian lives," she added.

In Malaysia, a large crowd of demonstrators also chanted slogans outside the U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

Addressing hundreds of thousands of supporters at a huge rally in Istanbul, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Israel was an occupier, and repeated his stance about Hamas not being a terrorist organization.

Some cities in France have banned rallies since the war began, fearing they could fuel social tensions, but despite a ban in Paris, a small rally took place on Saturday. Several hundred people also marched in the southern city of Marseille.

Also, in New Zealand's capital, Wellington, thousands of people holding Palestinian flags and placards reading "Free Palestine" marched to Parliament House.

In London, special restrictions were in place restricting protests around the Israeli Embassy.

Participants walk during a demonstration in solidarity with people in Gaza, in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, Germany. 

Likewise, Iraqis took part in a rally in Baghdad and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian protesters in Hebron called on Saturday for a global boycott of Israeli products.

"Don't contribute to the killing of the children of Palestine," they chanted.

Elsewhere in Europe, people took to the streets of Copenhagen, Rome and Stockholm.

Indian Union Muslim League, a regional party in India's Kerala state, also organized a massive rally in Kozhikode (Calicut) city. Tens of thousands of people joined the rally with the message: 'Save Palestine, save Humanity; end Israel's attack on Gaza; free Palestine'.

Also, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched during a rally in Toronto, Canada, in San Francisco, California to protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza and call the US to stop aiding Israel.