Protesters bang empty pots, hold signs showing starving children as Gaza famine deepens
JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL — Palestinians in Arab towns across Israel staged protests Friday to denounce the starvation crisis and continued military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which they described as an act of genocide.
Demonstrators rallied in Jaffa, Tira, Rahat, and the northern village of Kabul, banging empty pots and chanting against the war and the blockade on food.
They carried signs reading: “Let the aid in,” “Stop the war on Gaza,” “Together against starvation,” and “Enough killing.” Some held images of emaciated children in Gaza, showing visible signs of hunger.
The protests were organized ahead of a major demonstration planned later in the day in the city of Sakhnin, at the call of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel — the highest representative body of Palestinians in the country.
Israeli police were deployed in the vicinity of the rallies, but no clashes were reported. Witnesses said police stopped buses heading to Sakhnin under the pretext of searching for Palestinian flags.
The mobilisation also precedes a three-day hunger strike set to begin Sunday in Jaffa, involving political, academic, and public figures from the Palestinian community in Israel.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 122 Palestinians — including 83 children — have died from hunger and malnutrition.
Israel has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed the health system and led to severe food shortages.
Last November, the International Criminal Court 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 for its war on the enclave. — AA
