Hundreds marched in support of Palestine in Amsterdam on Sunday, protesting ahead of a looming Israeli ground offensive as the conflict between the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and Israel has been escalating following a surprise attack by the militant group last week.
The demonstration comes as Israel has ordered an evacuation of Gaza in preparation of a ground offensive which is expected to affect the population of 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip severely.
Human rights organizations and a representative of the UN’s aid agency warned of dire consequences for the people living in the area. Nearly 400,000 people have left their homes at the time of writing, heeding the Israeli evacuation order, according to media reports.
Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, October 7, firing thousands of rockets as its militants on the ground broke through into Israeli territory, in what the group described as ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’.
Israel responded with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and issued a formal declaration of war on Hamas, warning residents to leave their homes.
At the time of publication, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 2,670 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip while Israeli authorities reported that at least 1,300 of its citizens were dead following the latest fighting.
