Thousands of supporters of Pakistan’s main politico-religious party have rallied in the capital, Islamabad, against Israel’s incessant bombing of the Palestinians living in the besieged Gaza.
Local media reports said the Jamaat-e-Islami had staged a march on Sunday from Islamabad’s famous Abpara intersection to the US embassy in the high-security diplomatic area.
The supporters, including women and children, marched for a couple of kilometers to reach the agreed venue. They held banners and posters with slogans opposing Israel and the United States and supporting the Palestinians.
The angry demonstrators chanted anti-American slogans and accused the US of “backing the aggressor.”
Siraj ul Haq, who serves as Jamaat-e-Islami’s chief, urged the leaders of Muslim countries around the world to rise up for Gaza, and to “rely on Allah instead of remaining the slave of America”.
“Just sending medicines and relief goods is neither sufficient, nor is it the sole duty of the world, particularly of Muslim rulers, but to stay the hand of the aggressor is the real task of the world,” said Haq.
Jamaat-e-Islami would continue to raise its collective voice for the Palestinians until they freed their land, he said.
Meanwhile, the US embassy issued an advisory for American citizens living in Islamabad and surrounding areas to limit unnecessary travel on Sunday.
It advised US citizens to avoid large public gatherings, to exercise caution if they unexpectedly found themselves in the vicinity of a large gathering or demonstration and to review personal security plans.
Another religious party, Jamiat Ulema Islam, held a massive rally on Sunday in the southwestern city of Quetta, where its leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman expressed solidarity and support for the Gazans.
Activists hold anti-Israeli rallies globally
Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian rallies have been held across the globe on Sunday to demand an end to the Israeli atrocities in Gaza.
In the Australian city of Sydney, and in New York in the US, demonstrators chanted anti-Israeli slogans and condemned the regime’s brutalities against people in Gaza.
Also, tens of thousands marched through the streets of the British capital London on Saturday to call for a stop to the Israeli carnage.
In the Turkish city Istanbul, hundreds of thousands held protest rallies on Saturday to condemn the regime’s onslaught.
They also urged President Recep Tayyeb Erdogan to cut off diplomatic relations with the Israeli regime.
Several other cities across the world, including in the occupied West Bank, have been the scene of similar protests these days.
The rallies come as Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip entered in its 23rd day on Sunday. Israel is pounding the besieged territory from ground, sea and air as fighting is underway between resistance groups based in Gaza and the regime forces.
In its most recent bombings, Israel has hit areas around Gaza’s al-Quds Hospital which shelters around 14,000 people.
The Palestinian Red Crescent says it has received serious threats to immediately evacuate the hospital.
Israel said earlier this week that its ground troops are fighting inside Gaza.
Gazans using seawater for survival
Palestinians in Gaza are reportedly using seawater for survival as Israel has severely restricted the supply of water to the enclave.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has urged the international community to pressure Israel into halting attacks on the health infrastructures in the enclave.
The ministry said hospital operations were severely hampered by the presence of thousands of displaced people sheltering in the facility.
Despite facing a dire humanitarian situation, the Palestinians living in Gaza have refused to leave their homes.
Israel’s relentless bombing of Gaza began on October 7, when the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched its biggest operation against the occupiers in years.
The surprise Operation al-Aqsa Storm came in response to the regime’s intensified crimes against the Palestinian people.
More than 8,000 Palestinians have so far been killed in Israel’s brutal military campaign against Gaza with women, children and the elderly accounting for some 70% of those fatalities, according to figures released by health officials in the enclave.
