ISTANBUL: On Thursday, thousands of people participated in a New Year’s Day demonstration in support of Gaza in Istanbul, waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and demanding an end to the carnage in the small, war-torn region.
Under the motto, We won’t remain silent, we won’t forget Palestine,” protesters gathered in bitter cold under clear blue sky to march to the city’s Galata Bridge for a rally, according to an AFP correspondent on the scene. The event was attended by around 400 civil society organizations, including Bilal Erdogan, the youngest son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
About 500,000 people attended the march, which featured speeches and a performance of the song “Free Palestine” by musician Maher Zain, who was born in Lebanon, according to police sources and the Anadolou state news agency.
Erdogan, who chairs the board of the Ilim Yayma Foundation, an educational foundation that organized the march, stated, “We are praying that 2026 will bring goodness for our entire nation and for the oppressed Palestinians.
One of the most outspoken opponents of the war in Gaza, Turkiye recently assisted in mediating a ceasefire that put an end to Israel’s bloody conflict following Hamas’s historic October 7, 2023, offensive.
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