Protest against Israeli operations in Gaza passes off without incident in Athens

(11 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRES
Athens, Greece - 11 May 2024
1. Various of Pro-Palestinian protest, people shouting slogans UPSOUND (English): "Free free Rafah! Free free Palestine! Free free Gaza!"
2. Various of Palestinian flags outside Greek Parliament
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Margarita Koutsanellou, General secretary of Labor Union of the Public Sector:
"We are here today, because we want to stop Israel from invading Rafah. It is unacceptable. All the people of the world are claiming and fighting, and they give their soul to stop this crime because they feel it is a crime and they are not going to allow this to happen."
4. Mid of Greek Parliament
5. Wide of protest
6. Policeman standing in front of tourist bus with picture of Statue of Liberty
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Margarita Koutsanellou, General secretary of Labor Union of the Public Sector:
"We call USA and Israel apartheid to stop this genocide, because it is a reason for all people all over the world to rise up for this reason. If they don't stop this crime against Palestinians. We stand with Palestine and we will win together with the Palestinian resistance."
8. Various of people marching and shouting slogans
STORYLINE:
A protest against Israeli operations in Gaza passed without any incident in the Greek capital on Saturday.
Several hundred people gathered in Athens' central Syntagma Square carrying Palestinian flags, pro-Palestinian banners and shouting slogans, such as “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine” before marching a few blocks along one of Athens' main avenues.
Margarita Koutsanellou, General secretary of Labor Union of the Public Sector said, they were protesting "because we want to stop Israel from invading Rafah. It is unacceptable. All the people of the world are claiming and fighting, and they give their soul to stop this crime because they feel it is a crime and they are not going to allow this to happen."
Similar protests have been staged quite frequently in Greece since Israel invaded Gaza in response to a deadly mass incursion by Hamas militants into Israel last October 7, and more are planned. There has been sporadic violence during a few of them.
Koutsanellou called on the United States and Israel to stop "this genocide".
The war was triggered by Hamas' attack on southern Israel on October 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage.
Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.
Much of Gaza has been destroyed and some 80% of Gaza’s population has been driven from their homes.
Israel has now ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, forcing tens of thousands more people to move as it prepares to expand its operation.
It has evacuated the eastern third of Rafah, pushing the operation to the edges of the heavily populated central area, although the move into the city has so far been short of the full-scale invasion that Israel planned.
The United Nations and other agencies have warned for weeks that an Israeli assault on Rafah would cripple humanitarian operations and cause a disastrous surge in civilian casualties.
Israel also said Saturday that it is moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped.
AP video shot by Srdjan Nedeljkovic
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