Thousands protest against Israel in Morocco over Gaza atrocities

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Morocco's capital on Sunday against Israel following the resumption of its attacks on Gaza after a two-month ceasefire.

The largest pro-Palestinian protest in the capital Rabat for several months was called by the Justice and Development party coalition.

Protesters were accompanied by chanting and the beating of drums as they marched down the city's Mohammed V Avenue near parliament.

They waved flags including one bearing the image of slain Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar.

Mounting death toll

Children carried white shrouds stained in red to symbolise the thousands of young victims killed by Israel in the Palestinian territory during a year and a half of war. The demonstrators condemned Israeli actions as ‘‘genocide’’.

Israel's military resumed its offensive in Gaza on March 18, and since then, more than 1,330 people have been killed in the territory, according to the territory's health ministry.

The overall death toll since the war erupted now stands at 50,695, according to the ministry.

On Sunday, demonstrators chanted slogans including "The people want the liberation of Palestine!", called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a criminal, and demanded an end to the siege of Gaza and for aid to be allowed in.

There were also calls for Morocco's relations with Israel, re-established in 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords, to be scrapped.

Rabat has officially called for an immediate and lasting cessation of the war in Gaza, without mention to the country's ties with Israel.