PAKISTAN-PRO-PALESTINE RALLY

Headline

Pakistan Islamists rally to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Intro

Over two thousand people take to streets in support of Palestinian people in Gaza in Pakistani city of Rawalpindi near capital Islamabad.

Story

STORY: More than two thousand people took to streets in support of Palestinian people in Gaza in Pakistani city of Rawalpindi near capital Islamabad on Saturday (August 3).
Called Gaza Rally, the demonstration was organized by country’s major Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).
Holding placards, Palestinian and party flags, men, women and children marched through the streets.
“Labbaik Ya Aqsa” and “Allah is Greatest”, they chanted.
A placard read “Stop terror bombing Gaza”
“Israel will no more stay. It has been defeated. It is only bombarding civilians. It can target Palestinian leadership merely through conspiracies but can never control Palestinians,”JI chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman told the crow.
During the demonstration the protesters commemorated Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’ political bureau, who was assassinated in Iran on Friday.
“Ismail Haniyeh’s martyrdom has infused Palestinians with a new steadfastness. On behalf of Pakistani nation and Muslim ummah, we express solidarity with Palestinians,”Rehman said.
Haniyeh's death was one in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures as the war in Gaza between the Palestinian militants and Israel nears its 11th month.
There are growing concerns that the conflict is going to spread across the Middle East.
A spokesman for JI, Amir Baloch said the rally was carried out on a call for collective global action in support of Palestinian prisoners.
“Today, our rally was titled as Palestinian Prisoners March. This rally was to express solidarity with those who are in Israeli prison. It was carried out on the appeal of great martyr Ismail Haniyeh who was a symbol of courage and valor. He had appealed international to mark August 3 as Palestinian prisoners’ day,”he said.
An Israeli delegation will travel to Cairo in coming days for negotiations to reach a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday.
Palestinian health authorities say the Israeli attacks in Gaza that followed Hamas militants attack into Israel on October 7 has killed more than 39,000 people, mostly civilians, and driven 2.3 million people from their homes.