BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of people are marching in Barcelona as Spain, Italy and Portugal gear up for mass demonstrations to protestIsrael's war in Gaza. Protests in Spain's second-largest city as well as in Madrid were called for weeks ago, while calls for demonstrations in Rome and Lisbon followed widespread anger after the Israeliinterception of a humanitarian aid flotillathat had set sail from Barcelona, trying to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory. Over 40 Spaniards, including a former Barcelona mayor, are among the 450 activists that Israel removed from the flotilla's boats this week. Italy already sawmore than 2 million peoplerally on Friday across the country in a one-day general strike to support the residents of Gaza. Spain has seen an upsurgeof support for Palestiniansin recent weeks while its left-winggovernment intensifies diplomatic effortsagainst the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Protests against the presence of an Israeli-owned cycling teamrepeatedly disrupted the Spanish Vueltalast month, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchezcalled the destruction in Gaza a "genocide"and asked for the ban of all Israeli teams from international sporting events. The calls for protests in Southern Europe come as Hamas said it has acceptedsome elements of the planlaid out by U.S. PresidentDonald Trumpto end the two-year war, which has leftGaza's largest city in famineand stirredaccusations of genocideagainst Israel. Barcelona's town hall said police estimated that 70,000 turned out for Saturday's demonstration. People packed Barcelona's wide Passeig de Gracia, the city's main central boulevard. Many families turned out, along with people of all ages. Protesters carried Palestinian flags or wore t-shirts supporting Palestine. Hand-held signs bore messages like "Gaza hurts me," "Stop the Genocide," and "Hands off the flotilla." While the protests will likely not sway Israel's government, protesters hope they could inspire other demonstrations and encourage European leaders to take a harder line against Israel. María Jesús Parra, 63, carried a Palestinian flag high after making an hourlong trip from her home in another town to Barcelona. She wants the European Union to act against what she described as the horrors she watches on televised news on a daily basis. "How is it possible that we are witnessing a genocide happening live after what we (as Europe) experienced in the 1940s?" Parra said. "Now nobody can say they didn't know what was happening." A protest in Rome is also underway, organized by three Palestinian organizations along with local unions and students. The protesters will march from Porta San Paolo and end at San Giovanni. Police expect tens of thousands to attend, state broadcaster Rai reported. The protests in Madrid and Lisbon are to follow later on Saturday. There are also protests called across many other Spanish cities. A protest is also being staged in Athens Saturday afternoon, although police believe a bigger one will take place Sunday, to coincide with a pro-Israeli one. The war in Gaza started after Hamas's attack in October 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead, while 251 others were taken hostage. Israel's retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has so far killed over 67,000 people and wounded nearly 170,000 others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government. U.N. agencies and many independent experts view its figures as the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. ___ Demetris Nellas contributed to this story from Athens, Greece.
