Hundreds of thousands turn out at pro-Palestinian marches in Europe

Huge numbers turned out at pro-Palestinian rallies in Europe on Saturday, calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the release of activists on board a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the territory.

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The police in Rome said some 250,000 turned out for a fourth day of protests, after Israel intercepted the 45-strong flotilla seeking to reach Gaza earlier this week.

Some 70,000 people took to the streets in Barcelona, according to the police, while the government in Madrid said nearly 92,000 marched in the Spanish capital.

Elsewhere, several thousand people marched through the centre of the Irish capital, Dublin, to mark what organisers said was "two years of genocide" in Gaza.

With Ireland, Spain is one of the fiercest European critics of Israel's military offensive in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas militants' October 7, 2023, attack on Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip.

But in Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's hard-right government has been criticised for its inaction on the siege of the Palestinian territory.

On Saturday, Meloni accused demonstrators of defacing a statue of Pope John Paul II with graffiti in front of Rome's main train station, calling it a "shameful act".

"They claim to take to the streets for peace, but they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace," she said in a statement.