Thousands of people marched in cities across Europe on Saturday as Spain, Italy and Portugal saw mass demonstrations to protest against Israel’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 Israeli interception of a humanitarian aid flotilla that 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 saw more than two million people rally on Friday across the country in a one-day general strike to support the residents of Gaza.

The calls for protests in Europe come as Hamas said it has accepted some elements of the plan laid out by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the two-year war, which has left Gaza’s largest city in famine and stirred claims of genocide against Israel.

Many families turned out, along with people of all ages.

Protesters carried Palestinian flags or wore t-shirts supporting Palestinians.

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.