World marks three years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza
From New York and London to Melbourne and Berlin, vigils and marches demand an end to killing and accountability for Israel, as fragile ceasefire fails to halt Palestinian deaths
NEW YORK (MNTV) — Thousands of people across the world took to streets, campuses and public squares on Wednesday to mark three years since the start of a war that a United Nations commission of inquiry and leading rights groups have concluded amounts to genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Groups supporting the Palestinian cause held vigils, marches, student walkouts and solidarity gatherings across Europe, North America, Australia and other regions, according to news agencies.
By media tallies, some 262 Palestinian protests and solidarity events took place in 37 countries around the anniversary, with more than 100 further events expected over the following weekend.
The largest turnouts were reported in the United States, Spain, Australia, Britain and Italy, with demonstrations also held in Germany, Canada, France, the Netherlands and elsewhere.
New York mayor challenges Washington
In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued one of the most forceful statements by a major Western political leader marking the anniversary, saying Palestinian suffering neither began nor ended on October 7.
Mamdani described Israel’s continuing assault on Gaza as a genocide and pointed to more than 74,000 Palestinian deaths, including more than 21,000 children.
He directly challenged Washington’s role, criticizing continued U.S. arms shipments to Israel.
“Three years later, we must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid continue,” he said, adding that American taxpayers were helping finance what he called Israeli war crimes.
New York also saw events marking both sides of the conflict, including Palestinian solidarity actions and Jewish memorial programs.
London students march for Palestine
In Britain, students marched through central London despite demands that no demonstrations be held on the anniversary.
Around 100 demonstrators marched from King’s College London toward University College London, chanting “Free Palestine.”
One group carried a banner reading: “Holocaust survivor descendants against Gaza genocide.”
Police imposed restrictions on the demonstration, and five people were arrested separately outside the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
Student protests advocating for Palestinian rights were also held in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Australians demand arms embargo
Australia saw Palestinian vigils and commemorations in several cities.
In Melbourne, activists gathered outside the State Library of Victoria for a day-long vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza. Palestinian flags covered parts of the grounds, and demonstrators displayed an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labelled a “Genocide Criminal.”
Muslim and Palestinian organizations called on the Australian government to impose sanctions and a two-way arms embargo on Israel.
Palestinian-Australian activist Tasnim Sammak, who said she had lost more than a dozen relatives in Gaza, told the ABC that Palestinians were still enduring death and destruction.
“The survivors are living in tents, trapped and without access to basic aid for their basic needs,” she said.
Türkiye marks anniversary nationwide
Türkiye marked the third anniversary with demonstrations and a nationwide series of solidarity events. In Ankara, the Ankara Palestine Solidarity Platform organized a “Free Palestine March for Gaza” on Wednesday evening, with participants marching from Kocatepe Mosque to Melike Hatun Mosque for a rally.
In Istanbul, five days of “Palestine Solidarity Days” opened at Üsküdar Square, running October 7-11 with exhibitions, discussions, concerts and displays documenting conditions in Gaza.
Organizers said related programs were being held across Türkiye’s 81 provinces.
Protests had begun ahead of the anniversary, with demonstrators marching from Taksim to Dolmabahçe on Sunday under the slogan “Freedom for Palestine, embargo on Israel.”
A separate demonstration was held Wednesday in Kızıltepe, in the southeastern province of Mardin.
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said Türkiye would continue to be “the voice of Palestine” and criticized countries he said had stayed silent over Gaza’s destruction.
Europe sees rallies and heightened security
Across Europe, police deployed extra officers as demonstrations and memorials took place, with multiple gatherings in Berlin, including rallies supporting Palestinian rights.
Organizations across the continent used the anniversary to renew demands for sanctions on Israel, restrictions on arms sales and greater humanitarian access to Gaza.
UN chief: Palestinian suffering must end
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres marked the anniversary by making a direct appeal to end Palestinian suffering, which he said had been inflicted through massive loss of life, displacement and destruction.
“Their suffering, too, demands an end, now,” Guterres said.
“It is time for the ceasefire to become permanent. It is time to allow humanitarian assistance at scale.”
Guterres pointed to the deadlock holding up a lasting truce: Israel has refused to withdraw its forces until Hamas’s disarmament is verified, while Hamas has pushed for gradual disarmament rather than immediate surrender.
He called for a political path to lasting peace across the wider region.
Three years have left Gaza devastated
Behind Wednesday’s demonstrations were the staggering human and physical losses of three years of genocide.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 74,245 Palestinians and wounded 175,267 since October 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable.
More than 21,000 of the dead are children.
At least 10,000 people are missing, presumed dead beneath the rubble.
The war has destroyed about 90% of the territory’s infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated at $70 billion.
Most of Gaza’s roughly two million residents remain displaced or unable to return home, many living in tents or damaged buildings amid shortages of food, medicine, clean water and shelter.
A UN commission of inquiry and major rights organizations have concluded that Israel’s conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide, a determination Israel denies.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his then-defense minister, Yoav Gallant, over the alleged use of starvation as a method of warfare and the deliberate targeting of civilians.
The US-brokered ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025 has not stopped the killing.
Since it began, Israeli forces have killed 1,462 Palestinians and wounded 5,151, and the bodies of 836 people have been recovered, according to the Health Ministry.
The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said that on average one child has been killed every day even under the truce.
Israeli strikes hit Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza and Khan Younis in the south on the anniversary itself, with medical officials reporting more dead and wounded.
For Palestinians inside Gaza, October 7 was less a day of commemoration than another day of survival.
Inside Israel
Netanyahu marked the day by vowing there would be “no Hamas rule in Gaza” and pledging to keep pursuing those behind the attack.
But the anniversary also brought renewed demands that he accept responsibility for the security failures that preceded it.
Protesters gathered outside parliament in Jerusalem demanding an independent inquiry, some carrying signs reading, “The people will remember October 7 on October 27” — a reference to the coming election.
Families of Israelis killed or abducted in 2023 have become among Netanyahu’s most vocal critics.
Anniversary transformed by Gaza
Three years on, Wednesday’s events showed how the meaning of the anniversary has expanded far beyond the remembrance of a single day.
For Palestinians and supporters of human rights and self-determination, it became a day to mourn the tens of thousands killed in Gaza and to demand an end to occupation, displacement and continuing Israeli attacks.
From student marches in Britain to vigils in Australia and demonstrations across the United States and Europe, Gaza was again at the center of streets and public squares.
And while world leaders spoke of peace and remembrance, protesters used the third anniversary to press a single message: that three years of Palestinian death and destruction must not harden into a permanent reality.
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