THE HAGUE: Tens of thousands of people dressed in red marched through the streets of The Hague on Sunday to demand more action from the Dutch government against what they termed a 鈥済enocide鈥� in Gaza.

Rights groups such as Amnesty International and Oxfam organized the demonstration to the International Court of Justice through the city, creating a so-called 鈥渞ed line.鈥�
With many waving Palestinian flags and some chanting 鈥淪top the Genocide,鈥� the demonstrators turned a central park in the city into a sea of red on a sunny afternoon.
One of the organizing groups, Oxfam Novib, estimated that 150,000 people participated in the march. Dutch police generally do not give estimates of demonstration turnouts.
Protesters brandished banners reading 鈥淒on鈥檛 look away, do something,鈥� 鈥淪top Dutch complicity,鈥� and 鈥淏e silent when kids sleep, not when they die.鈥�
Organizers urged the Dutch government 鈥� which collapsed on June 3 after a far-right party pulled out of a fragile coalition 鈥� to do more to rein in Israel for its military offensive on the Palestinian territory.
鈥淢ore than 150,000 people here dressed in red 鈥� and a clear majority of the Dutch population 鈥� just want concrete sanctions to stop the genocide in Gaza,鈥� said Michiel Servaes, director of Oxfam Novib.
鈥淲e demand action now from our government,鈥� added Servaes.
Dodo Van Der Sluis, a 67-year-old pensioner, said: 鈥淚t has to stop. Enough is enough. I can鈥檛 take it anymore.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 here because I think it鈥檚 maybe the only thing you can do now as a Dutch citizen, but it鈥檚 something you have to do,鈥� she added.
A previous protest in The Hague on May 18 drew more than 100,000 people, according to organizers, who described it as the country鈥檚 largest demonstration in 20 years.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof wrote on X, formerly Twitter: 鈥淭o all those people in The Hague I say: we see you and we hear you.鈥�
鈥淚n the end, our goal is the same: to end the suffering in Gaza as soon as possible.鈥�
The Gaza war was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The Health Ministry in Gaza says Israel鈥檚 retaliatory offensive has killed at least 55,207 people, the majority of them civilians.
The International Court of Justice is currently weighing a case brought by South Africa against Israel, arguing its actions in Gaza breach the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
Thousands of demonstrators protested across France on Saturday in support of Palestinians and calling for peace in Gaza.
Protesters criticized France鈥檚 stance on the conflict, branding it conciliatory or even 鈥渃omplicit鈥� with the Israeli government.
French trade unions, left-wing parties and pro-Palestinian activist groups called for a global weekend of protests against Israel鈥檚 offensive in the territory.
In Paris, where the largest march took place, police counted 9,000 demonstrators, while the CGT trade union and hard-left party France Unbowed said 150,000 attended the gathering.
Thousands of people also rallied in the cities of Marseille, Toulouse and Rennes.
European Parliament member Rima Hassan called on supporters to 鈥渄eviate, disobey and take all necessary actions to enforce international law, to put an end to genocide.鈥�
She recently spent three days in a detention centre in Israel after attempting to breach its blockade of Gaza on a boat with other activists.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want what is happening in Gaza to be silenced. Every day we hear that 30, 60 people have died. It has become routine, we don鈥檛 see it anymore and I鈥檓 afraid that with what鈥檚 happening with Iran, it will become even more invisible,鈥� said one protester.