London: Thousands of protesters marched in cities around the world on Saturday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon as the war in the Palestinian territory neared the one-year mark.
Kicking off a planned wave of demonstrations worldwide, Palestinian supporters gathered in cities in Europe, Africa and the Americas to demand an end to the conflict, which has killed nearly 42,000 people in Gaza.
Dozens of protests and commemorations are set to take place ahead of the anniversary on Monday of Hamas's attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,825 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the territory's health ministry and described as reliable by the United Nations.
With Israel now mounting a ground operation in Lebanon and vowing to respond to a barrage of missiles fired by Iran this week, there are fears the conflict could spiral into a wider war.
Underlining international polarisation over events in the Middle East, demonstrations in support of both Israel and the Palestinians are planned worldwide.
'Worse and worse'
A protest in Rome that drew thousands of people turned violent, as dozens of young demonstrators threw bottles and firecrackers at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannon.
At least one policeman was wounded and two protestors detained, AFP journalists said.
In Berlin, police said they had detained 26 people who shouted insults at a commemoration attended by around 650 people.
Meanwhile, a demonstration drew just over 1,000 protestors in the German capital, police said.
At the "National March for Palestine" in London, chants of "stop bombing civilians" were joined by shouts of "hands off Lebanon".
Zackerea Bakir, 28, said he has attended dozens of marches around the United Kingdom. Large numbers continue to turn up because "everyone wants a change", he told AFP.
"It's continuing to just get worse and worse, and yet nothing seems to be changing," said Bakir, joined at the rally by his mother and brother.
While the rally in London was largely peaceful, at least 15 people were arrested, including three on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and one on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation.
In Dublin, several hundred people took to the streets, waving Palestinian flags and chanting: "Ceasefire now!".
In France, thousands of people marched in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Strasbourg to express solidarity with Palestinians, AFP journalists said.
Around 5,000 people joined a protest in Madrid. A demonstration in the Swiss city of Basel drew several thousand people, the Keystone-ATS news agency reported.
Hundreds of demonstrators also marched on the Israeli embassy in Athens, which was heavily guarded by riot police.
Man sets arm on fire
Thousands marched in US cities from Washington to Los Angeles on Saturday, demanding an immediate ceasefire, with a man attempting to self-immolate in protest.
In Washington, more than a thousand angry protesters demonstrated outside the White House, with many demanding an end to US military and other aid to its strategic ally, Israel.
Almost two hours into the protest, a man approached the demonstration site and attempted to set himself on fire, AFP journalists saw. He succeeded in lighting his left arm ablaze before bystanders and police rushed to his aid, dousing him with water and extinguishing the flames using their keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves.
"I'm a journalist and we neglect it, we spread the misinformation," he shouted, in between screams of pain as the fire on his arm was put out.
Police said the man was being treated for "non-life threatening injuries."
In New York, thousands marched in the city's famed Times Square neighborhood, some carrying pictures of people killed by Israel's military offensive in Gaza, which has left much of the territory in rubble.
Soaring tension
In Cape Town in South Africa, hundreds walked to parliament, chanting: "We are all Palestinian." Pro-Gaza marches were also planned Saturday in Johannesburg and Durban.
In Caracas, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested outside the United Nations's headquarters for Venezuela, carrying a giant Palestinian flag.
They delivered a petition to the UN calling for an end to the "genocide" of the Palestinians.
"Where are the UN peacekeepers? Why haven't they intervened?" university professor Jesus Reyes, 53, told AFP.
Other protests were planned over the weekend and on Monday in cities including New York, Sydney, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Manila, and Karachi.
Commemorations for victims of the October 7 attack are also scheduled internationally, including ceremonies in London, Washington, Paris and Geneva.
Pope Francis has called for a day of "prayer and fasting for peace" on the anniversary of the attack, amid soaring tension in the Middle East.
An official anniversary ceremony will be held in Jerusalem on Monday. Israeli President Isaac Herzog will lead a memorial service at Sderot, one of the cities hardest hit during the onslaught by Palestinian militants.
