Tens of thousands join anti-Israel march in New Zealand’s Auckland

Thousands take part in a pro-Palestinian march in Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city, in what organizers says is the largest rally of its kind since the start of the Gaza war between Israel and Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas.

Some 50,000 attended the March for Humanity rally in central Auckland, the Aotearoa for Palestine group says. New Zealand police estimate attendance at 20,000.

Aotearoa for Palestine spokesperson Arama Rata says it’s New Zealand’s largest march in support of Palestinians since conflict broke out in Gaza with Hamas-led cross-border attack in which terrorists killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages on October 7, 2023.

Many in the protest crowd carry Palestinian flags and banners with slogans including “Don’t normalize genocide” and “Grow a spine stand with Palestine,” public broadcaster Radio New Zealand reports.

Organizers, motivated by a march that shut down Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge in August, wanted to close a major city bridge with the rally, Rata says, but were forced to abandon those plans due to strong winds.

Police say there were no arrests at the march and that roads along the route are being reopened.

Aotearoa for Palestine says it wants New Zealand’s center-left coalition government to impose sanctions on Israel.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in August described recent Israeli actions in Gaza, including a lack of humanitarian assistance, as “utterly appalling,” and New Zealand has been weighing up whether to recognize a Palestinian state.

The New Zealand Jewish Council, a body representing around 10,000 Jews who live in the country, doesn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the march.