Pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged protests in London, Berlin, Paris, Ankara, Istanbul and Washington on Saturday to call for a cease-fire in Gaza and castigate Israel after its military intensified its assault against Hamas.
The protests came as the United States and its Arab allies appeared divided over Israel's military offensive in Gaza, as Washington, alongside Israel, resisted pressure for an immediate cease-fire despite the rising death toll among Palestinian civilians.
In a rare display of a public split, Arab foreign ministers at a news conference the same day pushed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to persuade Israel to agree to a cease-fire. The top U.S. diplomat, however, dismissed the idea, saying such a halt would only benefit Hamas, allowing the militant Islamist Palestinian group to regroup and attack again.