Nineteen cities worldwide to rally for breaking Gaza siege

Osman Nuri Kabaktepe, head of the Palestine Support Platform, said during a press conference held by Turkish civil society organizations in Istanbul on Monday that the demonstrations will take place simultaneously in 19 cities, aiming to raise their voices to demand guaranteed access to food, medicine, shelter, and healthcare for Gaza’s population.

He said the Istanbul demonstration will be held at Üsküdar Square on the Asian side of the city at 6:30 p.m. local time, corresponding to 3:30 p.m. GMT.

The press conference was also attended by Kemal Özdal, head of the Sadakataşı Association; Ahmet Göksun, secretary-general of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH); and Mehmet Cengiz, head of the Deniz Feneri Association.

Kabaktepe said the world is witnessing an unprecedented deprivation of civilians’ basic necessities, stressing that access to food, medicine, shelter, and healthcare is a fundamental human right, not a favor.

He noted that tens of thousands of civilians have lost their lives in Gaza, while children, patients, women, and the most vulnerable groups face growing difficulties in accessing food, medicine, and other basic necessities.

Kabaktepe accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement signed on October 10, 2025, which stipulates the entry of 600 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip each day.

He said reports by international organizations indicate that only 100 to 200 trucks are entering daily out of the agreed number, further worsening shortages of food, water, medicine, and shelter supplies across the Strip.

Kabaktepe called on Istanbul residents, organizations, and institutions to participate in Wednesday’s mobilization, saying activities will take place across 19 countries alongside a social media campaign aimed at increasing public pressure to remove obstacles preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza.

He stressed that mobilization efforts will continue in the coming days and weeks to press for humanitarian aid routes to be opened and enable civilians in Gaza to obtain their basic necessities.

On August 9, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor warned that Zionist regime was deliberately crippling Gaza’s transportation and freight system by destroying trucks and warehouses, targeting drivers, and preventing the entry of replacement trucks and spare parts.

The organization cited Nahed Sheheiber, head of Gaza’s Private Transport Association, as saying that only around 25% of Gaza’s 1,200-truck fleet survived Israeli bombardment. The attacks have also killed more than 20 drivers, including four since the October 2025 ceasefire began, and led to the detention of 15 others, some of whom have remained in custody for nearly two years.

The demonstrations come amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. Gaza’s Government Media Office said the Zionist regime’s occupation army has destroyed around 90% of civilian infrastructure during the Israeli genocidal war ongoing since October 8, 2023, while the United Nations has estimated reconstruction costs at approximately $70 billion.

According to the figures cited, the Zionist regime’s genocidal war has martyred more than 73,000 Palestinians and injured more than 174,000, the majority of them children and women, amid continuing restrictions on humanitarian aid and worsening needs throughout the Gaza Strip.