Thousands of protesters in Dakar and Nairobi showed solidarity with Palestinians just days after the UN officially declared that more than half a million people in Gaza, mostly children, are trapped in famine and suffering widespread starvation due to Israel’s ongoing war on the Palestinian enclave.
In Senegal, hundreds of protesters—including lawmakers, civil society groups, and rights activists—marched peacefully through the capital on Sunday, chanting “No to genocide” and “Boycott Israel.”
"The fact that, in the eyes of the international community, Israel is doing what it is doing, pillaging lands, literally committing genocide, what legitimacy will we have when others, for example, terrorists or other countries, allow themselves to do the same thing?," a protester in Dakar, Sinna Gaye, told Reuters.
Activists urged world leaders to act, saying, “It is time for this situation to stop. International organisations must gain access to Palestinian territories, and negotiations should lead to the two-state solution, which remains the result of the United Nations resolution of 1945.”
‘Cut ties with Israel’
The marchers called on Senegal to officially cut diplomatic ties with Israel. "We expect at the national level that the Senegalese government breaks diplomatic relations with Israel. We also want international opinion, starting with Arab countries, to unite against Israel, so that Palestinians can be independent, recover their land and the war stops. Western countries must also respect UN charters, and give Palestinians back their rights," one of the demonstrators said.
In Nairobi, Kenya, another group of hundreds of protesters showed solidarity with Palestinians. Bikers and motorists waved Palestinian flags and chanting “Free, free Palestine.”
“The genocide in Palestine has to stop. Children are dying, women are suffering. They are bombing hospitals and residential areas,” a protester said.
The protests in Kenya and Senegal come as global condemnation of Israel’s war on Gaza continues.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 62,686 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023
The ministry also reports that more than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed and 13,500 wounded while seeking aid at distribution points or along convoy routes used by the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies.
Aid groups have long warned that the war and months of Israeli restrictions on food and medical supplies entering Gaza are causing starvation and famine.
