Thousands march in Pakistan's Karachi ahead of 2nd anniversary of Israeli onslaught on Gaza

Tens of thousands of people poured into the heart of Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi on Sunday to mark the second anniversary of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, calling on the international community to break the silence on the ongoing genocide in the besieged enclave.

Waving tri-colored Palestine flags, and sporting traditional Keffiyeh scarves, men, women and children packed the city's main Shara-e-Faisal street as part of a fresh wave of protests across Pakistan.

The rally was organized by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the country's mainstream religiopolitical party, which has led scores of protest rallies across Pakistan in recent months.

According to the organizers, over 100,000 people attended the rally, while independent sources put the number between 50,000 and 60,000.

Leaders of Hindu, Sikh and Christian communities also attended the rally -- the second huge march over the past two days.

Thousands attended a similar march in the northeastern city of Lahore on Saturday.

"Down with Israel," "Long live Palestine," participants shouted in unison as the JI chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman along with other party leaders appeared on a pedestrian bridge, which was used as a stage for the rally.

"Gaza is the symbol of resistance where people have been facing West-backed Israeli brutalities over the past two years," said Rehman in his address to the rally.

He hailed Hamas for its "wise diplomacy" that has failed the US and Israeli plan to isolate the resistance movement.

"Pakistanis stand by Palestine and Hamas. It's their sacrifices that have exposed Israel and Zionists throughout the world, even in the West," he observed.

Rehman slammed Tel Aviv for its attack and abduction of the participants of the Global Sumud Flotilla last week, which includes a former Pakistani Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan.

Over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023.

The Israeli army resumed its attacks on the Gaza Strip on March 18 and has since killed 13,420 people and injured 57,124 others, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.