Marches in Rome, Barcelona and Madrid protest Israel's military campaign in Gaza

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Italians and Spaniards marched in Rome, Barcelona and Madrid on Saturday against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza in a show of growing international anger over the two-year-old war.

The protests in almost every major Spanish city had been planned for weeks, while the demonstration in Rome followed widespread anger after the Israeli interception of a humanitarian aid flotilla that had set sail from Barcelona in a bid to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.

The protests across southern Europe come as Hamas said that it has accepted some elements of a plan laid out by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war, which has left Gaza’s largest city in famine and stirred accusations of genocide against Israel.

Rome’s police said that 250,000 people turned out, while organizers said that 1 million attended, for a second straight day of Italian demonstrations. Italy already saw more than 2 million people rally on Friday in a one-day general strike to support the Palestinians in Gaza.

In Spain, officials said that 100,000 people marched in Madrid and another 70,000 filled downtown Barcelona. Organizers of the Madrid march raised attendance to 400,000, while organizers in Barcelona said that 300,000 took part.

While the protests were peaceful, hours after the official Barcelona demonstration ended, there were clashes between police and several hundred people, some of whom vandalized stores and caused scenes of panic among shoppers and bystanders.

Spaniards were also called by activists to march in Valencia, Sevilla, Malaga and other cities.

Smaller rallies took place in Paris, Lisbon, Athens and Skopje, North Macedonia, and in London and Manchester, England.

The protest in Rome that followed a route by the Colosseum was organized by three Palestinian organizations along with local unions and students.

At Piazza San Giovanni, protesters chanted and applauded the name of Francesca Albanese, an Italian who is the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories and a vocal critic of Israel.

Although the organizers had requested that only Palestinian flags be carried, there were some banners praising the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas. One read, “October 7, Day of Palestinian Resistance,” a reference to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel that sparked the war, while another large flag read “Death, death to the IDF,” a reference to the Israel Defense Forces. A group also chanted the same slogan, state broadcaster RAI reported.

Opposition lawmaker Riccardo Magi, secretary of the center-left Piu Europa (more Europe) party, who was among the marchers, took Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government to task for its refusal to recognize a Palestinian state, following the example of Spain, France, the U.K. and some other Western countries.

“Meloni cannot continue with this obscene victimhood: these are spontaneous demonstrations against the inaction and complicity of her government. She must acknowledge this and begin working diplomatically for peace,” Magi told Italian media.

Spain has seen an upsurge of support for Palestinians in recent weeks while its left-wing government intensifies diplomatic efforts against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government. Protests against the presence of an Israeli-owned cycling team repeatedly disrupted the Spanish Vuelta last month, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the destruction in Gaza a “genocide” and asked for the ban of all Israeli teams from international sporting events.

The day of protests kicked off in Barcelona as people packed the wide Passeig de Gracia, the city’s main central boulevard, before noon. Many families turned out along with people of all ages, carrying Palestinian flags. Hand-held signs bore messages like “Gaza hurts me,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Hands off the flotilla.”

More than 40 Spaniards, including a former Barcelona mayor, were among the 450 activists that Israel removed from the flotilla’s boats this week.

While the protests will likely not sway Israel’s government, protesters hope they could inspire other demonstrations and encourage European leaders to take a harder line against Israel.

María Jesús Parra, 63, waved a Palestinian flag after making an hourlong trip from another town to Barcelona. She wants the European Union to act against what she described as the horrors she watches on TV news.

“How is it possible that we are witnessing a genocide happening live after what we (as Europe) experienced in the 1940s?” Parra said. “Now nobody can say they didn’t know what was happening.”

People in Madrid marched behind banners that read “Shame” and “Racist War, Free Palestine,” while chanting “Netanyahu (is a) Killer.”

Greek police believe a bigger gathering and march will take place Sunday to coincide with a pro-Israeli one. The two protests are separated by some 3 kilometers (2 miles) and police will be on hand to prevent the pro-Palestinian march to the Israeli Embassy, as as happened on previous occasions.

The war in Gaza started after Hamas’ attack in October 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead, while 251 others were taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has so far killed more than 67,000 people and wounded nearly 170,000 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government. U.N. agencies and many independent experts view its figures as the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

Paolo Santalucia reported from Rome. Demetris Nellas contributed to this report from Athens, Greece.

Protesters react next to a vandalized McDonald's terrace during a pro-Palestinian rally in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla after ships were intercepted by the Israeli navy, in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Police officers clash with protesters during a pro-Palestinian rally in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla after ships were intercepted by the Israeli navy, in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in Rome's San Giovanni Square, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, at the end of a march calling for an end to the war in Gaza. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in Rome's San Giovanni Square, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, at the end of a march calling for an end to the war in Gaza. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in Rome's San Giovanni Square, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, at the end of a march calling for an end to the war in Gaza. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators pass in front of Rome's Colosseum, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, during a march calling for an end to the war in Gaza. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Demonstrators march during a pro-Palestinian rally in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla after ships were intercepted by the Israeli navy, in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Two children sit in their stroller with a sign reading in Catalan: "Netanyahu is so bad that even the Three Wise Men won't bring him coal." during a pro-Palestinian rally in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla after ships were intercepted by the Israeli navy, in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Demonstrators shout slogans as they march during a pro-Palestinian rally in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla after ships were intercepted by the Israeli navy, in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Demonstrators hold a banner with writing reading in Catalan "Let’s stop the genocide in Palestine, no more arms trade with Israel”" during a pro-Palestinian rally in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla after ships were intercepted by the Israeli navy, in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally during a protest in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2025 in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla after ships were intercepted by the Israeli navy. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally during a protest in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2025 in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla after ships were intercepted by the Israeli navy. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Demonstrators gather for a pro-Palestinians protest in Bologna, Italy, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (Guido Calamosca/LaPresse via AP)

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation on Saturday sought to reassure Denmark and Greenland of their support following President Donald Trump's threat to punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the U.S. taking over the strategic Arctic island.

Delegation leader Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said the current rhetoric around Greenland is causing concern across the Danish kingdom. He said he wants to de-escalate the situation.

“I hope that the people of the Kingdom of Denmark do not abandon their faith in the American people,” Coons said in Copenhagen, adding that the U.S. has respect for Denmark and NATO “for all we’ve done together.”

Meanwhile, Danish Major Gen. Søren Andersen, leader of the Joint Arctic Command, told The Associated Press that Denmark does not expect the U.S. military to attack Greenland, or any other NATO ally, and that European troops were recently deployed to Nuuk for Arctic defense training.

He said the goal isn’t to send a message to the Trump administration, even through the White House hasn’t ruled out taking the territory by force.

“I will not go into the political part, but I will say that I would never expect a NATO country to attack another NATO country,” he told the AP on Saturday aboard a Danish military vessel docked in Nuuk. “For us, for me, it’s not about signaling. It is actually about training military units, working together with allies.”

The Danish military organized a planning meeting Friday in Greenland with NATO allies, including the U.S., to discuss Arctic security on the alliance’s northern flank in the face of a potential Russian threat. The Americans were also invited to participate in Operation Arctic Endurance in Greenland in the coming days, Andersen said.

In his 2 1/2 years as a commander in Greenland, Andersen said he has not seen any Chinese or Russian combat vessels or warships despite Trump's claims that they were off the island's coast.

But in the unlikely event of American troops using force on Danish soil, Andersen confirmed a Cold War-era law governing Danish rules of engagement.

“But you are right that it is Danish law that a Danish soldier, if attacked, has the obligation to fight back,” he said.

Thousands of people marched through Copenhagen, many of them carrying Greenland’s flag, on Saturday afternoon in support of the self-governing island. Others held signs with slogans like “Make America Smart Again” and “Hands Off.”

“This is important for the whole world,” Danish protester Elise Riechie told The Associated Press as she held Danish and Greenlandic flags. “There are many small countries. None of them are for sale.”

Other rallies were planned in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, and elsewhere in the Danish kingdom.

Coons’ comments contrasted with that emanating from the White House. Trump has sought to justify his calls for a U.S. takeover by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals. The White House hasn’t ruled out taking the territory by force.

“There are no current security threats to Greenland,” Coons said.

Trump for months has insisted that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in U.S. hands would be “unacceptable.”

During an unrelated event at the White House about rural health care, he recounted Friday how he had threatened European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals.

“I may do that for Greenland, too,” Trump said. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that,” he said.

He had not previously mentioned using tariffs to try to force the issue.

Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

That encounter didn’t resolve the deep differences, but did produce an agreement to set up a working group — on whose purpose Denmark and the White House then offered sharply diverging public views.

European leaders have insisted it is only for Denmark and Greenland to decide on matters concerning the territory, and Denmark said this week that it was increasing its military presence in Greenland in cooperation with allies.

“There is almost no better ally to the United States than Denmark,” Coons said. “If we do things that cause Danes to question whether we can be counted on as a NATO ally, why would any other country seek to be our ally or believe in our representations?”

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Niemann reported from Copenhagen, Denmark. Associated Press writer Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.

A patch of the Joint Arctic Command is seen on o jacket of Major General Søren Andersen standing onboard a military vessel HDMS Knud Rasmussen of the Royal Danish Navy docked in Nuuk, Greenland, on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People gather for a pro- Greenlanders demonstration, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

People gather for a pro- Greenlanders demonstration, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

People march during a pro- Greenlanders demonstration, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Icicles hang from the roof of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A Danish serviceman walks in front of Joint Arctic Command center in Nuuk, Greenland, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Senator Chris Coons from the Democratic Party speaks during a press conference with the American delegation, consisting of senators and members of the House of Representatives, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)