São Paulo joined dozens of cities across Brazil and the world this weekend in demanding an end to the massacre in Gaza and the release of activists detained aboard a humanitarian flotilla seized by Israel. Demonstrators gathered from 11 a.m. outside the São Paulo Museum of Art (Masp), on the city’s Paulista Avenue. At least 16 protests were scheduled across Brazil, some extending into this Monday (6).
Among the hundreds who marched, Soraya Misleh, leader of the Frente Palestina São Paulo, stressed that the protest was part of a global mobilization for Palestine’s liberation. “It is past time for nations to take concrete action to isolate Israel’s genocidal state. We demand the release of Brazilian citizens in Israeli prisons, we stand in solidarity with their families, and we raise once again the banner of a free Palestine, from the river to the sea. Brazil must immediately cut ties with Israel,” she said.
Misleh dismissed expectations of change from a new round of talks in Cairo between Hamas, the U.S., and Israel. “Despite Trump ordering an immediate stop, Israel continues killing women and children. More than 500 Palestinians have already died of hunger. And activists worldwide are being treated in Israeli prisons to the same cruelty thousands of Palestinian political prisoners endure,” she added.
Vanessa Dias, coordinator of Casa Marx in São Paulo and wife of Bruno Gilga, spokesperson for the Brazilian delegation in the flotilla, called on President Lula’s government to act decisively. “We demand urgent public action from Lula to guarantee assistance and the release of the Brazilians kidnapped by Israel. The government must be much firmer and break relations with this genocidal state,” she said.
Social worker Lilian Borges, also with Frente Palestina São Paulo, insisted that severing ties is crucial. “This situation has gone beyond all limits. Israel has maintained an illegal siege over Palestine for 77 years and is trying to annihilate its people. Lula and the Foreign Ministry must cut diplomatic and commercial relations,” she said.
Despite the blazing Sunday sun, hundreds joined the demonstration. Edna Aguilar, of the movement LGBT+ Families in Resistance and Worker’s Party Palestine Committee in São Paulo, highlighted solidarity with the detained Brazilians. “Four are already on hunger strike. This is the least I can do to support the flotilla’s captives and stand with Palestine, which has suffered colonization, apartheid, and genocide for decades,” she said.
Protests abroad
Other Brazilian cities also mobilized Sunday, including Curitiba, Porto Alegre, and Florianópolis.
Across Europe, hundreds of thousands marched on Saturday (4). In Rome, demonstrators filled the streets for the fourth day in a row, chanting “We are all Palestinians!”, “Free Palestine!”, and “Stop the genocide!”. Organizers claimed one million participants; police estimated 250,000. In Madrid, about 92,000 people joined; in Barcelona, 70,000; and in Paris, around 10,000. London saw 355 arrests during a solidarity rally. Marches also took place in Manchester, Bangkok, Dublin, Berlin, and Geneva.
Agreement talks
Meanwhile, expectations are rising for a possible deal between Hamas and Israel. Representatives from both sides are set to meet today (6) in Cairo.
“Hamas is very interested in reaching an agreement to end the war and immediately begin a prisoner exchange,” a senior Hamas leader said Sunday.
The talks follow a proposal presented this week by U.S. President Donald Trump, who initially excluded Hamas from negotiations. Although terms of the deal were partially accepted on Friday (3), Israel continued airstrikes in Gaza over the weekend, killing 20 people the next day.
