Overview

• Police estimated about 60,000 people joined the Berlin protest, with roughly 1,800 officers deployed and only isolated scuffles reported when opposing groups crossed paths.
• Demonstrators urged an immediate end to the fighting, a stop to German arms exports to Israel, and European Union sanctions.
• The march concluded at the Victory Column with a rally and concert, organized by Die Linke alongside civil-society groups.
• The show of force adds pressure on Friedrich Merz after his August move to restrict some weapons sales while resisting sanctions and recognition of a Palestinian state.
• The conflict stems from Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack that killed around 1,200 in Israel, and Gaza’s Health Ministry cites more than 65,000 deaths in the territory since.