Rallies held across Pakistan to mark 1st anniversary of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza

People in major Pakistani cities on Monday held rallies and demonstrations, as well as formed human chains, to express solidarity with Palestinians on the first anniversary of Israeli forces' genocidal war on Gaza.

Different political and religious parties, primarily the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the country's mainstream religiopolitical party, and the center-left Pakistan People's Party (PPP) organized a string of events in the commercial capital Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Multan, Sargodha, Hyderabad, and other cities.

Thousands of citizens, including students, women and children, came out of their homes, offices and schools across the country at noon to express solidarity with the people of Gaza and Lebanon.

Men, women, and children carrying Palestinian flags gathered at several points across Karachi to mark the day.

A Palestine solidarity ceremony was held at the state assembly of southern Sindh province, which was presided over by Speaker Owais Shah Qadir, who in his speech, condemned Israel's genocidal military actions in Gaza and demanded an immediate cease-fire.

The government, which is officially commemorating the day, has called an "all parties" summit to send a "collective message" to the world about Palestine.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 of last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 42,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 97,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.