Thousands of Greeks take to streets, squares in solidarity with Palestinians, Lebanon

Thousands of Greeks took to the streets and squares on Saturday nationwide in solidarity with Palestinians and Lebanon as Israel escalates and expands its wars, which over the last year have killed tens of thousands of civilians, most of them women and children.

At the biggest of the rallies, held in Athens under the slogan "A year of genocide in Gaza," student groups, trade unions, left-wing parties, various progressive groups and organizations and the Palestinian community in Greece took part with Palestinian flags and banners denouncing Israel's genocide of Palestinians and increasingly deadly attacks on Lebanon.

Notably, a group of Greek soldiers in uniform were also present in the rally in the capital, condemning "the government's involvement in the imperialist plans for the Middle East."

Besides Athens, the cities of Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, Chania, Ioannina, Volos and Xanthi also saw mass rallies in solidarity with Palestinians and Lebanese.

Another mass rally, whose organizers announced will march to the Israeli Embassy in Athens, is set for Monday, the first anniversary of Israel's deadly war on Gaza.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its relentless offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

In the year since, more than 41,800 people have been killed, most of them women and children, and nearly 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 also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.