Rabat – For the second Sunday in a row, the streets of Rabat filled with chants and raised flags as tens of thousands of Moroccans joined a large protest in support of Palestinians and cutting diplomatic ties between Morocco and Israel.
The march, held today, unfolded under the banner “Moroccans Against Genocide, Cut Diplomatic Ties with Israel”. Protesters began to gather early near Bab El Had, many carrying Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyehs. They moved together toward Bab Rouah, where the crowd swelled with demonstrators from across the country.
Rain fell over Morocco’s capital this morning, but the weather did little to deter the protesters. Despite the downpour, demonstrators flocked into the streets with their umbrellas, unfazed by the rain. For many, the urgency of the cause outweighed any discomfort.
People from all walks of life took part. Men and women, young and old, walked side by side, their voices rising in unison with calls such as, “Enough with the genocide”, and, “The people want Morocco to cut its ties with Israel.” The atmosphere carried both anger and resolve vis-a-vis the mass genocide against Palestinians since October 2023.
Just a week earlier, on April 6, a similar demonstration filled the capital, with some observers describing it as one of the largest protests in recent memory. That march, called by the Moroccan Front in Support of Palestine, echoed the same urgent concerns.
Morocco renewed its diplomatic ties with Israel in December 2020, maintaining that this move would not alter its long-standing support for the Palestinian cause. However, many Moroccans continue to demand a complete break in relations.
In Gaza, the situation has reached new levels of devastation. In the early hours of Sunday, two Israeli missiles bombed the reception and emergency departments of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, rendering the facility completely out of service.
Patients and wounded people had no choice but to lie in the streets, surrounded by the ruins of the hospital and exposed to the cold.
Shortly before the strike on Al-Ahli Hospital, staff began evacuating patients after a man reportedly received a phone call from someone claiming to be with Israeli security, according to Reuters.
The Government Media Office in Gaza described the attack as a “flagrant violation of all international charters and the Geneva Conventions prohibiting the targeting of medical facilities”. It also said that Al-Ahli Hospital was “one of the oldest and most important health institutions” in Gaza, describing the bombing as a “heinous” and “terrible” crime.
The hospital had provided care to over a million people in Gaza and North Gaza. Its destruction dealt another devastating blow to a health sector already pushed to the brink by months of IOF’s relentless bombardment on Palestinians.
The fallout of that violence resonates far beyond the besieged enclave. From Rabat to Gaza, the message from this past Sunday was clear: the Israeli genocide on Gaza has touched a nerve, and many refuse to remain silent.
