Heads of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and major football clubs came together on Monday in Istanbul to announce a New Yearโ€™s Day rally for Gaza. It will be the third of its kind since 2023 and is expected to draw tens of thousands of people in solidarity with Palestinians.

The first such rally was held on Istanbulโ€™s Galata Bridge on Jan. 1, 2024, a few months after a new round of the Palestine-Israel conflict began. The venue will be the same for the 2026 rally.

Bilal ErdoฤŸan who serves as a member of the High Consultation Board of Turkish Youth Foundation (TรœGVA), told a news conference that the matter of Gaza was โ€œabove politics.โ€ TรœGVA is a major component of the platform that brings together dozens of NGOs.

Tรผrkiye is the fiercest critic of Israelโ€™s genocide in the Palestinian territories and cut off ties with Tel Aviv after the conflict began. Since 2023, people of diverse political affiliations have staged rallies across the country to protest Israel.

โ€œThis is about humanityโ€™s conscience,โ€ ErdoฤŸan said, noting that they needed a humanitarian alliance on the matter more than ever. ErdoฤŸan called people to meet on the Galata Bridge on Jan. 1 to raise the voice of Palestinians as he pointed out the urgency of action by the international community for a fa

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