Tirana stands in solidarity with Palestine
Protestors called for an end to the atrocities and genocide in Gaza.
As global outrage toward the state of Israel grows over the escalating humanitarian crisis and atrocities against Palestinians, several hundred citizens gathered last night in Skënderbeg Square in Tirana to express solidarity with the Palestinian people and to demand an end to the genocide in Gaza.
Under the slogan “Stop Starvation, Allow Food, Allow Life,” protesters marched through the capital’s main square, demanding an end to what many human rights organizations describe as collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza. The protest was organized by the Free Palestine Collective, Antifa Tirana, and the Feminist Collective in Albania, with the participation of other civil society organizations that advocate for human rights and international peace.
One of the most powerful voices that echoed from the protest in Tirana was internationally renowned climate activist Greta Thunberg, who has become a vocal advocate for the Palestinian cause. In early June 2025, Thunberg joined a delegation aboard the humanitarian ship “Madleen,” which was transporting symbolic aid — including rice and infant formula — to Gaza. In the early hours of June 9, Israeli naval forces intercepted the ship in international waters, approximately 185 kilometers off the coast of Gaza, and arrested all 12 people on board, including Thunberg. A day later, on June 10, she was deported by Israel to France, from where she would go on to return home to Sweden.
“The depletion of natural resources, environmental destruction, and climate disruption go hand in hand with systems of oppression — something Palestinians are firsthand witnesses to. We are living in a time defined by globalized and interconnected existential crises: escalating violence, wars, genocide. And we must unite these causes if we are to stand a chance [of resistance],” Thunberg said during the protest.
A day before the protest in Tirana, Greta Thunberg made a public call for participation, which was broadcast on the official websites of the organizations that helped to organize the protest: “Gaza has entered stage 5 of malnutrition, and Palestinians are using the little energy they have left to urge the world to stand up and pick a side. Tomorrow, we will stand up together to demand an end to Israel’s illegal occupation, apartheid, and genocide.”
Wrapped in keffiyehs — the traditional Palestinian scarf — protesters were seen waving flags and holding banners with slogans such as “Stop the genocide in Gaza,” “Free Palestine,” “Food, not bombs,” and “Palestinian children are our children.”
“I know what injustice is. I know what it means to live in a system that tries to convince you that your life is worth less. And when you’ve felt that, you can’t remain indifferent to a people experiencing the same exclusion on a catastrophic scale,” said Xheni Karaj, feminist and LGBTQ+ rights activist. “We’re taught to believe that our identities are separate, that people have their own struggles. But I believe our identities are intertwined, and that the pain of the other is never far.”
The protest in Tirana follows a wave of mass mobilizations in cities around the world, at a time when reports from Gaza continue to reveal a dire humanitarian situation. Protesters globally are calling for an end to Israel’s war in Gaza and for unrestricted access to humanitarian aid in the region. In November last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC), backed by the United Nations (UN), issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, alongside a former Hamas commander, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, there have been over 59,000 civilian deaths in Gaza, with more than half being women and children. Ongoing reports indicate that Israel’s bombings are wiping out close to entire family lineages — from grandparents to great-grandchildren — within seconds. It has been reported that, in the past year alone, Israel has wiped out around 900 families. Around 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced from their homes; many have been displaced multiple times, and are currently sheltering in UN schools, tents, or improvised shelters built from ruins.
In recent months, the hunger crisis in Gaza has significantly escalated, alongside other atrocities being committed by Israeli forces in this besieged territory. As of July 22, 2025, local health authorities reported that at least 101 people have died from malnutrition, including 80 children, with 15 deaths recorded in just one day alone.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), food aid ceased for nearly 80 days between March and May, but even after deliveries resumed, the supplies remained far below the urgent need. Conditions at aid distribution points have become extremely dangerous. As of July 13, the UN confirmed that 875 Palestinians were killed while trying to obtain food; most were killed near distribution centers, which are now being referred to by residents as “death traps.”
In response to this alarming situation, over 100 international humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, and Oxfam, issued a joint statement calling for unconditional access for humanitarian aid in Gaza. The statement emphasized that Israel must stop using starvation as a method of warfare.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has escalated significantly since the start of Israel’s military offensive, launched in response to a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, when over 1,600 Israelis were killed and more than 200 people kidnapped. Since then, Gaza has been bombarded almost non-stop.
In recent days, the pressure on various states to act is increasing after a long period of silence in the face of genocide in Gaza. This week, 28 countries — including the majority of European Union (EU) member states — issued a joint call for an immediate ceasefire and a clear political path to peace.
Uarda Begaj
I am deeply moved by the situation in Palestine and the abuse of human rights, and I believe that my presence here today is solely about solidarity and opposing the violence and war taking place. I think that here in Albania we live an apathetic life and are very detached from the problems of others — even those who live very close to us. We live in isolation, and days like today are an important reminder that solidarity is not about physical distance but about our shared humanity. It’s a cause that, simply by being human, also belongs to me.
Sokol Hazizi
What has compelled me to join multiple protests [for the Palestinian cause] is the fact that a genocide is unfolding before our eyes while we go on with our daily routines and normal lives. I can’t stay silent — it’s something that concerns all of us. I’m a parent, and I deeply believe in what I wrote today: “The children of Palestine are our children.” The cause of Palestine is a cause that encompasses everything. For us Albanians who have felt the cause of Kosovo, it would be hypocritical not to feel the cause of the Palestinians — especially when you see all the parallels shared between these two struggles.
Rozeta Koni
What pushed me to protest is the same thing that should motivate all of us — solidarity with people who are suffering — like the people of Gaza. Even though it’s far from Albania, this cause is very close to our hearts: as a people, as believers, and above all as human beings. In moments like this, it’s not physical distance that matters, but our responsibility as humans.
Feature image and photos: Atdhe Mulla / K2.0
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- This story was originally written in Albanian.