Gaza protest targets Venice film festival, as Yemen’s Houthi leader reported dead in Israeli strike
Israeli and US forces have intercepted most — though not all — of the missiles and drones that have come from Yemen. A Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv in July 2024, which didn’t trigger any warning alerts, underscored Israel’s vulnerability to incoming drones.
After an intense bombing campaign by the US and Israel earlier this year, the Houthis reached a ceasefire with Washington. However, the Yemen-based militia continued to launch missiles and drones towards Israel, which in return retaliated by striking key energy infrastructure, ports and other Houthi-associated targets.
A demonstrator holds a pink flare during a march in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza in Venice on Saturday.Credit: Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP
At the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, attended by stars such as Julia Roberts, George Clooney and Emma Stone, thousands marched on Saturday (Venice time) to protest Gaza.
The New York Times and other media outlets reported that crowds gathered on the Lido barrier island for a march from the Piazza Santa Maria Elisabetta toward the Palazzo del Cinema.
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The protest was coordinated by Venice4Palestine, an organisation of Italian and international film professionals, which last weekend issued an open letter with hundreds of signatories demanding that the festival condemn the destruction and suffering caused by Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
“Stop the clocks, turn off the stars,” says the letter, reported initially by news outlets covering the film industry such as Deadline and Variety.
“The burden is too much to carry on living as before. For almost two years now, images of unmistakable clarity have been reaching us from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Incredulous and helpless, we keep witnessing the torment of a genocide carried out live by the State of Israel in Palestine. No one will ever be able to say: ‘I couldn’t know, I couldn’t imagine, I couldn’t believe’.”
The Venice Biennale, which organises the film festival, said in a statement it was open to discussing issues and screened films about Gaza both this year and last year.
