More than 200,000 demonstrators filled the streets of Amsterdam on Sunday to demand stronger government action against Israel regarding its military operations in Gaza, as reported by Amnesty International’s Dutch division, which helped organize the gathering.
Participants in the fourth Red Line demonstration dressed in red and gathered at Museum Square before marching through closed city streets. The coalition of thirteen organizations—including Oxfam Novib, Amnesty International, and Save the Children—pressed the Dutch government to implement stricter trade restrictions, halt all arms sales, and officially classify Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide.
Crowds carried placards with slogans such as Not in my name,
Gaza is being starved,
and Stop the Genocide.
Along the march route, demonstrators criticized the pace of political reform in The Hague.
What is happening there is inhumane.
Mike van Dongen, participant
As far as I’m concerned, they are doing nothing,
van Dongen said, adding that leaders do not dare take serious steps. As the crowds moved along the route, a man at a bus stop used a loudspeaker to lead chants of Free, free Palestine!
which marchers echoed.
The large-scale demonstration highlights ongoing friction between the Netherlands and Israel. The previous Dutch foreign minister resigned last year after failing to secure new sanctions against Israel. A new minority coalition government took power in February and instituted an import ban on goods from Israeli settlements, which the Dutch government and most of the international community consider illegal—a move that triggered a diplomatic spat.
Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who participated in a Red Line march last year but did not attend Sunday’s rally, defended his administration’s record during his weekly press conference on Friday.
Every single day and every single week, we do what we can to alleviate the terrible situation there.
Rob Jetten, Prime Minister
Jetten stated that his administration is exerting greater political and diplomatic pressure on Israel to honor its agreements on Gaza, while also applying pressure on Hamas and other organizations over operations that endanger ordinary Israelis. Israel rejects allegations that its military campaign amounts to genocide, maintaining that the offensive was launched after Hamas-led militants carried out attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Israel’s retaliatory operations have since killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated large areas of Gaza. Data provided by the local Health Ministry indicates that Israeli forces have killed upwards of 1,550 Palestinians following the start of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in October 2025.
While the broader mobilization centered on human rights and policy shifts, Dutch public broadcaster NOS reported that individuals on the sidelines of the event held a sign reading We Support Hamas.
Organizers and participants quickly distanced the Red Line movement from those slogans, with NOS reporters noting that participants shouted they would never support Hamas.
Rolien Sasse, director of Pax, told local broadcaster AT5 before the event that organizers were aware such activists might appear. I don’t know, and we never have that completely under control,
Sasse said, emphasizing that the wider crowd supported human rights in a respectful manner.
Local police recorded four arrests for separate incidents over the course of the demonstration.