BELGRADE, Serbia

Thousands of people gathered in the capitals of Western Balkan countries on Sunday to show their support for Palestine, amid an intensified Israeli army assault on the Gaza Strip.

People took part in a protest demonstration in front of the main government building in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, carrying Palestinian and Serbian flags and chanting slogans such as "Free Palestine."

They also carried banners and signs reading "Cease-fire Now," "End the Genocide in Palestine," and "Freedom for Palestine."

Thousands of Bosnians also gathered in the center of the capital Sarajevo despite the bad weather. They were carrying banners with the slogan "Yesterday Srebrenica, today Gaza.”

During the demonstration against Israel, they also chanted "Stop the genocide" and "Freedom for Palestine" slogans.

Israel resumed its military offensive on the Gaza Strip on Dec. 1 after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with Hamas.

At least 17,700 Palestinians have been killed and more than 48,780 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 following the cross-border attack by Hamas.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.