Tunisians gather outside French embassy in new rally in support of Palestinians

Thousands of Tunisians gathered outside the French embassy in the capital, Tunis, on Saturday in support of the Palestinians and demanding the departure of the ambassador.

This as Israel continues to bomb the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militant group, Hamas, launched a deadly attack across the border on 7 October.

Many Tunisians criticise Paris for supporting Israel in its war with Hamas.

Demonstrators also called for the criminalisation of any normalisation of relations with Israel.

"We're here to support Gaza and Palestine. We, all the Tunisian people, are always with Palestine," said demonstrator Marwen Meghri.

Hamas militants killed 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and took 212 hostages back to Gaza in the attack.

Gaza's health ministry on Sunday said that Israel's retaliatory air and missile strikes have killed at least 4,741 Palestinians and wounded 15,898.

"The people of Tunisia express their unequivocal condemnation of the massacres and genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian people," said Tayeb Bouaicha who also took part in Saturday’s demonstrations.

Over a million of the densely populated enclave's 2.3 million people have reportedly been displaced since the start of the fighting.

Israel has also placed the Gaza Strip under ‘total siege”, blocking food, fuel, water and medical supplies from entering the area. The United Nations said the first humanitarian aid convoy of 20 trucks was allowed through the Egyptian border crossing into Gaza on Saturday, following days of difficult negotiations.

It brought life-saving medical supplies and some food into the Palestinian enclave.

A second convoy was due to cross into the Gaza Strip on Sunday.