Many thousands of people attended the Pride parade in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv on Friday, after the event was cancelled two years in a row.
Last year, the world-famous parade was cancelled hours before the start because of the war at the time with Iran. In 2024, the event was also called off, due to the Gaza war and the hostage crisis. A memorial ceremony was held in its place for the victims of the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023.
More than 100,000 people attended Friday's event, according to Israeli broadcaster N12. They marched along Tel Aviv's seafront promenade in the afternoon, supporting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people (LGBTQ) and waving rainbow flags.
The liberal coastal city is considered a stronghold of the LGBTQ+ community in Israel and the LGBTQ+ capital of the Middle East. The Pride parade has regularly been held annually in Tel Aviv since 1998.
Musicians performed concerts along the promenade, among them Yuval Raphael, who last year reached second place at the Eurovision Song Contest thanks to an overwhelming public vote.
Some participants in the parade wore T-shirts with slogans directed against far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, according to media reports. Police reportedly denied one woman entry to the parade on those grounds.
On several occasions, police also prevented participants from displaying placards with anti-government messages, media reported. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the most right-wing in Israel's history. Several ministers are openly homophobic.
