A supporter of Israel draped in an Israeli flag in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Photo EssayIn photos: The world reacts to shocking onset of Israel-Gaza war

Protests in New York City, Israeli flags in Ukraine and extra security at synagogues — this is how the world reacted to the weekend’s stunning violence

A supporter of Israel draped in an Israeli flag in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. Photo by Getty Images

Photo EssayIn photos: The world reacts to shocking onset of Israel-Gaza war

Protests in New York City, Israeli flags in Ukraine and extra security at synagogues — this is how the world reacted to the weekend’s stunning violence

By Benyamin Cohen October 8, 2023

Saturday’s surprise attack by Hamas was the single deadliest attack in Israel in half a century.

Not since the Yom Kippur War, 50 years ago this weekend, has Israel witnessed such massive carnage. “But there is a big difference,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “That was a conventional war between countries, between armies. This, a massive terrorist attack on Israeli civilians.”

More than 1,100 people have died so far – roughly 700 Israelis and 400 Palestinians – in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned may be a “long and difficult war.”

Sunday brought with it vivid images of how people are responding to the conflict across the globe.

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Supporters of Israel face people rallying in support of Palestinians in New York's Times Square on October 8, 2023.

Supporters of Israel faced people rallying in support of Palestinians in New York's Times Square on Sunday. Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP for Getty Images

Supporters of Israel faced people rallying in support of Palestinians in New York’s Times Square on Sunday.

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Pro-Palestinian demonstrators Demonstrators marched in New York's Times Square on October 8, 2023.

Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in New York’s Times Square on Sunday.

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Demonstrators stand with placards outside the White House in Washington, DC, on October 8, 2023 as crowds rally in support of Palestinians after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an assault on Israel.

Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Demonstrators stood outside the White House on Sunday as crowds rallied in support of Palestinians after the Gaza-based militant group Hamas launched a Saturday assault on Israel.

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Israel's Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan speaks to reporters before a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on October 8, 2023 in New York City.

Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N., spoke to reporters Sunday before an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council in response to the outbreak of war.

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Israeli national flags are seen on giant screens on a street in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on October 8, 2023. Photo by SERGEI CHUZAVKOV/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli national flags were displayed on giant screens on a street in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Sunday.

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The Israeli flag was projected onto the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin as a show of solidarity. Photo by Fabian Sommer/dpa via Getty Images

The Israeli flag was projected onto Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate in a show of solidarity.

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A security guard stands outside the front door of Congregation Machzikei Hadas, an Orthodox synagogue in Ottawa, Canada, on October 8, 2023.

Photo by DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images

A security guard stands outside the front door of Congregation Machzikei Hadas, an Orthodox synagogue in Ottawa, Canada, during Simchat Torah on Sunday.

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A French police officer patrols outside the Tournelles Synagogue, after increased security measures were put in place at shuls and schools in central Paris, on October 8, 2023. One local Jewish leader expressed concern at the possibility the conflict might be imported there.

Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images

A French police officer patrols outside the Tournelles Synagogue Sunday, after increased security measures were put in place at synagogues and Jewish schools in Paris. One local Jewish leader expressed concern at the possibility the conflict might be imported there.

Benyamin Cohen is news director at the Forward. He is the author of two books, My Jesus Year and The Einstein Effect, and has written for The New York Times and The Washington Post. He lives with his wife in West Virginia with their three dogs, a cat and a flock of chickens known as the Co-Hens.

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