Gaza protests grow in Greece as Israel denies embassy evacuation

The Israeli embassy in Greece has denied media reports claiming its staff were evacuated from the capital, Athens, amid growing protests over Israel’s Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

In a statement sent to The New Arab on Thursday, the embassy said it "firmly denies media reports claiming that embassy personnel had evacuated their residences", dismissing them as "false and unfounded". 

The embassy's comment follows earlier Israeli media reports, including by Israel Hayom, which cited a senior Israeli security official saying embassy staff in Athens were evacuated due to "the situation in Greece".

The reports came amid rising pro-Palestine demonstrations across Greece, condemning Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and its blockade on aid, which rights groups say has created a man-made famine in the Palestinian territory.

A large nationwide protest titled March to Gaza is planned for 10 August.

Protests are also expected across the Greek islands and major tourist spots, with organisers calling on citizens to transform beaches, islands, and mountain shelters into sites of solidarity.

In a statement, the organisers of March to Gaza declared: "The Greek people will not remain silent in the face of genocide committed by Israel with the support of the West and the Greek government."

The organisers also advised citizens to transform islands, beaches, mountain peaks, and shelters into symbols of solidarity for Palestine.

Tensions further escalated following remarks by Israel’s ambassador to Greece, Noam Katz, who publicly criticised Athens Mayor Haris Doukas for his handling of the protests.

Katz accused the mayor of failing to adequately safeguard the city from what have been widely reported as peaceful demonstrators, referring to them as "organised minorities".

He also claimed that Mayor Doukas had made Israeli tourists feel unsafe in the city. 

In response, Greece’s Communist Party (KKE) issued a strongly worded response on Tuesday, further condemning Katz for criticising pro-Palestinian graffiti in Athens.  

The party labelled Katz's comments as "vile" and denounced the Greek government’s close relationship with Israel, describing it as a "key advocate for Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people."

Doukas responded firmly on his official social media account, stating that Greeks "don’t take lessons in democracy from those who kill civilians and children standing in food lines."  

Meanwhile, protests demanding an end to the nearly two-year-long war in Gaza have continued to spread across the Greek islands. 

However, Greece is regarded as a close partner of Israel and continues to collaborate with the country on matters of security.

In March, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis travelled to Israel for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.

Last week, the Greek government condemned an incident involving protests against a cruise ship carrying Israeli tourists around the Greek islands.

Demonstrators disrupted the ship’s route at multiple ports, with one location refusing it entry altogether.

However, Greek activists have raised concerns with their government over allowing the entry of hundreds of thousands of Israeli visitors, alleging that some may have participated in the war on Gaza or are illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank- potentially implicating them in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

This comes amid growing international calls for the arrest and investigation of current and former Israeli soldiers over alleged crimes in Gaza, with pro-Palestine legal groups stepping up efforts to identify individuals and alert local authorities in countries around the world.

Editor's note: This article was updated on 7 August 2025 at 15:00 GMT to include comments from the Israeli embassy in Athens.