Tens of thousands of people, many of them dressed in red, marched through Amsterdam on Sunday in a protest aimed at pressing the Dutch government to take tougher action against Israel over the war in Gaza.

The Dutch branch of Amnesty International, one of the organisations behind the demonstration, said more than 200,000 people took part. The Associated Press described the crowd as tens of thousands. No independently verified official crowd figure was available on Sunday evening, and the two accounts differed sharply, so the size of the march should be treated with care.

The rally began on Museumplein in the early afternoon, where speeches were held before marchers set off through Amsterdam Zuid and Oud-West. Demonstrators carried red banners, red scarves and placards, including one reading “No money for genocide”, and filled the square and the streets beyond it.

The march was the fourth “Red Line” demonstration in the Netherlands. Earlier marches were held in The Hague last year and in Amsterdam last October. It was organised by a coalition led by The Rights Forum with 13 other groups, including Amnesty International, the peace group PAX, Oxfam Novib, Save the Children and Doctors for Gaza.

The organisers set out three main demands. They want the government to extend its ban on trade with Israeli settlements to services and investment, to push openly for the full suspension of the European Union’s association agreement with Israel, and to stop all direct and indirect arms trade and military cooperation with Israel, including imports. They also want the Netherlands to formally recognise Israel’s conduct in Gaza as genocide, an accusation Israel rejects.

The war in Gaza has strained relations between the Netherlands and Israel. A Dutch foreign minister resigned last year after failing to secure new sanctions against Israel. A minority coalition government that took office in February then introduced a ban on imports from Israeli settlements, a step that led to a diplomatic row with Israel.

Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who joined a Red Line march as a candidate last year, did not attend on Sunday. At his weekly news conference on Friday, he defended his government’s record, saying it does what it can “every single day and every single week” to ease the situation in Gaza and is exerting greater political and diplomatic pressure on Israel to abide by its agreements.

Al Jazeera reported that at least 74,000 Palestinians, including 21,000 children, have been killed since October 2023. A ceasefire in Gaza took effect on 10 October last year, but Israeli strikes have continued almost daily since then, according to the same report.

For the Dutch government, the march adds to the public pressure it has faced for more than a year over its Gaza policy. The organisers argue that trade and military ties amount to support for Israel’s campaign, while the government says it is using the diplomatic tools available to it. Sunday’s turnout, whatever the exact figure, showed that the issue still draws large crowds in the Dutch capital.

The demonstration passed off as a mass march through the city centre, with streets closed to traffic as the column moved on from Museumplein. Organisers said the red clothing worn by many marchers was meant to symbolise a line the international community should draw over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.