Under the Kenyan stars tourists and tribal dancers looked up at the rust red “blood moon” as the east African country launched a new tourism initiative promoting the country’s night skies.

When the Sun, Earth and Moon line up, the shadow cast by the planet on its satellite makes it appear an eerie, deep red colour that has astounded humans for millennia.

The phenomenon was visible late Sunday across the planet with some of those in a remote lodge in Samburu county, hundreds of miles from capital Nairobi, where the Kenya’s tourism ministry and the Kenya Space Agency launched a drive to push “astro-tourism”.

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Foreign tourists mingled with local dancers — wearing fantastically colourful beads and draped cloths — as they took turns gazing through telescopes at the slowly reddening moon and the kaleidoscope of stars around it.

“It’s an amazing experience,” Kenyan visitor Stella-Maris Miriti, 35, told AFP.

“At first I thought it was not happening because the moon was dark… but at 8.30 the magic happened,” she added.

The tour operator had travelled up from Nairobi to see the “blood moon” away from the city’s lights.

Waiting her turn at the telescope, was 26-year-old Maggie Debbe, visiting with her parents from Australia.

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“I think it’s awesome, I just did not expect any of this,” she told AFP.

– ‘Game-changer’ –

Kenya hopes to capitalise on star-struck tourists like Debbe.

The country has some of the lowest light pollution levels in the world, according to the Bortle dark-sky scale — which measures night sky light — and an already thriving tourism industry which accounts for almost 10 percent of the country’s GDP.

Astro-tourism could be a fresh reason for tourists to visit, believes Jacques Matara, the Kenya Space Agency’s deputy director of Space Research and Innovation.

“We have that advantage of having some of the most beautiful and clear skies worldwide,” he told AFP.

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“Astro-tourism is our opportunity to create awareness about the utility of space for socio-economic development,” he said.

“This is something that could be game-changing, especially in our tourism sector.”

As the “blood moon” shone down between the stars, Johanns Hertogh-van der Laan, a 75-year-old ex-teacher from Holland, certainly agreed.

Having come to Kenya with his wife to see the wildlife, he said he had been blown away by the night skies.

“It has been, I think, 40 years ago that I saw it as clear as now,” he told AFP.

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Tens of thousands of demonstrators wearing red gathered in Brussels on Sunday to protest against the Israeli government and to draw a symbolic red line against its war in Gaza. Protesters are also calling on EU member states to take a tougher stance and impose firm sanctions against Israel.

Local police estimated around 70,000 demonstrators took part in the second edition of Brussels’ ‘Red Line for Gaza’ march, but protest organisers estimate 110,000 people attended the march across the Belgian capital, which was 3.5 kilometres long.

More than 200 human rights groups and aid agencies, including Oxfam, Doctors without Borders, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Save the Children, and more, participated and are drawing the red line.

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The protest comes days after Belgium announced it would join the United Kingdom and France in recognising a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, and would impose sanctions against Israel, under certain conditions.

A woman holds a placard as she marches during the Red Line for Gaza demonstration in the center of Brussels, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. – AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert

“The compromise that the government reached would never have been there if we would not have had the previous march and launched Oxfam’s ‘Speak up for Palestine’ campaign, now with 100,000 signatures,” Katrien Van der Heyden, Teamleader Education at Oxfam Belgium told Euronews, emphasising the importance maintaining public pressure on EU politicians.

Oxfam Belgium teamed up with hundreds of Flemish actors, artists and influencers in launching the ‘Speak up for Palestine’ action. The campaign has already raised 100,000 signatures calling for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the violence and illegal occupation in Palestinian territories, safe and unrestricted access to humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians, and the introduction of economic sanctions on Israel.

While many demonstrators in Brussels acknowledged it is a step forward, they are not satisfied with the compromise that was reached, and want to see Belgium further toughen its stance against Israel, with uncompromised sanctions, and for EU member states and the European Union itself to follow suit.

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“You don’t compromise about children’s lives, people’s lives,” Van der Heyden said. “You don’t compromise as a government. You have to draw a red line, which is non-negotiable.”

Van der Heyden, pointed out that a standing discrepancy divides the public and EU politicians, with a stark contrast “between the rage that people feel and the feeling of injustice and then the extreme immobility of politicians.”

People wave Palestinian flags as they attend the Red Line for Gaza march in the center of Brussels, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. – AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert

“We have been asking our politicians for two years to intervene in Palestine,” Isja Puissant, spokesperson for the Global Movement to Gaza in Belgium told Euronews, “they are still just discussing about the recognition of a Palestinian state by the end of September, when in reality, there might not be any Palestinians left by that time.”

The Global Movement to Gaza is a grassroots coalition consisting of 44 countries that are dedicated to ending the blockade of Gaza.

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Last week, twenty ships with more than 300 crew members as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla departed from the port of Barcelona in an effort to establish a humanitarian corridor, ships from other countries, including Tunisia and Italy, will join efforts to break the siege.

Earlier this week, a convoy from Italy’s Genoa joined the flotilla. After several delays, the Gaza-bound boats are now expected to set sail from Tunisia on Wednesday.

European solidarity movement

In recent weeks, numerous pro-Palestine demonstrations took place across the continent, including in Ireland, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. The rise in European solidarity comes in response to Israel’s expanded offensive in Gaza, which had drawn international condemnation, and the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the Strip.

In June, the first edition of the march in Brussels took place, where at least 75,000 people took to the streets of the Belgian capital. The ‘Red Line for Gaza’ march has also already twice been held in the Netherlands, which resulted in a massive turnout both times.

Red lines have also been appearing in various shop windows in major Belgian cities, a way for retailers to show their solidarity with the movement.

As the Israeli military expands its assault on Gaza City, Israeli demonstrators took to the streets Saturday evening, driven by a new sense of urgency to demand the government halt the operation and prioritize a ceasefire deal.

Over the weekend, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) escalated its offensive, striking two high-rise buildings in Gaza City, only to amplify fears and heighten concerns among hostage families that ongoing operations could endanger their relatives after more than 700 days in captivity.

In a social media post with video of one of the strikes on Saturday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said, “We continue,” showing the government’s clear intent to keep pounding Gaza City.

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Hours later, the protests began.

Alongside the weekly demonstrations in Tel Aviv, another group protested in Jerusalem outside the Prime Minister’s residence, the culmination of four days of targeted pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.

“We are in critical minutes,” said Viki Cohen, mother of the hostage Nimrod Cohen, addressing the Jerusalem crowd. “It is possible that at this very moment the fate of my son is being decided.”

The protests appeared to intensify following a 48-hour period that underscored the hostages’ precarious situation. On Friday, as the Gaza war reached its 700th day, Hamas released new propaganda footage of two hostages – Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Alon Ohel – being driven through Gaza City. The video marked the first appearance of 24-year-old Ohel since his capture by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

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Hours later, US President Donald Trump told White House reporters that some of the 20 hostages presumed alive in Gaza may have “recently died,” repeating similar comments from last month suggesting “probably” fewer than 20 of the remaining hostages were still alive.

Israel’s official hostage tally has not changed, with 48 remaining in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

An Israeli airstrike struck near the Mushtaha Tower in Gaza City yesterday. – Majdi Fathi/Associated Press

But Trump’s statements reinforced the families’ fears that the escalating offensive risks their loved ones. On Friday, some of the hostage families said they were briefed by Israeli military officials that the operation could risk the captives’ lives.

“The conquest of Gaza poses a clear and imminent danger to the hostage,” said Orna Neutra, mother of deceased hostage Omer Neutra, in a speech at the protests over the weekend. Afterward, she told CNN, “The IDF Chief of Staff and the different heads of the military and intelligence have said that there’s no way they can really protect the hostages. We also know from past experiences that they don’t know exactly where they are.”

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Neutra referenced an incident in Rafah one year ago when Hamas murdered six hostages as Israeli forces drew close.

“Despite hoping to proceed slowly without harming the hostages, some things remain beyond their control,” Neutra said of the IDF’s plans.

Since the security cabinet initially approved the war’s expansion in early August, hostage families have broadened their protest campaign to pressure the government to pursue a deal. Organizers report hundreds of thousands of Israelis have participated in the weekly demonstrations.

The wide-scale protests reached the White House, as Trump acknowledged on Friday. “The big protests in Israel about the hostages put Israel in a tough position. I’ve never seen anything like it, the level of love they have for their children,” he told reporters. However, the massive turnout has not convinced Netanyahu to advance the latest hostage deal on the table.

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Last month, Hamas accepted a Qatari-Egyptian proposal for a phased agreement releasing 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages during a 60-day ceasefire. Israel has ignored and dismissed the offer, with Netanyahu now demanding only a comprehensive agreement to end the war on Israel’s maximalist conditions, including all hostages released and Hamas disarmament.

On Saturday evening, Hamas reiterated “its commitment and adherence to the agreement” and said it was willing to consider any proposal that ends the war.

Trump has repeatedly endorsed Netanyahu’s new negotiation strategy, threatening Hamas once again. “If you don’t let (the hostages) all out, it’s going to be a tough situation. It’s going to be nasty.” Yet he also stated the US is in “very deep negotiations” with Hamas, raising hostage families’ hopes that a deal could be in the making.

In Tel Aviv’s central hostage square, a wide banner addressed the president directly: “Trump – save the hostages now.”

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