Tens of thousands march through Tel Aviv at Pride parade – first since Hamas attack

Background: Cancellations in previous years

This year's edition took place under the shadow of several military conflicts. Less than a week before the parade, there had been an air-raid siren in Tel Aviv. According to reports, many participants were preoccupied with Israel's military confrontations with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and with Iran, as well as with the military operation in the Gaza Strip.

"The participants demonstrated along the beach promenade of the Israeli coastal city for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer people – in short, LGBTQ." Tel Aviv has long been regarded as the LGBTQ capital of the Middle East. The Pride parade has been held there since 1998 and for many years was the largest LGBTQ event in the region as well as a liberal showpiece for Israel.

Mood between celebration and protest

The mood among the participants was subdued after the experiences of recent years. An unnamed participant said: "We are trying to celebrate, but there are far fewer people here than in previous years." Many demonstrators also expressed anger at the right-wing Israeli government.

Forty-year-old kindergarten worker Orion Tree, who took part in the parade this year, told the AFP news agency: "I wanted to come last year too, but they canceled the parade at the last minute, and the year before that as well."

Voices from the parade

Sports teacher Shai Raviv, also a participant in the parade, emphasized the symbolic character of the event. Even though the war continues, "it is an opportunity to remind ourselves that love is stronger than anything else."

Thirty-one-year-old tattoo artist Tal Salin Aicha pointed out that the LGBT community in Israel is far from enjoying all the rights often attributed to it. "It is not the case that the LGBT community here gets all the things that people think we have here in Israel – we cannot, for example, get married." The community therefore has "We still have to fight for so much more!"

The news about this year's Pride parade in Tel Aviv was broadcast on June 12, 2026 on the program Deutschlandfunk. The organizers spoke of tens of thousands of participants, even though eyewitnesses observed that the number was below the levels of previous years.