Filipino Muslim mothers held a rally in support of Palestine amid its ongoing conflict with Israel.

Thousands of locals gathered for the pro-Palestine protest at the town plaza of Cotabato City in the southern Philippines on October 16.

The crowd, composed mostly of Muslim women, held up Palestinian flags and held up placards with calls to free Palestine.

Speakers at the gathering joined growing calls for a halt to the Israeli military offensive in response to the attacks carried out by Hamas on Saturday, October 7. They also urged the United States' military-industrial complex and the United Nations to 'maintain neutrality' in the conflict.

Local police estimated there were around 25,000 attendees at the four-hour rally.

The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country, but has a large Muslim sector in the archipelago's southern island, Mindanao, which was present before Spanish settlers spread their religion.

The Israeli retaliation was triggered by Gaza's governing party Hamas launching a barrage of more than 3,000 rockets that killed at least 1,400 Israeli people and injured thousands more on October 7.

The Israeli government responded by carrying out airstrikes that have left at least 2,808 people killed, health officials in Gaza claim.