International Quds Day is seen as the legacy of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini, who is revered as a spiritual leader by Muslims across the world. Back in 1979, shortly after leading an Islamic revolution which toppled the US-backed Shah dynasty in Iran, Imam Khomeini named the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan as Quds Day.
Anti-Israeli sentiments have been gaining ground on a regular basis following Tel Aviv's onslaughts on the besieged Gaza Strip which have killed thousands of people, many of them women and children, since 2009.
The attacks were launched amid a muted response from the so-called international community which is spearheaded by the US - Israel's staunch ally.
However, they raised global awareness of Israeli atrocities against the people of Palestine. Tel Aviv is now facing charges of war crimes over its military strikes against the impoverished enclave which has been under a crippling Israeli siege since 2007.
In early July 2014, Israel waged a deadly war on Gaza. The 50-day offensive ended on August 26 with a truce that took effect after indirect negotiations in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Nearly 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children, were killed in Israel’s onslaught.
This year, Quds Day has become a larger rallying cry as it comes after months of mass protests in Gaza which proved Israel's inability to stop the Palestinians despite widespread use of deadly force against unarmed protesters.
Since late March, over 120 Palestinian protesters have been killed and thousands more wounded by Israeli forces, mainly sharpshooters. The Israeli military has come under intense international criticism for permitting its forces to open fire on unarmed protesters in Gaza.
Tensions have been running high near the Gaza fence since March 30, which marked the start of a series of protests, dubbed “The Great March of Return,” demanding the right to return for those driven out of their homeland.
The Gaza clashes reached their peak on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the US embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.
This year, millions of people across Iran and other world countries are gathering for the International Quds Day rallies to show their solidarity with the Palestinians and condemn Israel’s decades-long occupation and atrocities.