'It's not over yet': Tel Aviv celebrates Pride but war in back of mind

Rainbow flags, colourful floats and Bad Bunny on loudspeakers brought a festive mood to Tel Aviv for this year's Pride march, the first in full form since before the October 7 attack and the war in Gaza.

"I wanted to come last year, they cancelled it at the last minute, and the previous year too," Orion Tree, a nursery employee who joined the march, told AFP under the blazing sun of the coastal Israeli city.

"I'm 40 years old, and I've been waiting to go to Pride since I was a child. So I'm really happy to be here," he said.

The 28th edition of the event is the first to be held in its usual format since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the wars that followed, some of which are ongoing.

Long presented as one of the largest LGBTQ events in the Middle East, this year's march once again featured brightly coloured floats, dancers and drums, albeit with a more subdued atmosphere than in years past.

"We're trying to celebrate, but there are far fewer people than in previous years," said one participant, who declined to give her name.

"People in the north (of Israel) are still under bombardments (from Lebanese group Hezbollah), some people still can't return to their homes in the south, we hate our government, we hate what they're doing and the direction they're taking us in."

The current government, which is led by Benjamin Netanyahu and faces elections by late October, is among the most right-wing in Israeli history.

Air raid sirens warning of incoming attacks were still sounding in this liberal enclave on the Mediterranean, less than a week earlier, with the city regularly targeted by Iranian strikes during the war with Tehran.

"Even though it's not over yet and we're still living in wartime, it's an opportunity to remind ourselves that love is stronger than anything," said sports teacher Shai Raviv, another participant, who hoped the wars would end soon.

- 'More violence' -

Among the crowd thousands strong, festive slogans mingled with political messages.

One demonstrator wore a shirt bearing an insulting message directed at hard-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Another sported a mask depicting Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a leading figure of the religious hard right.

Despite the liberal image often associated with Tel Aviv, several participants stressed that there was still progress to be made on rights for the LGBTQ community.

"I don't think that the LGBT community here is getting all the things that people think that we have here in Israel, like we can't get married," said Tal Salin Aicha, a 31-year-old tattoo artist.

"We still have a lot to fight for, there is a lot of kids that are getting hurt, (the word) 'homo' is a curse in our country, and they get bullied for who they are," Aicha said.

"With this government and with the war, we've seen more violence against members of the LGBT+ community," added Adam, a 28-year-old electrical engineer who carried a rainbow flag and wore a flower crown on his head.

Around them, floats continued to move slowly along Tel Aviv's seafront, carrying drag queens, some with mermaid tails or blonde wigs.

A young woman painted rainbow flags on another participant's arm, while people danced, sang and kissed.

Revellers sprayed each other with water pistols and bubble guns.

For a few hours, they were the only visible weapons in the area.