(CNN) -- Hundreds of supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took to the streets of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday to protest the deaths of nine pro-Palestinian activists after the Israeli navy stormed a flotilla of ships aiming to bypass a blockade to deliver aid to Gaza.
The protesters carried Palestinian flags, Iraqi flags, banners and pictures of al-Sadr.
They chanted: "No, no Israel, no, no America, yes, yes Palestine."
Some of the banners were written in English and strongly criticized Isreal's response to the flotilla.
"My message to the world and especially to the Islamic and Arab world (is) that they should take practical steps to punish Israel not only on this crime but on all the crimes that Israel has committed before because the condemn and denounce letters and messages are not enough anymore," one of the protesters, Abdul Zahar al-Tamimi told CNN.
A number of Iraqi parliment members and politicians participated in the protest, including the Iraqi interior minister.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
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