Protester wearing 'Israel out of the Tour' t-shirt runs onto Tour final straight

TOULOUSE, France :A protester wearing a 'Israel out of the Tour' t-shirt ran onto the final straight of Wednesday's 11th stage of the Tour de France as two riders sprinted it out for victory before being restrained by a security officer.

The protester, who was also waving a keffiyeh, was about 50 metres from the finish line as Norway's Jonas Abrahamsen beat Swiss champion Mauro Schmid for victory in the 11th stage.

Israel is represented on the Tour through the Israel-Premier Tech team, but no Israeli riders are on the race.

Israel's military operations in Gaza have killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, by Israeli tallies.

Some other protests are planned on the Tour route, Reuters has learned from sources with a direct knowledge of the matter.

Tour organisers and the Israel-Premier Tech team were not immediately reachable for comment.