Photo : Collected
Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through a rainy London on Saturday (21 October) to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza, and similar calls were heard in cities around the world as the Israel-Hamas war entered its third week.
On the day a trickle of aid entered Gaza, where more than 1 million people have left their homes because of the conflict, protesters gathered in at Marble Arch near London's Hyde Park before marching to the government district, Whitehall. Police estimated the crowd that wound its way through the city for three hours at “up to 100,000.”
Waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Stop bombing Gaza,” participants called for an end to Israel’s blockade and airstrikes launched in the wake of a brutal incursion into southern Israel by the Hamas militant group that controls Gaza.
Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,300 people have been killed in the territory since the latest war began. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, mostly civilians slain during Hamas’ deadly incursion on Oct. 7.
Israel continued to bombard targets in Gaza on Saturday ahead of an expected ground offensive. A small measure of relief came when 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were allowed to enter Gaza across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
The war has raised tensions around the world, with both Jewish and Muslim communities feeling under threat. The British Transport Police force said it was investigating after footage was posted online that appears to show a London Underground driver leading passengers in a chant of “Free, free Palestine” over the subway intercom.
British authorities urged demonstrators to be mindful of the pain and anxiety felt by the Jewish community. London’s Metropolitan Police force says it has seen a 13-fold upsurge in reports of antisemitic offenses in October compared to last year. Reports of anti-Muslim crimes have more than doubled.
Police said there had been "pockets of disorder and some instances of hate speech” during protests over the war, but “the majority of the protest activity has been lawful and has taken place without incident.”
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters also gathered in Belfast and in Northern Ireland’s second city, Londonderry, where speakers included lawmaker Colum Eastwood of the Irish nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators waving Palestinian flags flooded the streets of downtown Barcelona to demand an end to the Israeli airstrikes. In Muslim-majority Kosovo, several hundred people walked from mosques to Pristina's Zahir Pajaziti square after lunchtime prayers to express support for Palestinians.
In Australia, thousands marched through central Sydney on Saturday, shouting “Shame, shame Israel” and “Palestine will never die.”
The war sparked protests across the Arab world and beyond on Friday, including in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians burned tires and threw stones at Israeli military checkpoints. Israeli security forces responded firing tear gas and live rounds.
Crowds gathered in Israel’s northern neighbor Lebanon; in Iraq at the country’s border crossing with Jordan; in Jordan itself; in cities and towns across Egypt; in Turkey’s capital Ankara and its most populous city of Istanbul; and in Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco and South Africa.
On the back of each chair was a flyer featuring the name, age and photo of each missing person. On the table were candles, wine and loaves of challah, the braided bread typically eaten during the Friday night meal.
Messenger/Disha
