London - Thousands of protesters marched in London and other cities on Saturday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon as the war in the Palestinian territory neared the one-year mark.
At the start of a planned wave of protests worldwide, pro-Palestinian supporters gathered in cities in the UK, France, South Africa, Ireland and Switzerland to demand an end to the conflict, which has killed nearly 42,000 people in Gaza.
Dozens of protests and commemorations are set to take place ahead of the anniversary Monday of Hamas’s attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,825 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the territory’s health ministry and described as reliable by the United Nations. At the “National March for Palestine” in London, familiar chants -- “ceasefire now”, “stop bombing hospitals, stop bombing civilians” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” -- were joined by shouts of “hands off Lebanon”.
Global marches
Zackerea Bakir, 28, said he has attended dozens of marches around the UK. Large numbers continue to turn up because “everyone wants a change”, Bakir told AFP. “It’s continuing to just get worse and worse, and yet nothing seems to be changing... I think it’s tiring that we have to continue to come out,” said Bakir, joined at the rally by his mother and brother. In Cape Town in South Africa, hundreds walked to parliament, chanting: “Israel is a racist state” and “We are all Palestinian.” Pro-Gaza marches were also planned Saturday in Johannesburg and Durban. In France, hundreds of people marched in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse and Strasbourg to express solidarity with the Palestinians, AFP journalists saw. Several thousand people came together in the Swiss city of Basel for a pro-Palestinian demonstration, with marchers calling for a ceasefire, economic sanctions on Israel and an end to Swiss scientific collaboration with Israel, the Keystone-ATS news agency reported.
Other pro-Palestinian protests were planned over the weekend and on Monday in cities including New York, Sydney, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Manila, and Karachi.
- ‘Not good enough’ -
In the British capital, several protesters criticised the new Labour government, carrying posters reading: “Starmer has blood on his hands”.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas, as well as suspending some arms licences to Israel.
However, many at the rally said it was not enough.
Sophia Thomson, 27, found Starmer’s stance “hypocritical”.
According to Thomson, the size of the protests “goes to show the government doesn’t speak for the people”.
“As you can see here today, this is the true essence of what the sentiments of the UK are”, she added.
“It’s not good enough,” said protester Zackerea Bakir, calling for the government to “stop giving a carte blanche of support to the Israeli government”.
- Heavy policing -
London’s Metropolitan police put in place a “significant” policing operation ahead of planned protests and memorial events.
While the rally in London was largely peaceful, at least 15 people were arrested, including three on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and one on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation.
Commemorations for victims of the October 7 attack are also scheduled internationally, including ceremonies in London, Washington, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Berlin.
An official anniversary ceremony will be held in Jerusalem on Monday.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will lead a memorial service at Sderot, one of the cities hardest hit during the onslaught by Palestinian militants.