Key Points
- About 40,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in London.
- Protesters oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza and worry about the spreading conflict.
- Over the past year, the scale of the killing and destruction in Gaza has drawn some of the biggest global protests in years.
The war was triggered when militant Palestinian group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in a raid that killed 1,200 people and in which about 250 were taken as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
“And our government, our British government, unfortunately, is just paying lip service and carries on supplying weapons to Israel,” she added.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched on London’s Downing Street to mark one year of the Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip and to call for a permanent ceasefire. Source: AAP / Tolga Akmen
Over the past year, the scale of the killing and destruction in Gaza has drawn some of the biggest global protests in years, in a wave of anger that defenders of Israel say has created an anti-Semitic climate in which protesters question Israel’s right to exist as a country.
The war in Gaza has spread to the region, drawing in Iran-aligned groups in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.
In Berlin, Israel supporters protested against rising anti-Semitism and scuffles broke out between police and pro-Palestinian counter-protesters. Source: SIPA USA / Michael Kuenne
Israel has sharply escalated a campaign against Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah in recent weeks and Iran launched a barrage of missiles against Israel this week.
“We really need to stop the war because it’s now become unbearable,” he added.
Some demonstrators wearing face coverings and dressed in black threw bottles, firecrackers and traffic signs at the security forces, who responded with the use of tear gas and water cannons.
Protesters clashed with police during the pro-Palestinian march in Rome on 5 October. Source: EPA / Angelo Carconi
While its allies such as the United States support Israel’s right to defend itself, Israel has faced wide international condemnation over its actions in Gaza, and now over its bombarding of Lebanon.
Hamas wants an agreement that ends the war while Israel says fighting can end only when Hamas is eradicated.
Protesters rallied against the US and Israel and in solidarity with the Palestinian people, near the US embassy in Manila, Philippines. Source: EPA / Francis R. Malasig
In Manila, activists clashed with anti-riot police after they were blocked from holding a demonstration in front of the US embassy in the Philippine capital in protest at the United States supplying Israel with weapons.
Demonstrations in support of Israel are also planned over the weekend.