Thousands march across Europe for Gaza – 20 arrests in London
Three years after the Gaza war began, protesters marched on Saturday in London, Dublin, Berlin, Rome and other cities. London police reported 20 arrests.
Archive image · Photo: Fulvio Baccaglini / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped and resized)
Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday, from Victoria Embankment across Westminster Bridge to a rally in Whitehall. Organisers claimed 250,000 participants, a figure not independently verified; police had expected 7,000 to 10,000. The Metropolitan Police arrested 20 people, including six who climbed the Battle of Britain memorial, two who refused to remove face coverings and two over placards supporting Palestine Action, a group banned under terrorism laws. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said on X the government must go further to sanction Israel and that "Britain must stop arming Israel now." About 30 people joined a counter-protest outside New Scotland Yard.
Protests also took place in many other European cities. More than 10,000 people marched in Dublin, according to RTÉ, and marches were held in around 50 Italian cities including Rome, Milan, Turin and Naples. In Berlin, police said about 3,500 people joined a "United for Palestine" march near the chancellery, while about 1,000 marched in Zurich. There were also protests in Warsaw.
The protests coincided with the anniversary of the Gaza ceasefire, which took effect a year ago. Since then, about 1,450 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel's Diaspora Affairs Ministry counted 357 pro-Palestinian events planned in 39 countries in early October, JTA reported. The war began with Hamas's attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage.