Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched across London to protest Israel's Operation Protective Edge, carrying signs reading “Gaza: End the siege.”
Metropolitan Police placed the number of participants in London at around 45,000, The Independent reported. The demonstration, which began near High Street Kensington, passed the Israeli embassy and eventually reached Parliament Square. Participants chanted, “Long live Gaza; long live Palestine” as they marched.
The Israeli regime launched a major air campaign in Gaza on July 8 and later sent ground troops into the besieged territory.
Hundreds of demonstrators also took to the streets of Paris on Saturday, clashing with police after a ban imposed by French authorities was defied.
Police said that 50 people were arrested over the course of the day. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that organizers would be held responsible. He stressed that only five out of approximately 300 protests in the country had been banned, and that prohibiting the mass action was the exception rather than the rule.
Thousands also turned up in Dublin, with Palestinian and Irish speakers addressing the crowd from a makeshift stage near the Israeli embassy.
Tel Aviv was also home to thousands of anti-war protesters on Saturday. The demonstrators carried signs bearing slogans such as “bury the rifles, not the children.”
Protests demanding an end to Israel's aggression in Gaza have been gripping the world for over a week.
NTJ/HH