Worthy Christian News > World News > Massive Anti-Israel Protests Underway In London

Massive Anti-Israel Protests Underway In London

By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos

LONDON/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Tens of thousands of people marched in an anti-Israel protest through London despite warnings by the government that spreading hatred and support of “terror organizations” such as Hamas won’t be tolerated.

Many could be heard chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” referring to the land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean.

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman had urged police chiefs to consider the chant as an “expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world.”

Israel and most Jewish groups agree and view the chant as fiercely anti-Semitic, but police did little to intervene.

The Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and other activists claim the slogan refers to “the right of all Palestinians to freedom, equality, and justice”.

Demonstrator Abdul Mahfuudi attended the protest with his children: “The most important thing for us is for them to stop killing kids. They need to stop.” Israel has made similar arguments, saying “terror organization Hamas,” which controls Gaza, killed babies and toddlers in Israel.

DECAPITATED BABY

A senior Israeli army officer said Friday that he even found the body of a decapitated baby in one of the kibbutz communities attacked by Hamas on October 7.

Colonel Golan Vach, head of the military search and rescue service, told media he saw the body of a mother protecting a baby while searching debris at the Beeri kibbutz three days after the attacks.

“When I pulled it over, I saw a decapitated baby. I took it up with my hands, and I carried it, and I put it in the body bag. I personally did it,” he said.

Israel has said 1,400 people were killed, including women and children, and at least 229 were taken hostage when Hamas gunmen attacked kibbutz communities, towns, and military bases in southern Israel.

However, back in London, demonstrators didn’t address those concerns, making clear that Israel’s retaliatory military action should stop.

The Hamas-run health minister says some 7,500 people have died since Israel launched air strikes in the Gaza Strip, but those figures have been difficult to verify independently.

TARGETING HAMAS

Israel says its air strikes are aimed at Hamas, which it views as a terrorist organization, and it accuses of using civilians as human shields.

However, crowds in London started to gather near the Golden Jubilee Bridge, holding signs saying “Gaza, stop the massacre” and “Free Palestine, end the Israeli occupation.”

A sound system also could be seen leading people to shout: “Stop arming Israel. Stop bombing Gaza.” “We are all Palestinian.”

Demonstrators also gathered with banners and posters, letting off red and green flares and chanting “Free Palestine.” Similar rallies also reportedly happened elsewhere in Britain, including Manchester and Glasgow.

The rallies came as the Israeli military warned civilians in northern Gaza that their “window to act is closing” and called for them to “move south for their own safety” as a ground offensive appeared underway on Saturday.