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Pro-Palestinian Protesters Demand Gaza Ceasefire in European Marches

Protesters gather with placards and flags during the 'London Rally For Palestine' in Trafalgar Square, central London on November 4, 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Protesters gather with placards and flags during the 'London Rally For Palestine' in Trafalgar Square, central London on November 4, 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Pro-Palestinian Protesters Demand Gaza Ceasefire in European Marches

Protesters gather with placards and flags during the 'London Rally For Palestine' in Trafalgar Square, central London on November 4, 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Protesters gather with placards and flags during the 'London Rally For Palestine' in Trafalgar Square, central London on November 4, 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through London, Berlin and Paris on Saturday to call for a ceasefire in Gaza after a week when Israel's military intensified their assault against Hamas.

In London, television footage showed large crowds holding sit-down protests blocking Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus, before marching to and gathering in Trafalgar Square.

Protesters held "Freedom for Palestine" placards and chanted "ceasefire now" and "in our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians."

London's Metropolitan Police said it had made three arrests. In a post on X, police said one person was arrested for displaying a placard that could incite hate, contrary to terrorism legislation.

Britain has supported Israel's right to defend itself after the Hamas militant group killed 1,400 people and took more than 240 hostage in an Oct. 7 assault in southern Israel.

Echoing Washington's stance, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government has stopped short of calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, and instead advocated humanitarian pauses to allow aid to reach people in need.

Thousands of protesters marched in central Paris to call for a ceasefire with placards reading "Stop the cycle of violence" and "To do nothing, to say nothing is to be complicit."

In Berlin, demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. One woman marched with her arm in the air, her hand covered in fake blood.

Western governments have offered support to Israel after the Oct. 7 attacks but there has been growing concern over civilian casualties that have soared under Israel's bombardment that has seen thousands killed, wounded and displaced in Gaza.

Palestinians reported a deadly Israeli strike on a UN-run school in northern Gaza serving as a shelter on Saturday.

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UN: Record 281 Aid Workers Killed in 2024

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has seen more than 200 staff killed since the Gaza war began. Eyad BABA / AFP/File
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has seen more than 200 staff killed since the Gaza war began. Eyad BABA / AFP/File
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UN: Record 281 Aid Workers Killed in 2024

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has seen more than 200 staff killed since the Gaza war began. Eyad BABA / AFP/File
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has seen more than 200 staff killed since the Gaza war began. Eyad BABA / AFP/File

A staggering 281 aid workers have been killed around the world so far this year, making 2024 the deadliest year for humanitarians, the UN aid chief said Friday.
"Humanitarian workers are being killed at an unprecedented rate, their courage and humanity being met with bullets and bombs," said Tom Fletcher, the United Nations' new under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.
With more than a month left to go of 2024, the "grim milestone was reached", he said, after 280 humanitarians were killed across 33 countries during all of 2023.
"This violence is unconscionable and devastating to aid operations," Fletcher said.
Israel's devastating war in Gaza was driving up the numbers, his office said, with 333 aid workers killed there -- most from the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA -- since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks, which sparked the war, AFP reported.
"States and parties to conflict must protect humanitarians, uphold international law, prosecute those responsible, and call time on this era of impunity," Fletcher said.
Aid workers were subject to kidnappings, injuries, harassment and arbitrary detention in a range of countries, his office said, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Ukraine.
The majority of deaths involve local staff working with non-governmental organizations, UN agencies and the Red Cross Red Crescent movement, Fletcher's office said.
"Violence against humanitarian personnel is part of a broader trend of harm to civilians in conflict zones," it warned.
"Last year, more than 33,000 civilian deaths were recorded in 14 armed conflicts -- a staggering 72 per cent increase from 2022."
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution last May in response to the surging violence and threats against aid workers.
The text called for recommendations from the UN chief -- set to be presented at a council meeting next week -- on measures to prevent and respond to such incidents and to increase protection for humanitarian staff and accountability for abuses.