LONDON/ISTANBUL – Hundreds of protesters gathered Thursday outside the entrance to Downing Street in central London to denounce recent Israeli strikes in Gaza, which violated a US-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.
Calling for an end to bombing and genocide in the enclave, they also urged the UK to stop selling arms to Israel. The demonstration, organized by pro-Palestinian groups including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Stop the War Coalition, drew a diverse crowd of activists, students, and community members waving Palestinian flags and holding placards reading "End UK Complicity in Gaza Genocide" and "Ceasefire Means Stop the Bombs Now." Chants of "Free, free Palestine" echoed through the streets as participants linked arms, forming a human chain to symbolize solidarity with Gaza's beleaguered residents.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn took part in the protest, pointing out that bombings in Gaza are continuing and the people are still being denied the food, aid, medicine and electricity they need despite the ceasefire. Addressing the crowd from a makeshift platform near Whitehall, Corbyn, now an independent MP for Islington North, decried the fragile truce's collapse. "It is not peace for the people of Gaza," he said, his voice rising over the murmurs of agreement. He recounted personal stories from Gaza, shared with him by aid workers, of families huddled in tents amid rubble, rationing scant supplies while Israeli forces encroach. "This ceasefire was meant to bring relief, but instead, it's a veil for more violence. The UK government must halt arms exports immediately – every bomb dropped carries British fingerprints."
He said they would continue their demonstrations until the Palestinian people can live in peace and freedom. Corbyn's speech, lasting over 15 minutes, was met with resounding applause and cheers, with many protesters embracing him afterward. The event remained peaceful, though Metropolitan Police officers monitored the periphery, citing concerns over potential counter-protests. Similar rallies unfolded in Istanbul's Taksim Square, where thousands marched under banners decrying "Zionist Aggression," linking the Gaza crisis to broader regional tensions involving Turkey's stance on Palestinian statehood.
Israeli forces have killed 211 people since a ceasefire took effect earlier this month, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The ministry, operating under strained conditions in Gaza's overwhelmed hospitals, compiles its figures from morgue records, eyewitness reports, and family notifications, cross-verified where possible despite the chaos of ongoing conflict. Independent analyses, including a January 2025 peer-reviewed study in The Lancet using capture-recapture methods from hospital data, social media obituaries, and surveys, estimated that the official toll underreports traumatic injury deaths by about 41%, suggesting the true figure could exceed 70,000 by late 2024 alone – a trend that has only worsened with recent escalations.
Since late Tuesday, Israeli strikes across Gaza have killed at least 104 people, including 46 children and 20 women. The attacks have also injured 253 others, including 78 children, according to Doctors Without Borders, citing the medical charity’s teams and the ministry. Eyewitness accounts from the ground paint a harrowing picture: in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, an airstrike flattened the home of the Abu Dalal family, wiping out an entire household in the dead of night. Neighbors described hearing the whistle of incoming missiles before a deafening explosion that shook the densely packed camp. "They burned children while they were asleep," wailed Haneen Mteir, a survivor who lost her sister and nephews, as she attended a funeral procession outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Ambulances ferried the wounded through debris-strewn streets, where civil defense teams struggled to extinguish fires and dig through collapsed structures.
The strikes targeted tents for displaced people, residential homes, and even the vicinity of a hospital, according to Gaza's civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal, who labeled the assault "catastrophic and terrifying – a clear and flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement." Doctors Without Borders reported that their field hospitals in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis were inundated, with pediatric wards overwhelmed by child casualties suffering shrapnel wounds, burns, and crush injuries. "These are not isolated incidents; they are part of a pattern that endangers civilians and undermines any hope for recovery," said a MSF coordinator in a statement released Wednesday.
Israel has killed more than 68,000 people in Gaza in more than two years of attacks that started on Oct. 7, 2023. This cumulative toll, per the Palestinian Health Ministry's October 7 update, includes 20,179 children – nearly a third of the total – and encompasses deaths from direct bombardment, as well as indirect causes like starvation, disease, and lack of medical care amid a near-total blockade. The enclave, home to 2.3 million before the war, has seen over 92% of residential buildings damaged or destroyed, per UN satellite analysis from August 2025, displacing 1.9 million and rendering much of Gaza uninhabitable. Thousands more remain buried under rubble, with estimates from the Gaza Health Projections Working Group suggesting up to 10,000 unrecovered bodies as of mid-October.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was reached earlier this month, based on a 20-point peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump. Unveiled on September 29, 2025, during a White House address flanked by mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, the plan outlined phased implementation: an immediate halt to hostilities, partial Israeli troop withdrawal to a "yellow line" along Gaza's borders, the release of all living Israeli hostages (about 100 remaining) in exchange for 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a surge in humanitarian aid to 500 trucks daily. Hamas would disarm non-essential wings, with governance transitioning to an international body led by the UN and Arab states. Trump hailed it as "the deal of the century reloaded," crediting his personal diplomacy after eight months of shuttle talks. The agreement took effect on October 10, sparking cautious celebrations in Gaza's war-torn streets, where families briefly returned to inspect ruined homes.
Israel, however, has violated the truce multiple times, the latest this week. The Israeli military justified Tuesday's barrage as a "targeted response" to Hamas militants firing on troops in Rafah, southern Gaza, killing one soldier – the first Israeli fatality since the ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced "immediate, powerful strikes" after a security cabinet meeting, notifying the US beforehand. The IDF claimed to have hit "dozens of terror targets," including Hamas command posts, tunnel shafts, and weapons caches, eliminating 30 militants such as Nukhba commanders Muhammad Isa and Fawwaz Uwayda, linked to the October 7 attacks. "We will uphold the ceasefire but respond firmly to any violation," an IDF spokesperson stated Wednesday, announcing a return to "enforcement mode" after the operation.
Hamas vehemently denied involvement, accusing Israel of fabricating pretexts to sabotage the deal. "This is a blatant aggression aimed at derailing the truce," said Hamas spokesperson Izzat al-Rishq in a Telegram statement, urging mediators to intervene. The group handed over the bodies of two deceased Israeli hostages Thursday – fulfilling a ceasefire clause – amid accusations from Israel that Hamas had staged the recovery of partial remains earlier in the week, using drone footage as evidence. Gaza's Government Media Office tallied 80 Israeli violations since October 10, killing 97 and injuring 230 prior to Tuesday's escalation.
US President Trump, speaking aboard Air Force One en route to Asia, defended Israel's actions. "Nothing’s going to jeopardize this ceasefire. They took out an Israeli soldier – Israel has the right to hit back," he told reporters, reiterating threats to "terminate" Hamas if it disrupts progress. Yet, the strikes have reignited fears of collapse, echoing previous truces: a November 2023 deal lasted seven weeks before unraveling, and a January 2025 pause ended in March amid mutual recriminations. Aid flows, ramped up post-ceasefire to 300 trucks daily, were briefly halted Sunday but resumed Monday under US pressure, though UN officials warn shortages persist, with 80% of Gazans facing acute food insecurity.
In London, the Downing Street protest swelled as news of the strikes broke, with speakers like Zarah Sultana, co-founder of Corbyn's Independent Alliance, vowing to pressure Labour's Keir Starmer government for sanctions and an arms embargo. "Two years of genocide, and now this? Britain must choose: complicity or humanity," she declared. Istanbul's rally, drawing 5,000 per Turkish media, featured imams leading prayers for Gaza's martyrs, while President Erdogan condemned the strikes in a televised address, pledging $100 million in reconstruction aid if the truce holds.
The violations underscore the ceasefire's tenuousness: formidable hurdles remain, including Hamas's disarmament, Gaza's governance, and Israel's security demands. As funerals unfold in Gaza – white-shrouded bodies of children paraded through Khan Younis streets – mediators in Cairo convene emergency talks. Bassal of Gaza Civil Defence captured the despair: "Massacres like these shatter any illusion of peace." For Gaza's survivors, the fragile hope of October 10 feels increasingly distant, buried under fresh layers of rubble and grief.
