Thousands of demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and demanding Israel stop its military attack on Gaza marched in London Saturday — while police threatened to arrest anyone showing support for the Hamas terrorist group.
Marchers holding signs reading “Free Palestine” and “End the Massacre” began at Oxford Circus near the BBC News world headquarters and planned to walk to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official resident on Downing Street.
The protesters railed against the US and UK governments for their support of Israel, despite earlier police warnings that anyone with a flag indicating support for Hamas or any other terrorist groups would be arrested, the Times of Israel reported.
London’s Metropolitan Police Service said it planned to have more than 1,000 officers at the rally.
“I think all just people around the world, not just in Britain, must stand up and call for this madness (to end),” Ismail Patel, chairman of the Friends of Al-Aqsa campaign, said at the demonstration.
“Otherwise, in the next few days, (we) might see a catastrophe unfolding.”
Belal Stitan, a 22 year-old student, said he was terrified for his relatives in Gaza.
“No one in Gaza is OK. My family are all in Gaza and none of them are OK,” he told Reuters.
“This situation is a big, big problem for humanity and for me to have to say to the world, remember that we are human beings … I can’t believe that we are here.”
Earlier on Saturday, BBC headquarters was smeared in red paint. A group called Palestine Action took responsibility for the incident, decrying the broadcaster’s coverage as “manufacturing consent for Israel’s war crimes.”
Follow along with The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel
The rally began as Israel stepped up its assault on the Gaza Strip to destroy Hamas, bombing most areas of Gaza and deploying tens of thousands of soldiers nearby ahead of an expected ground offensive in the enclave.
The Israeli assault comes after the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas, who deployed hundreds of fighters across the Israeli border where they took hostages and killed more than 1,300 civilians on the streets, in their homes or at a rave party.
In the UK, anyone found guilty of supporting a banned terrorist organization in Britain, face up to 14 years in prison.
Israeli warplane strikes have reduced entire Gaza neighborhoods to rubble and sent people scrambling for safety — carrying out their attacks as Hamas terrorists threatened to execute a captive for every home hit without warning of an impending bombing by Israel.
with Post wires
