Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in central London

News Desk: Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in central London to demand the British government call for a ceasefire after Israel’s military widened its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Aerial footage showed large crowds setting off on the march organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, with the protest due to end outside the Houses of Parliament after passing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Downing Street office.

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

London police have faced criticism in recent days for not being tougher over slogans shouted by some protesters during another pro-Palestinian march in the capital last week, which drew about 100,000 people. That protest was mostly peaceful with only a handful of arrests.

Ahead of Saturday’s event, police warned there was no place for hate crime and said 2,000 officers would be on duty across the city. Special restrictions were in place restricting protests around the Israeli Embassy.