Tens of thousands of people demonstrated yesterday Saturday in Washington and London, expressing their solidarity with the Palestinian people and demanding an “immediate” ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, however, they criticized the support of the US and British governments to Israel.

With Palestinian flags and headscarves, thousands of demonstrators – the vast majority of them young – gathered in the center of the US capital on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. .

An “immediate ceasefire” was demanded by the participants, who held placards reading “Freedom in Palestine” and “Let Gaza live, stop funding genocide”.

On a platform, some Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who now live in various US states, including Michigan and Texas, recounted the fate of their loved ones who were killed or injured, while urging the Biden administration to end military and financial aid to Israel. “President Biden could easily stop this insanity,” putting pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of them argued.

The seventh major demonstration of solidarity with the Palestinian people took place in London. After the holiday break, thousands of protesters poured into the streets of the British capital yesterday Saturday – as well as thirty other countries around the world.

Demonstrators of all ages took part in the march, holding placards reading “Stop bombing children in Gaza” and painted olive branches, while waving peace and Palestinian flags. Protesters urged the Sunak government to “stop funding genocide”, with some saying they felt “ashamed” to be British.

“It’s heartbreaking to see the international community stand idly by… I hope that in the future our government will stand up for the right and oppose the killing of innocent children,” Dipes Kottar, a 37-year-old dentist who went to the march with his partner and their two-year-old daughter.

“We want to show the Palestinian people that we are on their side and oppose our government,” Maliha Ahmed, a 27-year-old health worker, told AFP.

The war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7 after an unprecedented attack by militants of the Palestinian Islamist movement, which claimed the lives of around 1,140 people, most of them civilians.

Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have since killed 23,843 people and injured more than 60,300, according to the latest tally released by the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave.