Thousands of people demonstrated once again yesterday Saturday in London to demand a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

It was the eleventh demonstration in the British capital with this demand since the Israel/Hamas war broke out on October 7.

A raid launched by Hamas’ military arm in southern sectors of Israeli territory that day killed 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data. Israeli military operations in retaliation in the Palestinian enclave have claimed the lives of at least 32,705 people, the vast majority of them women and children, according to Hamas’ health ministry.

“We are asking for a permanent ceasefire to be declared to stop what the world’s top court has ruled to be a possible genocide,” Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, one of the collectives that organized the mobilization.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations’ top judicial body, following an appeal by South Africa, ordered Israel in January to do everything within its power to prevent possible “genocide” in the Palestinian enclave. The Israeli political leadership reacted by calling this accusation “outrageous”.

Accusing the British government of “giving the green light” to the Israeli military’s actions in practice by continuing to approve arms exports, Ben Jamal called for a “fundamental change” in its policy and added that “until we secure it, we will continue to demonstrate”.

“It is important for Palestinians to know that the world supports them, that they are not alone,” Sally Worgan, 65, told AFP during the march.

She also believes that “governments need to listen”, which the British government has finally done; “it takes a lot of demonstrations to make people realize” what is going on.

British diplomacy has recently publicly called for an “immediate humanitarian pause” in operations, leading to “lasting peace”.

According to Westminster Police, law enforcement officers arrested a total of four people for “hate crimes”, disturbing public order and “terrorism-related offences”. One of these persons was allegedly calling for the support of an illegal organization.

A counter-demonstration was organized with Israeli flags and placards reading “Hamas is a terrorist organization”.

Most of the 2.4 million residents of the Gaza Strip are at risk of starvation, UN agencies have been warning for weeks. On Thursday, the International Court of Justice ordered that Israel must “without delay” guarantee “on a large scale” and “unhindered” the distribution of “urgently needed humanitarian aid”.