\n Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched in Washington, London and elsewhere on Saturday as part of a \"global day of action\" to demand an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza fighting and to oppose US and British support for Israel.\n<\/p>\n
\n In Washington, large crowds waved Palestinian flags as the mostly young protesters -- many wearing the traditional keffiyeh -- gathered in a show of solidarity on the 99th day of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Cease-fire now,\" people chanted, while carrying banners and posters that read \"Free Palestine\" and \"End the War on Gaza.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n On a stage a few blocks from the White House, several Palestinian-Americans -- originally from Gaza, but now living in US states from Michigan to Texas -- offered emotional accounts of friends and relatives killed or wounded in Gaza.\n<\/p>\n
\n They exhorted US President Joe Biden to end military and financial support for Israel.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"President Biden can easily stop this madness\" by pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, one speaker said to wide applause.\n<\/p>\n
\n London, meantime, saw its seventh pro-Palestinian demonstration since October 7, when Hamas militants invaded southern Israel and killed around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.\n<\/p>\n
\n Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a relentless bombardment of Gaza that has killed at least 23,843 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest toll from the territory's health ministry.\n<\/p>\n
\n Around 1,700 police were on duty Saturday to ensure security for the London protest.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"We want to show the people of Palestine we are with them, and to speak up against our government as well,\" 27-year-old health service worker Maleeha Ahmed, who was at the march with her family, told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"They are playing a very, very big role in allowing Israel to continue what they are doing and it's just not acceptable,\" she said.\n<\/p>\n
\n Another marcher, Dipesh Kothar, 37, said it was \"very frustrating to sit and watch the world do nothing.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n \"That's why we come out to show support for the Palestinian people and show our unhappiness with the governments around the world,\" he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n Saturday's marches held particular significance given US and British air strikes in Yemen this week against Huthi bases, after the Iran-backed militants attacked ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Gaza.\n<\/p>\n
\n The day of action, called by a British organizing coalition, involved protests in 30 countries.\n<\/p>\n
\n Kate Hudson of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, which is part of the coalition, said the event was \"to demand a permanent cease-fire and a lasting political settlement for all Palestinians.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n She said the British government \"must end its support for Israel's brutal war in Gaza, and join the wider international community in condemning its war crimes.\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched in Washington, London and elsewhere on Saturday as part of a \"global day of action\" to demand an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza fighting and to oppose US and British support for Israel. In Washington, large crowds waved Palestinian flags as the mostly young protesters -- many wearing the traditional […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-127164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n