Burak Bir
21 June 2025•Update: 21 June 2025
LONDON
A large number of people on Saturday took to the streets of London to protest Israel's ongoing airstrikes on Iran and Gaza.
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in central Russell Square and later marched towards Whitehall, shouting slogans in protest of Israeli attacks.
Demonstrators waved Palestinian and Iranian flags and chanted: "Stop bombing Iran, stop bombing Gaza," "Stop arming Israel," and "Free Palestine."
"Hands off Iran" was among the placards carried by the protesters during the rally.
Hostilities broke out on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
Israeli authorities said at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.
Meanwhile, in Iran, 430 people have been killed and more than 3,500 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.
Along with many pro-Palestine citizens, people from various groups, including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Stop the War group, and various socialist groups, participated in the march.
A large number of police officers were seen along the march route, as well as a small number of pro-Israel protesters.
The audience and speakers also criticized the British government for its stance on Israel, demanding that it stop selling arms to Tel Aviv.
Zarah Sultana, an independent MP for Coventry South, told the crowd in her speech: "We demand that our government end all arms sales to Israel and all complicity in its genocide against the Palestinian people."
Former First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf also urged those in attendance to "not stop speaking about Gaza."
He said calling for an end to the mass slaughter of children "does not make you antisemitic."
"Calls to end the starvation of two million people do not constitute antisemitism. Calls for the end of genocide do not constitute antisemitism," he added.
Yousaf also said everyone has to be vocal about Israel's illegal strikes against Iran.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 55,900 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
