2 days ago
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
80K People Protest in London Against UK Involvement in Gaza Genocide
DaysofPal- More than 80,000 protesters gathered on Saturday, July 19, 2025, in London in the largest pro-Palestine demonstrations since the Israeli aggression on Gaza began in October 2023, demanding an end to British support for the Israeli occupation and a halt to arms exports used in the systematic bombing and starvation of Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The massive march was organized by the Palestinian Forum in Britain, in partnership with the Solidarity Coalition with Palestine, coinciding with the 21st month of the ongoing aggression, which has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries and a humanitarian catastrophe unprecedented in the besieged enclave.
The demonstration featured a moving moment when Dr. Mohammed Mustafa, a Palestinian surgeon residing in Britain who recently returned from Gaza, took to the stage holding bloodstained surgical clothes worn while treating the wounded under bombardment. He said, 'These clothes carry the blood of those I could not save… women, children, and patients I will never forget. I wear them here because they can no longer speak, and someone must speak on their behalf.' He added, 'I was denied entry to Gaza, not because I am a doctor, but because I spoke the truth. But my voice will not be silenced, and today I raise it for Gaza, for those who have endured, and for those who have departed unheard.' He recounted that a relative of his was killed while standing in a food queue, saying, 'He was not a fighter, but a father looking for bread for his children. He was not killed in battle but by a deliberate policy of starvation and oppression.'
The march saw broad participation from political, union, and artistic figures, including Jeremy Corbyn, Richard Burgon, Zoe Garbett, Lian Mohammed, Joe Greedy, Steve O'Donnell, Nadine Shah, and Palestinian Ambassador Hossam Zomlot, alongside representatives of student unions, trade unions, and anti-Zionist Jewish groups.
Raghad Takriti, from the Islamic Association in Britain, likened what is happening in Gaza to the Srebrenica massacre, emphasizing that the phrase 'Never again' has been shattered under the bombs raining down on Gaza and the world's silence protecting the perpetrators. She added, 'The day of reckoning will come for everyone who approved arms exports, for every media outlet that distorted the truth, and for every government that provided political cover for the extermination.'
Activist and Palestinian nurse Ahmed Bakr, in his speech, recalled the 1,580 Palestinian health workers killed during the aggression, saying, 'They are my heroes and role models. I witnessed them being assassinated silently before the world. If the occupation can broadcast a genocide live, we too can achieve justice. We will see Netanyahu in The Hague, and we will see a free Palestine.'
British-Palestinian activist Lian Mohammed addressed the crowd, saying, 'We came today to mourn the martyrs and honor those who remain, but we also came to demand action. Silence is complicity, and Britain's silence is deafening. If our leaders do not speak, we will raise our voices.'
At the end of the march, protesters sent a direct message to the British government, expressing their anger over the continued arms sales to the Israeli occupation and the recent visit of Israeli Air Force Commander Tomer Bar to London just days before the demonstration. Ismail Batil, founder of the 'Friends of Al-Aqsa' organization, said, 'What is happening in Gaza is not a war that got out of control but a meticulously planned extermination. They want to silence us because they fear the truth… and they fear the power of our voices.'
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