Thousands March in London After Three Years of Gaza War
Thousands of people gathered in central London on Oct. 10, 2026, to express support for Palestinians after what organisers described as three years of genocide by Israel. The figure was 250,000, organisers said. The Guardian
Demonstrators assembled at midday Saturday on the Embankment, at Cleopatra's Needle, Victoria Embankment, London WC2N, before marching toward parliament. The front of the procession entered Whitehall for a rally. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign had billed the event as "NATIONAL MARCH FOR PALESTINE: 3 years of genocide" and called on supporters to join the march to stand with Palestine. Palestine Solidarity Campaign
The march was organised by the Palestine Coalition, which has organised more than 30 mass demonstrations since October 2023. Protesters called for the British government to stop supplying arms to Israel. A two-minute silence was held to reflect on lives lost in Gaza.
Metropolitan Police said several arrests were made during the march. They included a woman and a man with placards declaring support for Palestine Action, a proscribed organisation. Police said a number of protesters were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after climbing onto the Battle of Britain memorial on Victoria Embankment.
The march was the first national march held since Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced sweeping sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements and declared the British position that Israel's occupation of the West Bank was unlawful in its entirety.
Gaza's health ministry reported the Palestinian death toll over the past three years exceeded 74,000 as of September 2026. The Board of Deputies of British Jews said that three years ago Hamas infiltrated Israel, "murdering 1,200 men, women and children".
The U.S. Embassy in London issued a demonstration alert for planned demonstrations in London on Oct. 10 and advised U.S. citizens to avoid areas of demonstrations. Separately, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has promoted a campaign titled "Delete Genocide Tech" that aims to get contracts cancelled and ensure no future contracts are awarded to Cisco Systems, Oracle and Palantir, which it states provide technology essential to Israel's genocide and apartheid against Palestinians.
The broader context here is the gap between mobilisation and policy. The demand voiced on the march was an end to arms supplies. The government's recent steps concerned settlement trade and the legal characterisation of occupation. For diplomats and officials, the issue is whether those tracks converge or continue to operate separately.
Looking at what this means for the weeks ahead, policing will stay central. Enforcement around support for a proscribed group and protection of memorials creates legal and political friction with each large turnout. Commemoration will also stay central, with sharply different tolls and memories invoked on all sides. The scale claimed for Saturday suggests that public contention will persist.
