A pro-Palestine demonstration at Waterloo Station caused a clash with London police that resulted in five arrests.
The demonstration began when Now Ceasefire protesters gathered at Waterloo station at 4 pm local time to begin a sit-in. Hundreds of demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags and carrying slogans such as “Free Palestine” and “From River to Sea, Palestine will be free,” demanded an urgent ceasefire in Gaza.
The police handed out notices to them stating that it was illegal to hold a protest at the railway station and demanded that they leave the station.
Nevertheless, the group refused to stop the protest and police officers intervened, leading to a skirmish. As a result, the detentions were alternately successful: some protesters were dragged by their arms, some fell to the ground and appeared to be struggling to breathe.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas began on 7 October with an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, followed by an Israeli response and a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Since then, more than 12,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, thousands of civilian buildings have been demolished, and a complete blockade has been imposed, resulting in shortages of food, fuel and medicine.
