London braced for pro-Palestine rallies in 13 boroughs today: Protesters will call for permanent ceasefire as Israeli warplanes pound Gaza again… after Hamas rocket broke week-long truce

• Scotland Yard says ‘locally led’ policing plans are in place for capital rallies
• READ MORE: London council U-TURNS on canceling Hanukkah ceremony

London is bracing itself for the first pro-Palestine rallies since Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas came to an end in the early hours of Friday – after the terror faction allegedly launched rockets into the country before the temporary truce came to an end.

Scotland Yard says it has a ‘locally led police plan’ in place across the capital, with assemblies expected in 13 boroughs – but none on the scale of the mass gatherings seen in central London for the last two months.

Police previously said there were 300,000 people on the Pro-Palestine march in London on November 11 – the largest gathering yet – although organisers estimated there were ‘more than 800,000’.

Metropolitan Police commanders say they are approaching the protests with a ‘positive and decisive attitude’ – but say they will not tolerate support for proscribed terror groups such as Hamas or hate speech.

The protests come as police continue to hunt for suspects in hate crime suspects during previous protests, and for far-right counter protesters linked to disruption on Armistice Day.

Police monitoring a pro-Palestine protest on Vauxhall Bridge on Armistice Day, November11

Pro-Palestine protesters march in Whitehall on November 25 after a temporary ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Hamas

Police say the gatherings across London today are not expected to affect the centre of the capital (pictured: a protest in Trafalgar Square on November 4)

Rallies are expected in 13 London boroughs on Saturday, with further action outside Downing Street on Sunday (pictured: a protest on October 21)

The protests will be the first to take place since the end of the temporary ceasefire (pictured: a man waving a flare at a protest on October 9, two days after Hamas entered Israel)

The Met has warned protesters to respect the law (pictured: a man waving a Palestinian flag atop one of Trafalgar Square’s lions during a previous protest)

Saturday’s protests will be divided across around 13 London boroughs as well as more than 30 towns and cities across the UK. 

The Stop the War Coalition says events are planned in Camden, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, Enfield, Hounslow, Islington, Lewisham, Southwark and Wimbledon. 

Jeremy Corbyn is among those expected to speak at the Tower Hamlets rally at the Atrium, which begins at 3pm.

READ MORE: Israel prepares for year-long Gaza war: 200 Palestinians killed in IDF airstrikes after Hamas rocket shatters seven-day ceasefire ending hostage exchange 

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign says further protests are planned for Hackney, Harrow, Kilburn and Tottenham. 

The Met has warned protesters to express their views within the confines of the law.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine, Met Police Gold Commander for the weekend, said: ‘We know that the impact of the conflict in the Middle East continues to be felt here in London, in particular by Jewish and Muslim communities.

‘The ceasefire that has held for the past week has now ended which will renew concerns and fears in those communities most directly affected.

‘Officers will keep this in mind as we approach another weekend of protest. While the scale of the events will be reduced in comparison to previous weeks, our policing approach to protest will be unchanged.

‘We will continue to recognise the right to protest however that must be done lawfully.

‘Officers will approach these events with a positive and decisive attitude (but) we will not hesitate to take action where antisocial behaviour, hate crime or expressions of support for proscribed organisations take place.’

Other rallies are planned across the UK in cities including Bristol, Cardiff, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and York.

Grieving family members whose loved ones have been killed in the conflict will also lead a vigil outside Downing Street on Sunday ‘for all those suffering’ because of the most recent outbreak of fighting.

Combat actions have resumed between Israel and Hamas after the temporary ceasefire came to an end on Friday (pictured: IDF soldiers inside the Gaza Strip)

The IDF claims Hamas violated the ceasefire in the hours before its official end with rockets (pictured: shells fired by Hamas into Israel on December 1)

Israel has resumed its bombardment of what it says are Hamas targets in the southern Gaza strip (pictured: shelling in Rafah, southern Gaza)

Palestinian health authorities claim 200 people have been killed by Israeli shelling since the resumption of hostilities (pictured: Palestinians at Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis)

A man carries an injured Palestinian child to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital to receive treatment after Israeli shelling hit Deir al-Balah in Gaza

Smoke rises from buildings in the Gaza Strip after they were bombed by Israel on December 1

The event, Building Bridges, has been organised by Together for Humanity and will see faith leaders and politicians join grieving families ‘in the first mass event of its kind’ since Hamas militants entered Israel on October 7. 

Among those attending are the organisation’s co-founder Brendan Cox, widower of Labour MP Jo Cox, Palestinian-Israeli singer and actress Mira Awad, Rabbi David Mason of the Muswell Hill Synagogue and Lib Dem MP Layla Moran.  

In addition to the locally led events related to the conflict in the Middle East, the Met said it is also preparing for further Just Stop Oil protests.

READ MORE: Lionesses of the Desert: Inside Israel’s all-female tank unit taking on Hamas terrorists – and led by British captain, 20, who says her role is ‘a dream come true’ 

The eco-activist group has also planned a ‘mass march’ through London on Saturday ‘in solidarity with the innocent climate prisoners’, following its spate of recent ‘slow marches’. 

It said that has ‘arrested JSO activists on 649 occasions, with 338 charges secured so far’ since the ‘start of their latest campaign of disruption’ on October 30.

Met chiefs are also continuing to appeal for information on dozens of people suspected of offences at pro-Palestinian protests throughout the last two months and a far-right counter protest that took place on November 11.

Saturday’s protests will be the first to take place since the end of the ceasefire brokered between Israel and Hamas, which saw nearly 80 Israeli captives as well as other foreign nationals freed by the terrorists in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The truce officially expired at 5am GMT on Friday – but the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) claim Hamas ‘violated’ it beforehand by launching a salvo of rockets into Sderot, close to the border with Gaza.

In response, the ‘IDF renewed fire against the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip’, it announced on X, formerly Twitter, with reports indicating it had dropped leaflets urging Gaza residents to leave parts of southern Gaza.

Israel has pounded more targets in the southern Gaza strip on Saturday, intensifying the renewed offensive against what it says are Hamas targets.

At least 200 Palestinians have been killed since the resumption of combat on Friday morning, even as the US urged Israel to do everything possible to protect civilians.

Israeli troops on the ground in the northern Gaza Strip on December 2

Smoke rises after an explosion on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, as seen from Sderot, southern Israel, December 2

People mourn as they collect the bodies of Palestinians killed in an airstrike on December 2, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza

Palestinians sit on a trailer with their belongings as they evacuate from Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip

Israel dropped leaflets on the southern Gaza Strip telling residents to leave following the end of the ceasefire (pictured: people leaving their homes in Khan Younis)

‘This is going to be very important going forward,’ secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Friday after meetings with Arab foreign ministers in Dubai.

‘It’s something we’re going to be looking at very closely.’

While leaflets were dropped urging Gazans to leave, residents told the AP news agency they had nowhere to go. 

Israel released an online map showing residents where they could evacuate to – but critics say communications and electricity have been crippled, reducing its usefulness.

The United Nations office for Palestine said of Israel’s efforts: ‘The publication does not specify where people should evacuate to.’

Despite the fresh violence, Qatari and Egyptian mediators are still negotiating a new extension of the seven-day truce. 

Meanwhile, IDF officials said Hamas’ claims that ten-month-old Kfir Bibas, his brother Ariel and mother Shiri were killed in an airstrike remain unverified.

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: ‘Hamas’ claims about the Bibas family are still unverified. The published documentation is psychological terrorism.’

Hamas’ October 7 incursion killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel’s counter-offensive has killed at least 13,300 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

However, the death toll in Gaza is likely to be much higher, as the health authority has only sporadically updated the count since November 11 because its infrastructure has been hampered by Israel’s ongoing bombardment. 

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