Pro-Palestine demonstrators have vowed to press ahead with a major march through central London this Saturday, despite Israel and Hamas agreeing to the initial phases of President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire deal that could see hostages released within days.
The protest, expected to draw hundreds of activists to Victoria Embankment at noon on 11 October, will proceed even as world leaders hail the breakthrough agreement that promises to pause fighting after two years of devastating conflict that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians.
Jeremy Corbyn’s newly-formed Your Party has thrown its weight behind the demonstration, urging supporters to maintain pressure until what the party describes as “genocide” ends completely. In a post on X this morning, the political party, co-founded by the former Labour leader and MP Zarah Sultana in July, declared: “Until the genocide ends. Until Gaza breathes. Until apartheid falls. Until the occupation is defeated. Until we have justice. We march on.”
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which is organising the national demonstration, confirmed the march will commence at Victoria Embankment at noon on Saturday before proceeding through Westminster Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and the Strand to Whitehall, where speeches will be held. Coaches are being arranged from cities across England, including Norwich, Nottingham, Newport and Coventry, to transport protesters to the capital.
The determination to march comes despite President Trump’s announcement late Wednesday that both Israel and Hamas had “signed off on the first phase” of his comprehensive 20-point peace plan. The US president confirmed that the agreement includes provisions for all remaining hostages to be released and Israeli forces to withdraw to agreed positions within the Strip.
Ceasefire Details Emerge as Netanyahu Prepares Vote
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to bring all hostages home, saying “With God’s help, we will bring them all home” as he prepared to convene his government on Thursday to approve the agreement. An official in Netanyahu’s office confirmed the Gaza ceasefire would come into effect following cabinet approval, with Israel expecting the first hostages to be released on Saturday, the same day as the planned London protest.
Under the sprawling peace plan, Hamas is expected to release 20 living hostages and the bodies of 28 deceased captives within 72 hours of implementation. In exchange, Israel will free approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences and 1,700 detained from Gaza since October 2023.
The agreement marks a potential end to a conflict that began with Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed nearly 1,200 people and saw around 250 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military campaign has devastated Gaza, with the territory’s Health Ministry reporting at least 67,173 Palestinians killed and more than 169,000 injured as of 7 October 2025.
Blair to Lead “Board of Peace” in Controversial Role
The peace plan includes controversial provisions for Gaza’s future governance, with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair set to play a central role in what Trump has termed a “Board of Peace. The international body, to be chaired by Trump himself, would oversee Gaza’s reconstruction and transition away from Hamas control.
Blair, who served as UK prime minister from 1997 to 2007, called Trump’s proposal “bold and intelligent” in a statement. The 72-year-old has reportedly been working with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner for months on post-war plans through the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated that Israeli forces should begin their initial troop pullback 24 hours after cabinet approval. “Our assessment is that hostages will begin getting released on Monday,” the official stated.
The plan calls for Gaza to be “deradicalised and redeveloped” with Hamas members who commit to “peaceful coexistence” being granted amnesty, whilst those wishing to leave would receive safe passage to receiving countries. Hamas would have no role in Gaza’s future governance under the proposals.
Starmer Welcomes Deal as Protesters Remain Sceptical
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the agreement as “a moment of profound relief that will be felt around the world”, particularly for hostages, their families, and Gaza’s civilian population who have “endured unimaginable suffering over the last two years.
Starmer praised the “tireless diplomatic efforts” of the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey in securing the deal. “This agreement must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the immediate lifting of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza,” he added.
However, protest organisers remain unconvinced that the ceasefire represents genuine peace. The march comes exactly two years after the October 7 attacks that sparked the current conflict, with activists arguing that temporary ceasefires have failed before. A previous truce reached in January 2025 collapsed in March when Israel renewed its offensive.
Police Powers and Previous Arrests Raise Tensions
The Metropolitan Police has imposed strict conditions on Saturday’s march following recent mass arrests at pro-Palestine demonstrations. Nearly 500 people were arrested at a protest in Trafalgar Square last Saturday for showing support for Palestine Action, a group banned by the UK government in July.
Under new police powers announced by the Home Office on Sunday, senior officers will have authority to ban or relocate protests based on their “cumulative impact. The expanded powers come after police and lawmakers urged organisers to cancel demonstrations following a synagogue attack in Manchester where two people were killed.
Defend Our Juries, which has organised previous demonstrations, rejected calls to cancel protests, stating that “canceling peaceful protests lets terror win”. Among those previously arrested was 83-year-old Anglican priest Reverend Sue Parfitt, detained for a third time on Saturday.
The Metropolitan Police has warned protesters that expressing support for Palestine Action, whether at standalone protests or as part of the Palestine Coalition march, would likely result in arrest under the Terrorism Act. “I would urge those people to consider the seriousness of being arrested under the Terrorism Act and the very real long term implications,” a senior officer stated.
Humanitarian Crisis Continues Despite Peace Hopes
The urgency behind continued protests is underscored by Gaza’s catastrophic humanitarian situation. According to the World Health Organisation, only 14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially functional, with none fully operational. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification confirmed in August that famine conditions exist in parts of Gaza, with more than 500,000 people experiencing “catastrophic” levels of hunger.
Recent studies suggest the death toll may be significantly higher than official figures. Research published in The Lancet by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimated that Palestinian Ministry of Health figures underreported traumatic injury deaths by approximately 41 per cent, suggesting the actual toll by June 2024 was around 64,260.
Jeremy Corbyn, who launched Your Party alongside fellow independent MP Zarah Sultana after being expelled from Labour, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military campaign. The Islington North MP, who won re-election as an independent with a majority of 7,247 votes, previously hosted a “Gaza tribunal” examining UK involvement in the conflict.
The party’s founding platform explicitly opposes arms sales to Israel, with Corbyn stating at a September event that “just like Iraq, the government is doing everything it can to protect itself from scrutiny. Just like Iraq, it will not succeed in its attempts to suffocate the truth.”
International Community Divided on Peace Prospects
Whilst Arab states including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have expressed support for Trump’s initiative, Palestinian groups remain sceptical. Hamas officials say they have been briefed on the plan’s outlines but are awaiting final proposals before responding.
The agreement’s prospects remain uncertain, with thorny issues including Hamas’s disarmament and Gaza’s future governance yet to be fully resolved. Critics have pointed out that Palestinians have had minimal input into the plan, drawing comparisons to the Abraham Accords which normalised relations between some Arab countries and Israel without Palestinian participation.
Campaign groups argue that despite the ceasefire announcement, the underlying issues driving the conflict remain unaddressed. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign continues to call for an end to what it describes as Israel’s “intensifying genocide” and demands the UK government stop arms sales to Israel.
As protesters prepare to converge on London this Saturday, the contrast between diplomatic celebrations and street-level scepticism highlights the deep divisions over whether Trump’s peace plan represents genuine progress or merely another temporary pause in a decades-long conflict.
The demonstration is set to begin at noon on Victoria Embankment, with organisers expecting it to be one of the largest Palestine solidarity marches in British history, marking two years since the October 7 attacks that ignited the current crisis.
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Image Credit:
9 May 2021 pro-Palestinian demonstration in Downing Street — photo by Steve Eason, licensed under CC BY 2.0
