Thousands of protesters took to the streets in European countries to demand an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon

CAPITALS, Oct.5, (ST)- Thousands of protesters took to the streets in several major cities around the world on Saturday to demand an end to Israeli attacks on Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.

About 40,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through central London while thousands also gathered in Paris, Rome, Manila and Cape Town, according to Reuters.

Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and displaced nearly all of the strip’s population of 2.3 million.

“Unfortunately, in spite of all our good will, the Israeli government does not take any notice, and they just go ahead and continue their atrocities in Gaza, now also in Lebanon and in Yemen, and also probably in Iran,” said protestor Agnes Kory in London.

“And our government, our British government, unfortunately is just paying lip service and carries on supplying weapons to Israel,” she added.

In Paris, Lebanese-French protestor Houssam Houssein said: “We fear a regional war, because there are tensions with Iran at the moment, and perhaps with Iraq and Yemen….We really need to stop the war because it’s now become unbearable.”

In Rome, around 6,000 protestors waved Palestinian and Lebanese flags, defying a ban to march in the city centre ahead of the Oct. 7 anniversary.

In Manila, activists clashed with anti-riot police after they were blocked from holding a demonstration in front of the U.S. embassy in the Philippine capital in protest at the United States supplying Israel with weapons.

B.Q.