Members of th UK Jewish community gather with supporters for a major assembly to listen to speakers in Hyde Park, central London on October 6, 2024, as they mark the one-year anniversary of the attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
Thousands gathered in London on Sunday at a memorial for the victims of last year's October 7 Hamas attack against Israel, as the ensuing war in Gaza enters its second year.
Attendees waved Israeli flags and "bring them home" placards with the faces of hostages still held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip at the commemoration in Hyde Park in central London.
The event was organised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Jewish Leadership Council and other groups in collaboration with the Israeli embassy in London.
Speakers included Mandy Damari, whose daughter Emily was one of the 251 people taken hostage by Hamas, and Barak Deri, an Israeli army reservist.
"Today's event is for one purpose only: it is a memorial. We want to remember the people who have been brutally murdered and we want the world to remember," Henry Grunwald, chair of the organising committee told AFP.
The attack resulted in the death of 1,205 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, which includes hostages killed in captivity.
One attendee of the commemoration, Mabel Russell, 53, said it was "important to be here, to remember those who are no longer here. We will remember always."
Another attendee, named Sharon who did not want to give her last name, said she "pray(s) everyday for the hostages" but was opposed to a ceasefire in Gaza.
"We cannot bow down to tyranny. If there's a ceasefire things are never going to change," she added.
Two other rallies, one in Manchester and one in Leeds, were also set to take place on Sunday.
They come a day after tens of thousands gathered for a pro-Palestinian march in London, calling for a ceasefire and ending British arms sales to Israel among other demands.
At least 41,870 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.
Seventeen arrests were made during the largely peaceful pro-Palestinian protest in the capital, though tensions rose briefly between the main march and a counter-protest.
A "significant" policing operation was put in place by London's Met police for the weekend and Monday ahead of the planned marches and memorials.
British Christian, Muslim, and Jewish faith leaders also wrote a joint letter on Sunday saying they "stand united in our grief".
The letter urged the public to "reject those who seek to divide us", adding: "Anti-Jewish hate and anti-Muslim hate have no place in the UK today."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote in the Sunday Times calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of all hostages held by Hamas.
He said he met families of victims and hostages last week and pledged his "total determination to help bring their missing loved ones home".
"The anniversary of the October 7 attacks should remind us of the cost of political failure," Starmer added in the article.