Several thousand pro-Palestinian protesters have marched through European capitals, demanding an end to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

In London, demonstrators moved past the British parliament carrying placards reading “End the genocide” and “Free Palestine”.

“We are here today to mark three years of the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” Aimee Shalan, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told the AFP news agency, calling for “full sanctions on Israel”.

A so-called ceasefire took effect a year ago, but Israel continues to strike Gaza on a near-daily basis. The attacks have killed some 1,450 Palestinians since the truce began, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

London’s Metropolitan Police said they made “several arrests”, including a man and a woman holding placards supporting Palestine Action, a group banned under UK law.

Officers had also warned they would use public order powers to compel anyone wearing face coverings to remove them, pledging “zero tolerance” for hate crimes.

In Berlin, about 3,500 people joined a march organised by United for Palestine, police said, setting off from a square between the chancellery and parliament. Many condemned Germany’s arms exports and longstanding military support for Israel.

Similar marches were held in Warsaw and Rome, where protesters denounced ongoing Israeli bombardment and their governments’ ties with Israel, echoing calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire.

Israel’s genocide has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 74,200 Palestinians since October 2023.