Protesters pictured marching through London with ‘I love Hezbollah’ placards

Protesters carrying banners in support of Hezbollah have been pictured marching through central London on Saturday.

Police have so far arrested over a dozen individuals as tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian activists demonstrated towards Whitehall, marking the upcoming first anniversary of the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel.

Pictures posted online showed some of the demonstrators holding placards supporting Hezbollah, which has launched multiple attacks on Israel recently.

Israel‘s retaliatory air strikes have resulted in the deaths of the group’s leader and many civilians in Lebanon.

Among the placards on display at the London march was one showing a silhouette of Nasrallah, with the words “We will not abandon Palestine”.

Other demonstrators were pictured holding up placards declaring: “Hezbollah are not terrorists” and “I love Hezbollah”.

The Met Police said they were investigating the pictures.

The Metropolitan Police has now confirmed it made at least 17 arrests as part of a “significant” policing operation in place across the capital in response to planned protest and memorial events.

Two people were arrested on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation, one of which included a protester wearing what appeared to be a parachute, and there were eight arrests on suspicion of public order offences, four of which were allegedly racially aggravated.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker, three arrested on suspicion of common assault and one person was arrested on suspicion of breaching a Public Order Act condition.

As the pro-Palestine marchers passed the British Library they chanted: “Yemen, Yemen make us proud. Turn another ship around” and “British Museum. Paint it red. Over 100,000 dead”.

Activists convened in Bedford Square on Saturday morning amid a heavy police presence.

According to organisers, they planned to “target” companies and institutions they say are “complicit in Israel‘s crimes”, including Barclays Bank and the British Museum.

In a statement the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which organised the march alongside Stop the War and other groups, said: “Over the past 12 months Palestinians have faced the darkest moment in their enduring struggle for freedom, as Israel has unleashed unprecedented atrocities against them, with its genocidal assault on Palestinians in Gaza, and its attacks on Palestinians across their homeland.

“We are marching to demand that the British government finally ends its complicity in Israel’s genocide, and ends all arms trade with Israel and to demand freedom and justice for the Palestinian people.”

Scotland Yard said it was trying to identify those responsible for any banners and placards expressing support of banned organisations.

It stated: “These images have been passed to officers, including those monitoring our camera systems. We are urgently trying to identify those involved so that action can be taken.”