TENS of thousands of protesters mobilised all over Britain on Saturday in support of Palestine as Israel continued to rain bombs, shells and missiles on more than two million people trapped in the siege of Gaza.

Britain’s protesters were among hundreds of thousands worldwide who took up the call for an end to the bombing and restoration of water, power, food and medical supplies to what has been called “the world’s largest prison camp.”

Protesters defied ludicrous warnings from Home Secretary Suella Braverman that carrying the flag of Palestine might be an arrestable offence. Protests were marked by a sea of red, white, green and black Palestinian flags.

Labour members also defied calls from the party’s leadership not to attend events supporting Palestine.

And as PM Rishi Sunak reiterated his position saying Britain will “always stand with Israel,” the call on the streets was for an end to the revenge Israel is exacting on the people of Gaza for last Saturday’s murderous assault on Israel by Hamas militants which left 1,300 Israelis dead and more than 100 taken hostage.

Outside Downing Street protesters chanted: “Rishi Sunak, shame on you!”

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said today he believed the Israeli military would show “restraint and discipline.”

But the United Nations, senior EU figures and aid agencies expressed alarm as many Palestinians struggled to flee ahead of a “co-ordinated” Israeli offensive on Gaza by air, ground and naval forces.

Saturday’s mobilisations included marches and rallies in Cambridge, Glasgow, Cardiff, Aberdeen, London, Plymouth, Manchester, Birmingham Swansea, Huddersfield, Peterborough, Edinburgh, Dundee, Sheffield, Leeds and Liverpool.

In Manchester 10,000 were reported to be on the streets, in Leeds 2,500, almost 1,000 in Sheffield and 1,000 Newcastle.

At the huge London protest, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the protests were “a day of solidarity and a day of hope.”

He said: “There are many who say that nobody should be here today because they’ll be condoning terrible things.

“None of us are here to condone killing. None of us are here to condone occupation.”

“None of us are here to allow this assault on the people of Gaza and the people of the West Bank to go on.

“Today, as we wave the Palestinian flag, let’s hear it for the people of the West Bank, for the people of Gaza, for the people of the refugee camps, and say very bluntly to our political leaders in this country ‘do not condone war crimes, do not condone the starvation and the denial of medicine to desperate people in Gaza or anywhere else.’

“If you believe in international law, if you believe in human rights, then you must condemn what is happening now in Gaza by the Israeli army.”

In Edinburgh thousands marched to the Scottish Parliament after holding a rally for Palestine.

Protesters chanted “Free, free Palestine!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as demonstrators marched up The Mound and along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile as onlookers including tourists watched.

Palestinian woman Iman, who did not give her last name, said the people in Gaza “need a right to freedom and refugees need the right to return.”

She added: “We want justice, we want peace and we want freedom. I thank Scotland for not raising the Israeli flag.

“I thank Scotland for standing in solidarity, unconditional solidarity with my people. I thank Scotland for its strength to find a safe haven for refugees.

“We need corridors for people to receive medical aid, food and water.”

In Sheffield in South Yorkshire the city’s Trade Union Council said: “We call for the immediate end of the aerial bombardment of Gaza which is a form of collective punishment of its population of over two million people, illegal under international law.”

Aid agencies and charities including War on Want have appealed for donations to send humanitarian aid to Gaza.