Hundreds line Wonderland Road calling for a ceasefire in Hamas-Israeli war

Thousands of Londoners stood on the sidewalk of a busy London street Sunday to mourn the civilians killed in the Israel-Hamas war, while calling for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza where people are bracing for a full-scale invasion of Israeli forces.

Demonstrators formed a human chain and silently waved the Palestinian flag, with many holding up signs that read 'We stand for human rights', as they gathered on Wonderland Road, between Oxford Street and Beaverbrook Avenue.

Nidal Abdalhaq received a morning phone call from his friends in Gaza, who told him 30 of their immediate family members had been killed by an Israeli airstrike, he said.

"We need immediate aids to go to Gaza right now. My family members are saying they don't have any food, water or electricity. People are charging their phones through car batteries which are very limited," said Abdalhaq, who was born and raised in Jerusalem.  

"We're trying to get a hold of family members. Last time they were online was 48 hours ago, so we don't know whether they're alive or not and there's no shelter for them."

Officials said more than 3,800 people from both Israel and Gaza have been killed eight days into the war that started after Hamas militants launched a deadly assault on Israel.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,670 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting erupted, making it the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for both sides.

Israel dropped leaflets over Gaza City in the north and renewed warnings on social media, ordering more than one million Palestinians to move south. The military says it's trying to clear civilians ahead of a major campaign against Hamas militants in the north, including targetting underground hideouts in Gaza City.

But moving that many people with the lack of basic necessities is a challenge, said Nehal Al Tarhuni of the Canadian Palestinian Social Association of London, Ontario. 

"Roads and cars have been destroyed so they can't even drive to evacuate from one area to another," she said. "Gaza is smaller than London, Ontario with four-times the population all in one area. And that place has no water, no food, no fuel."

Al Tarhuni said evacuating is nearly impossible for her elderly grandmother whose medication supply is dwindling. She appreciated seeing the large turnout and support from the non-Palestinian community. 

"Palestinians are being blockaded and the danger to them is grim, and forcing them to move but not letting humanitarian aid in is a war crime, it has to stop," said Sara Rans of the Independent Jewish Voices Canada group.

"There has to be a ceasefire. War will only lead to death of civilians and we are totally against that. It's so important that we make it known that we support the Palestinian people, we are not letting people be alone."

Mohamad Maarouf hasn't been sleeping or eating properly because he's constantly worrying about the safety of his loved ones in Gaza. Explaining the war's impact to his young kids has been hard, he said, especially when almost half of Gaza's population is youth.

"It's difficult when she sees children her age or smaller who are killed for no reason, some of them even killed with their toys and she starts crying asking us why this happened," Maarouf said about his nine-year-old daughter.

Hamas captured more than 100 soldiers and civilians — including women, children and senior citizens — during the surprise assault and incursion into Israeli territory on Oct. 7, and is holding them hostage inside the Gaza Strip. As well, 260 young people were massacred at the Supernova music festival during the invasion.