On 9 October, the Stop the War Coalition and Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) attended a demonstration in which hundreds marched through London's Kensington High Street and outside the embassy of Israel.

[48] On 26 November 2023, between 50,000-60,000 people joined in a march in London to protest against a rise in hate crimes against Jews since the attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel on 7 October.

Many of the signatories were children who had participated in protests outside Bristol City Hall, organised by School Strike for Palestine, a collective of local campaigners and parents.

The notices were issued following statements by Starmer and Thornberry, Shadow Attorney General, that appeared to justify the war crime of collective punishment based on "Israel's right to defend itself".

The letters were written by the group's co-chairs, Conservative MP Crispin Blunt and lawyer Tayab Ali, a partner at Bindman law firm.

[68] The same day, 39 legal scholars from British universities, including Phil Scraton, Professor Emeritus at Queen's University Belfast's School of Law, wrote to Keir Starmer asking him to clarify Labour's position on war crimes – particularly collective punishment – in light of Starmer's statement on LBC Radio that Israel had the right to cut off water and electricity to Gaza.

[83] Save the Children and Islamic Relief, who had teams in Israel and Palestine, called for a ceasefire because people in the region, including their staff, were terrified, and so that aid could be provided.

[86][87] Financial Secretary to the Treasury Victoria Atkins said a Palestinian refugee scheme was "not the right response because we need to keep the pressure on this terrorist organisation to stop their hostilities, to release hostages and to come back to the diplomatic negotiating table.

The letter, organised by the British Islamic Medical Association, also urged the prime minister to "take the lead" on facilitating a peaceful solution to the crisis.

[96] Thousands of doctors signed an open letter to the government condemning its support for Israel as a "flagrant disregard of international law violations and healthcare crises".

[102] Equity echoed both these sentiments, adding that the Israeli government's orders and actions – including the withholding of utilities from Gaza – could only lead to ethnic cleansing.

[117] After a campaign from students, the University of York announced on 27 April it "no longer holds investments in companies that primarily make or sell weapons and defence-related products or services".

For instance, on 24 October, trade unionists in Kent, from such unions as Unite, Unison, the NEU, UCU, the BMA and BFAWU, blockaded Instro Precision, a subsidiary of Israeli military drone manufacturer Elbit Systems;[164] on 31 October, Palestine Action blocked the entrance to an Elbit Systems factory in the Aztec West business park in Bristol;[165] on 10 November, trade unionists in Rochester, Kent, again blocked the entrances to an arms factory – this time, BAE Systems — stating the facility manufactured military aircraft components used to bomb Gaza;[166][167] and on 16 November, Palestine Action occupied a Leonardo factory in Southampton, stopping production.

[184] Students organised protests directed at their universities, often demanding the institutions sever financial and research ties with companies that sold weapon technology to Israel.

Students also wrote to the university demanding it investigate its financial ties with arms manufacturers that potentially supplied to Israel, mentioning, among others, Plasan and Caterpillar.

[190] In May 2024, over 100 music acts decided to boycott The Great Escape Festival in Brighton and Hove, in protest against the event's sponsor Barclays and its investments in companies supplying arms that were reportedly used by Israeli military forces in their invasion of the Gaza Strip.

[191][192] English group Massive Attack, who had previously boycotted gigs in Israel in opposition to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, expressed their support to the artists and bands who walked out of the festival.

[197][198] Hundreds of Labour councillors wrote to Starmer urging him to call for a ceasefire,[199] and dozens resigned from the party because they could not in conscience retain membership due to its position.

[200][199][201] Conservative MP Paul Bristow wrote to then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asking him to call for a ceasefire – an act for which his party sacked him from his government role as ministerial aide.

[69][217][218] Protestors chanted "Shame on you" at Conservative MP Michael Gove, then-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, as he was ushered through London Victoria shortly after a sit-in at the station.

[220] Protesters demonstrated outside Labour's London headquarters, chanting "Keir Starmer, you can't hide, you're endorsing genocide" and calling for the party to "change their policy ... and to demand an immediate ceasefire".

Jo Stevens, one of the abstaining MPs, had the word "Murderer" graffitied on her Cardiff Central office, and stickers and posters were stuck up saying the MP had "blood ... on her hands" and supported the killing of babies.

[230] Within the first few weeks of the crisis, three separate open letters calling for a ceasefire were signed by British cultural figures – artists, authors, historians, actors, directors, musicians, and so on, such as Tilda Swinton, Charles Dance, Nihal Arthanayake, Felix Weatherall, Alex Sushon, Michael Winterbottom, Josie Long, Mike Leigh, Asif Kapadia, Anthony Anaxagorou, Steve Coogan, Reni Eddo-Lodge, Gary Younge, Sally Rooney — along with their international counterparts.

[231][232][72][233] One of the letters, from DJs, producers, collectives and venues part of the UK electronic music scene, had nearly 300 signatories;[72] another, published in the London Review of Books, had 750;[231] and the third, from members of Artists for Palestine, had more than 2,000.

[242] According to British journalists Peter Oborne and Imran Mulla, "Britain has experienced an epidemic of almost unchallenged anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Muslim bigotry" since the war began, which has often targeted pro-Palestinian activists and protests.

They say politicians and public figures have labelled pro-Palestine marches, chants and placards "antisemitic", including the Palestinian flag itself, while remaining "inexcusably silent" on anti-Palestinianism and Islamophobia.

"[267] Palestinian scholars have denied this, suggesting such claims aim to "mischaracterize and destroy inclusive and unifying rhetorical frameworks", stifle pro-Palestinian protest, and are inherently Islamophobic and racist.

[277][278] As well as calling pro-Palestinian demonstrations "hate marches",[7] Braverman wrote to police forces saying waving a Palestinian flag or saying certain chants – like "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" — may be a criminal offence.

[283] Robert Jenrick, Minister of State for Immigration, instructed the Home Office to consider how they could revoke work visas and expel international students who "praise Hamas".

[284] Protestors,[263] journalists such as Owen Jones,[281][285] academics,[282] charity organisers such as Ismail Patel,[286] and civil liberty groups such as Liberty[287] and the Open Rights Group,[288][289] expressed concerns that the government, and Braverman in particular, were eroding free speech, seeing it as continuation of other governmental moves to control speech, such as the proposed Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, which would ban councils from joining in Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions initiatives.