Some 20,000 people are marching through central London on Saturday to call for an end to the conflict in Gaza and a ban on UK arms exports to Israel.
The protest, organised by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and Stop the War, set off from Oxford Circus at 1pm and will march past the US embassy in Grosvenor Square before ending at Hyde Park with a rally. Speakers including George Galloway and Diane Abbott will address the protesters.
The march is being held as a public appeal for funds to help the victims of Israel's attacks on Gaza raise more than £4.5m in less than 24 hours.
The Disasters Emergency Committee launched its Gaza Crisis Appeal on Friday night on all major UK television networks. The Department for International Development has matched the first £2m donated by the public pound-for-pound.
The funds will allow the committee's member agencies, such as Oxfam and the British Red Cross, to help the hundreds of thousands of Gazans needing of clean water, food, shelter, medical treatment and psychological support.
Saleh Saeed, DEC chief executive, said that the total was a testament to the public's generosity: "The funds are desperately needed, with ongoing fighting in Gaza creating an unbearable situation for families and children. Despite the end of the ceasefire, aid is getting through ... but with the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, they urgently need more money to scale up their life-saving work."
Israel renewed attacks on Gaza on Saturday, with fighter jets carrying out 30 air strikes, killing five Palestinians, after militants fired six rockets into the Jewish state.
The most recent ceasefire ended on Friday morning, but combat has not resumed with the same intensity, feeding hopes for a new truce.
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