Sit-in protest held at UK Parliament, calling for permanent cease-fire in Gaza

A group of protesters on Wednesday staged a sit-in demonstration at British Parliament, saying a humanitarian pause agreed between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas was "not a solution."

The protest was held by members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, a group that helped organize massive weekly pro-Palestine demonstrations in the UK since Israeli attacks on Gaza began after a cross-border incursion by Hamas in early October.

Sharing video footage from the sit-in, the group said on X that the announcement of the Israel-Hamas deal for the four-day pause and hostage swap is welcome but it is not a solution.

"We won't stray from our demands. We demand a permanent #CeasefireNOW and an end to the siege of Gaza and Israeli Apartheid," it added.

In a statement early on Wednesday, the campaign said the announcement showed that a permanent cease-fire is possible.

"It must be the starting point to address the underlying causes of the situation including decades of military occupation and a system of oppression against the Palestinian people that is considered internationally to meet the legal definition of apartheid," noted the statement.

The group also called on the British government to end "its complicity in Israel's crimes," starting by joining the call for the killing of civilians to stop completely.

The Israeli government and Hamas agreed to a hostage swap early Wednesday.

Under the agreement, 50 Israelis held by Hamas will be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.

The deal also includes a four-day pause in fighting and the entry of 300 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, including fuel, into the Gaza Strip.

The agreement also allows for an extension of the pause and the potential release of more women and children held by the two sides.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing more than 14,532 Palestinians, including over 6,000 children and 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques, and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel's air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.