London - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of London and other British cities Saturday to protest the Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip.

An estimated 10,000 people demonstrated in London, where witnesses said around 100 shoes were thrown at the fence protecting the Downing Street entrance to the residence of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The shoe-hurling - an extreme insult in Arab culture - was reminiscent of that by an Iraqi reporter targeting US President George W Bush at a press conference in Baghdad last month.

Protests in 17 other cities including Manchester and Glasgow were organised by Muslim, peace and artist groups and saw demontrators wave Palestinian flags and shout anti-Israel slogans. (dpa)