As the world marked the second anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel, SouthLondonLines went out to the streets of Lewisham to ask people what they thought of the conflict.

Fifty-two-year-old Naseema Al Mansouri, who works as a consultant, said: “There has always been some sort of hostility between Palestine and Israel going back to almost 100 years ago. I believe this was a build up of the hatred between the two countries and it was definitely expected.” She concluded by saying she disagreed with Israel’s military action against Gaza. “They have continuously used methods such as brute force to seize the Palestinian population,” she said.

Anthony Xu, 19, who works as a waiter, said the conflict was “tragic…but this is what war brings. People get hurt, and it’s always the same”. He added that he didn’t think “Israel’s reaction was totally unexpected. After the October 7 attacks, they had to respond to defend themselves. Of course, it’s horrible that so many people in Gaza are suffering, but if another country was attacked like that, they would fight back too.”

Ema Oliveira, 15, a student at Mulberry Academy Woodside, said it wasn’t a war so much as “a genocide”. She added, “the innocent people of Gaza should be allowed to just live their lives and stop being attacked. I’m not sure how long I thought it would go on for, but I think it needs to come to an end asap.” Describing Israel’s actions as “disgraceful”, she said they “go against humanity completely”.