During a demonstration in Sheffield, protesters scaled Sheffield Town Hall to replace an Israeli flag with a Palestinian flag. A video shared on social media shows a man climbing across the

roof to remove the Israeli flag, which he then threw to a crowd of people below.

South Yorkshire Police stated that they believe two men scaled the building on Tuesday evening, and while no arrests have been made, their investigations are ongoing.

In the video, people can be heard cheering as the Israeli flag was lowered, and officers attempted to disperse the crowd. Two suspects reportedly fled the scene during a minor disorder.

The incident occurred three days after dozens of armed fighters from Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, crossed into Israel from Gaza in a surprise attack. The death toll in Israel has reached 1,200, with more than 900 people killed by retaliatory Israeli air strikes on Gaza.

Tom Hunt, leader of Sheffield City Council, commented on the protest, saying, "Everyone has the right to safe and peaceful protest, but we cannot support the events that took place during the protest outside Sheffield's Town Hall. Protesters put themselves and others in serious danger."

The decision to fly the Israeli flag was made following a request from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities for local authorities to consider this action. The council noted that the Union flag was put back on the building at 20:00 BST on Tuesday, as originally planned, and the Israeli flag was returned to council staff.

A full review of the incident is planned, and the council will evaluate the security measures in place.

The council mentioned that the Israeli flag was flown to "show solidarity with the innocent people in that country who faced appalling acts of terror."

Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East, expressed disappointment at the incident and condemned the Hamas attack on innocent people. He emphasized the need for long-term solutions to stop the violence, emphasizing a two-state solution. Photo by Tim Green from Bradford, Wikimedia commons.