Thousands of people from different walks of life hit the streets of Washington, D.C., on January 13th, 2024, to call for a complete ceasefire in Gaza. It’s been about three months since Israel launched its military forces on Palestine following the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7th.
Therefore, Israel justifies its actions by claiming that Hamas is a terrorist group that attacked them first. Israel also claims that the war started on October 7th after the Hamas attack, but that is not true.
In reality, Israel has been oppressing and attacking Palestine for decades. Furthermore, there is evidence that Israel is committing war crimes against Gaza. They are killing people, women, and children inclusive. They are also sending airstrikes targeting hospitals, which is a direct violation of a lot of war codes.
For months, the people of Palestine have been calling for help, and people around the world are their only voices. When Israel allegedly cut off most communications, the Palestinians did not have a way to reach out to the world. Therefore, people in different countries are lending their voices to them.
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There have been many walks in places like South Africa, London, New York, and most recently, Washington, D.C. People holding a lot of Palestinian flags swamped Freedom Plaza, and the marchers convened in downtown Washington, D.C. Just east of the White House, they protested Israel’s ongoing military operation in Palestine.
The war has left over 23,000 people dead and more at risk of starvation and disease in the small Palestinian territory of 2.3 million people. The demonstrators also spread out a giant Palestinian flag across the center of the square to drive home their point further. Many of them also wore keffiyehs, the traditional black and white Palestinian scarves.
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In addition, the protesters held up signs with different messages on it. Some read “End the War on Gaza” and “Let Gaza Live.” Others expressed their disappointment at the U.S. government, which is supporting Israel. “End all U.S. aid to Israel,” they wrote.
The crowd had several Palestinian Americans whose families in the Middle East are currently suffering from the war. Alaa Hussein Ali, a resident of Michigan, said his brother died in the war while he was trying to escape to southern Gaza with his pregnant wife and children.
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“President Biden has my family’s blood on his hands,” he said with a sad voice. He also mentioned that he already lost 100 family members since the war began. Over 60 of them were children, with the majority of them buried under rubble from Israeli air strikes.
There were several chants in the crowd, including the “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” to a drum beat. January 13th was a global day of action, with protests against the war happening in many places. London, Paris, Rome, and Dublin are some famous cities where its residents protested against the war on Gaza that day.
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