On Saturday, as the number of fatalities in the confrontation between Israel and Hamas continued to rise, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in the US capital and marched past the White House while chanting “Free Palestine.”
“What is happening today is just beyond the pale. It’s so upsetting, we are watching people being killed by an army that this country supports,” demonstrator Linda Houghton told AFP.
Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations have taken place around the nation in the week since Hamas militants crossed the heavily guarded border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, killing over 1,300 people.
In retaliation, Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip, resulting in more than 2,200 fatalities. Most of them were civilians, much like on the Israeli side.
In anticipation of an anticipated Israeli ground invasion, more than one million residents of the packed enclave’s northern section have been asked to leave; aid organizations fear that this exodus would deepen the humanitarian crisis.
