Thousands march in San Francisco demanding cease fire in Gaza

Thousands of protesters chanting “ceasefire now” and demanding an immediate end to Israel’s attacks on Gaza marched down San Francisco’s Market Street on Saturday, part of what was billed as an “International Day of Solidarity” with Palestinians that saw anti-war demonstrations across the country.

Ahead of the march, protestors gathered under the London Plane trees lining Civic Center Plaza outside City Hall, waving Palestinian flags and carrying signs reading “End Apartheid” and “Resistance is Justified When People are Occupied.”

“Children are dying every day, and I feel like it’s beyond the age-long conflict between Israel and Palestine,” said Rewina Beshue, 30, who lives in San Francisco and whose family in Ethiopia has witnessed years of sectarian violence. “I see all the kids dying, and I just want to bring more awareness to it.”

The protest came nearly a month after the brutal Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants on civilians and soldiers in southern Israel that left more than 1,400 people dead. Hundreds of others were taken hostage. Israel has since bombarded Gaza from the air and launched a grinding ground invasion of the Israeli-occupied territory, leading to thousands of Palestinian deaths and raising global fears of a prolonged humanitarian crisis.

Calls for action around the Bay Area have ramped up as the violence in Gaza continues. On Friday, protesters at the Port of Oakland boarded a government ship they believed was carrying military supplies, a claim that could not be immediately verified. A Bay Area News Group photographer saw at least three people being detained after scaling a ladder up the side of the ship. No arrests were immediately announced by the U.S. Coast Guard, which said the incident remains under investigation.

Protestors on Saturday joined pro-Palestinian rallies nationwide, including in Washington D.C., where an estimated 30,000 people were expected to march past the White House demanding the U.S. to stop sending military aid to Israel.

At Civic Center Plaza, Richmond resident George Marx, 72, holding a sign emblazoned with a heart encircling a Palestinian flag, called for an end to U.S. support for Israel’s war effort.

“I’m Jewish. I’m not ashamed of being Jewish, but I’m ashamed of what is done in my name as a Jew, as an American, and as a human being,” Marx said.

More than 9,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including more than 3,900 Palestinian children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israeli officials have questioned the accuracy of the death toll, and maintain that many of the casualties are the result of Hamas — which the U.S. has designated a terrorist group and since 2007 has held de facto control over Gaza — using civilians as “human shields” and placing military targets in or near hospitals, schools and other civilian buildings.

Calls for a ceasefire, or at least a pause in the fighting to allow for desperately needed humanitarian aid, have intensified in recent days as devastating scenes of dead bodies and city blocks in rubble have been shared around the world. Since the siege began, Israel has restricted food and water from entering the territory and cut electricity and communications.

“I don’t think a ceasefire is enough,” said protester Wahid Noor, 31. “Even if we see a ceasefire, what happens next? Are they going to do it again?”

Israel officials have rejected considering a ceasefire until all hostages are released. It’s also said pausing the invasion could allow Hamas fighters to regroup and raised concerns that militants would siphon fuel and other aid for military purposes.

Noor, who left Afghanistan ahead of the U.S. invasion there following the Sept. 11 attacks, sees parallels between the current war and the two-decade-long conflict in his home country.

“It’s just politics ruining the civilians’ lives,” he said.

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