1,500 protest in Midtown, Manhattan to demand a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) – Around 1,500 protesters across New York City demonstrated in the streets on Thursday to demand an end to the war in the Middle East.
The rally came as students from several schools also walked out of class to demand a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The demonstration in Midtown, organized by pro-Palestinian groups, calls for people to leave school or work in order to achieve a citywide shutdown.
At 4 p.m. Thursday, people filled the steps of the New York Public Library in Midtown.
In addition to calling for a ceasefire, they say the United States should end its support for what they call Israeli genocide.
The demonstrations come as police in New York City are seeing a monthly increase in bias-related crimes against Jews since the Hamas attack on Israel and the war that followed.
The total number of incidents investigated by the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force increased 124% (101 vs. 45) in October, led by a 214% increase in anti-Jewish incidents (69 vs. 22), the NYPD said .
However, the total number of hate crime investigations has declined year to date, recording a decline of 9% (485 vs. 531).
The war, now in its second month, was sparked by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7.
The number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen to 10,818, including more than 4,400 children, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said.
More than 160 Palestinians have been killed in the violence and Israeli crackdowns in the occupied West Bank. More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel, most of them in the Hamas attack, and 239 hostages were taken from Israel to Gaza by the militant group.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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