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About 200 people gathered in Hillcrest Park in Thunder Bay to pressure Canada to call for an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas and stand in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid what they call a major humanitarian crisis.
The protest was one of more than 30 across Canada organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), which mobilizes Palestinians and Arabs in the diaspora. Cities included Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, St. John’s and other places throughout the world.
“We want a ceasefire now,” said Palestinian journalist and humanitarian activist Fares Ismail.
Ismail said seeing so many people attend the protest for Palestine in Thunder Bay he organized felt “amazing”.
“I’ve been seeing my family and friends and our people suffer through this for too long,” Ismail said, describing the impact of the conflict. Some of the protestors in attendance had lost loved ones, Imsail said, adding entire families have been wiped out.
Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks have killed more than 9,700 Palestinians since the war began, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Around 1,400 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, with over 240 taken hostage, the Israeli government said. Five hostages have been released since Oct. 7.
Rahel Shafqat, a Lakehead student who participated in the rally, said she wants to see a ceasefire called before more civilians become casualities.
More children have been killed in the Gaza Strip over the last three weeks than in every other armed conflict annually since 2019, according to Save the Children. The CBC has been unable to independently verify the figures.
“Children shouldn’t have to be afraid of the sky and hearing airplanes just because they think it’s gonna be another bomb,” said Shafqat. “We’re standing here today to make sure that we get their voices across.”
Health authorities in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, said strikes on its largest camp, Jabalia, have killed hundreds of people and wounded hundreds more this week. Earlier this week, seven UN human rights special rapporteurs said Israel’s strike on the refugee camp was a “brazen” violation of international law.
Israel said it targeted and killed two senior Hamas commanders in bombing the camp. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said Hamas “uses the people of Gaza as human shields by embedding itself among them in schools, mosques and hospitals.” Israel has asserted Jabalia is a particular stronghold, with militant operations hiding behind the civilian population.
The UN rapporteurs also issued a statement in Geneva saying the Palestinian people “are at grave risk of genocide” and called for a ceasefire.
Tarek Jalbout said he hopes the large turnout at the Thunder Bay protest sends a clear message to politicians: “Support a ceasefire. It’s been long enough now. Enough people have died,” said Jalbout, who came to Canada in 1989 as a Palestinian refugee.
Both Israeli and Palestinian officials have so far rejected calls for a humanitarian pause. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday Israel is “going full steam ahead” unless the hostages held by Hamas are released.
Foreign ministers from Qatar, Saudi, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates asked Washington Saturday to persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken dismissed the idea, saying it would only benefit Hamas by allowing it to regroup and attack again.
Ismail hasn’t given up hope of a peaceful resolution. “To push for change, people in Thunder Bay can sign petitions, contact their local MPs, they can donate,” he said. “I feel freedom is coming soon.”
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