SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Demonstrators headed to the Golden Gate Bridge Wednesday to call for a ceasefire in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas war continues to cause destruction.
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KCBS Radio’s Mike DeWald reported that the demonstrators “walked arm in arm across,” the towering Bay Area Bridge.
“Two marches, one from the Marin side and other from San Francisco,” he said. “Meeting in the middle for a prayer led by Indigenous leaders in the plaza by the bridge. A pile of shoes… to represent the lives of young Palestinians lost during the Israel-Hamas conflict. This is also an interfaith gathering Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and Indigenous people all gathering with common purpose.”
Hamas, a terrorist organization, carried out an attack on Israel in early October that killed more than 1,000 people. Following the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on the group. Since then, concerns have been raised about the fate of civilian Palestinians trapped in the war zone.
“I reiterate my utter condemnation of the abhorrent acts of terror perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October – and repeat my call for the immediate, unconditional and safe release of hostages held in Gaza,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a Wednesday statement. “The parties to the conflict – and, indeed, the international community – face an immediate and fundamental responsibility: to stop the inhuman collective suffering and dramatically expand humanitarian aid to Gaza. The way forward is clear. A humanitarian ceasefire. Now.”
Citing Gaza Health Ministry figures, Reuters reported Thursday that 17,177 Palestinians have been killed since the war started. There was a brief ceasefire to allow for the release of hostages and for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, but it ended after tensions continued.
During a Thursday talk with Netanyahu, President Joe Biden said “that it was Hamas’s refusal to release young women civilian hostages that led to a breakdown in the humanitarian pause.”
According to the United Nations, conditions in Gaza have become “apocalyptic” as of this week and the continued fighting has made humanitarian efforts “nearly impossible” – 27 aid organizations even issued a joint statement to call for an immediate stop to the fighting. In New York, an emergency UN meeting was called Thursday to call for a ceasefire.
“Meanwhile on Thursday Israeli troops reportedly entered the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have been sheltering,” said a UN update. “Intense Israeli bombardments across the Strip and rocket firing by Palestinian armed groups into Israel have continued over the past two days, UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA said, and more than 100 people were reportedly killed on Wednesday in the bombardment of ‘multiple residential buildings’ in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.”
The Wall Street Journal also reported that Israel is considering flooding vast network of Hamas tunnels with sea water. While that could drive militants from the group out of hiding, it could also threaten Gaza’s water supply, said the outlet.
When Biden spoke with Netanyahu Thursday, he expressed deep concern for both the hostages that remain in Gaza as well as the flow of humanitarian aid to the region.
He “emphasized the critical need to protect civilians and to separate the civilian population from Hamas including through corridors that allow people to move safely from defined areas of hostilities,” and “reiterated his concern about extremist violence committed against Palestinians and the need to increase stability in the West Bank,” said the White House.
Biden also spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan Thursday.
“The President and King Abdullah affirmed their commitment to work together and with other regional partners to set the conditions for a durable and sustainable peace in the Middle East to include the establishment of a Palestinian state,” the White House said.
On the Golden Gate Bridge, DeWald said the mood among the demonstrators Thursday was “somber and solemn but focused.” There, a rabbi told KCBS Radio that she wants to see a permanent ceasefire.
“I cannot stand as a person of faith and watch the killing of Palestinians being done in my name,” she said.
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