Hundreds of Chicago Public Schools students walk out to support call for ceasefire in Gaza
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Hundreds of Chicago Public Schools students walked out of class and grabbed picket signs on Tuesday, ahead of a City Council vote on Wednesday on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Students held a sit-in at the entrance of City Hall on Tuesday afternoon, holding signs and chanting to show support for Palestine. Those students said they oppose U.S. financial support of Israel.
On Wednesday, the City Council is expected to vote on a hotly debated resolution calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
That vote was originally set for last week, but was delayed a week after 28 City Council members urged the sponsors to delay the vote out of respect to International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and a resolution at last week's meeting marking the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The measure was passed by the Committee on Health and Human Relations in December. It backs a United Nations General Assembly resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, and calls on the president and Congress to facilitate such a ceasefire.
Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th), the only Jewish member of the City Council, who has led opposition to the ceasefire resolution, has said the language of the resolution should include clear references to the atrocities committed by Hamas in a surprise attack on Israel last October, which set off the ongoing war.
After last week's full City Council vote on the resolution was delayed, Mayor Brandon Johnson voiced his support for the call for a ceasefire.
"The killing has to stop, so yes, we need a ceasefire," Johnson said.
Meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday denied reports that a ceasefire deal is imminent.
U.S. officials have said they've been in discussions with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and that they have made progress toward a deal that includes the phased release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Netanyahu said Israel will keep fighting until it achieves "absolute victory" over Hamas.
While a ceasefire resolution from the Chicago City Council would be symbolic and have no binding authority, it would make Chicago the largest city in the country to pass such a measure.
The war began with Hamas' surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostages back to Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has said more than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in retaliation for the attack.