Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators flood New York City streets, marching from Brooklyn to Manhattan
NEW YORK -- Thousands of people marched for hours Saturday, from Brooklyn to Manhattan, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
At one point, the rally forced all lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge to be shut down.
Organizers of this rally called for people to "Flood Brooklyn for Gaza" and that's exactly what they did -- gathering on the steps of the Brooklyn Museum around 3 p.m. and growing with each stop.
The massive group marched to the Barclays Center, then the Brooklyn Bridge, temporarily closing it to traffic to march across to Manhattan.
Watch Chopper 2 over the rally
"Right now, over 7,000 people in Gaza have been killed in the last three weeks, and more Palestinians have died in the last three weeks than in the last 30 years of Israelis," West Village resident Faraz Ansera said.
"We need a ceasefire first and foremost, and we need aid to be able to reach these innocent civilians who have no homes, no electricity, no power. The hospitals, the infrastructure has been shut down, and they need to have some kind of support right now," one demonstrator from Rockland County said.
"Our message here is that solidarity is important. That the same types of oppression that we face as Black people, as trans people, as Jewish people, as Asian people, it's all the same forces, and when we come together to fight for liberation, we're also fighting for each other," Brooklyn resident Neema Kamala said.
"I hope there will be peace for the sake of everybody, the Jews, the Muslims," another demonstrator from Rockland County said.
"Everybody's out here. You see all kinds of people from all walks of life, all ages, coming together for what's right," New Jersey resident Will Vaughan said.
Watch Chopper 2 over the scene
Thousands joined the march, including Aliyaah Muttalib's family from Philadelphia.
"This is passionate. If we could go to Gaza and help them physically, we would, so just to come over to New York from Philadelphia was nothing," she said.
Five hours in, they made their way to Union Square, where they continued to gather and chant.
"We marched six miles just to prove this message, that we're not here for war," one demonstrator said.
"We are as Palestinians, we love the peace," Westchtester resident Ray Jamal said.
"We're not here to advocate for killing of people. I condemn the killing Hamas does, and I condemn the killing Israel does. Our message is simple, stop killing and let people live in peace," Bay Shore resident Omar Jamil said.
While the rally ended, the push for peace, many say, will continue.