Photo: Suzanne Sausville/WBZ NewsRadio
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Thousands rallied and marched in Cambridge demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza Saturday.
The war between Israel and Hamas has been ongoing since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a deadly surprise attack on Israel that led to more than 1,200 Israelis killed and hundreds more taken hostage.
Later that month, Israeli military forces began a large-scale ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. According to Gaza's health ministry, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the conflict. The United Nations says the vast majority of Palestinians living in the region have been internally displaced, while living conditions have deteriorated into a humanitarian crisis.
During Saturday's rally, Fawaz Abusharkh—a Gaza-born Palestinian-American representing the Islamic Society of the North Shore and the Palestinian House of New England—said what is happening in Gaza is "madness."
"Our country is complicit, sadly, and we are trying to give voice to the voiceless, and we are trying to stop what we believe is the genocide going on. Enough is enough," Abusharkh told WBZ NewsRadio.
One of the rally's speakers was Mahtowin Munro with United American Indians of New England. Munro said indigenous people can relate to the crisis in Gaza, because they know what it's like "to have our children eating grass, or to try to find one small thing to put into an infant’s mouth to try to keep that baby alive for another day."
Along with a demand to end the violence in Gaza, protestors had a message for the state's Democratic leadership, including Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Democratic Whip Katherine Clark: they are voting "no preference" during the Super Tuesday primary on March 5.
WBZ's Suzanne Sausville (@WBZSausville) reports.
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