MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) – Palestinian supporters plan to hold a rally at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan the same evening as the Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
Within Our Lifetime, a Palestinian-led community organization, is calling for people to rally at Rockefeller Center at 6 p.m. on Wednesday to protest the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
The annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center is planned to begin at 7 p.m., according to NBC News.
Wednesday is also the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, as observed by the United Nations since 1977.
For weeks, protesters in New York City have called for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict to end the bloodshed.
On Sunday, a protest organized by Jewish peace activists blocked traffic on the Manhattan Bridge while calling on President Joe Biden to push for a permanent ceasefire in the conflict.
"Experts are saying that the rate of killing in Gaza has few precedents in recent history. We refuse to allow the US to fund and fuel a genocide in our names," Jewish Voice for Peace, the group that organized the Manhattan Bridge protest, posted on Instagram.
Last week, more than two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters briefly disrupted the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
Hamas and Israel released more hostages and prisoners under terms of a temporary ceasefire that held for a fifth day Tuesday. International mediators in Qatar worked to extend the truce and the United States urged Israel to better protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza if it follows through on its promise to resume the war.
In the latest swap since the ceasefire began Friday, Israel said 10 of its citizens and two Thai nationals were freed by Hamas and had been returned to Israel. Soon after, Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners. The truce is due to end after one more exchange Wednesday night.
Israel has vowed to resume the war with “full force” to destroy Hamas once it’s clear that no more hostages will be freed under the deal.
The Biden administration told Israel it must avoid “significant further displacement” of and mass casualties among Palestinian civilians if it resumes its offensive, and that it must operate with more precision in southern Gaza than it has in the north, according to U.S. officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
A U.N.-led aid consortium estimates that, across Gaza, over 234,000 homes have been damaged and 46,000 completely destroyed, amounting to around 60% of the territory’s housing stock. In the north, the destruction “severely compromises the ability to meet basic requirements to sustain life,” it said.
More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack.
Finn Hoogensen is a digital journalist who has covered local news for more than five years. He has been with PIX11 News since 2022. See more of his work here.
