Millions gathered around the world Saturday in solidarity to protest the Israel-Hamas war on a global day of action.
In Massachusetts, hundreds turned out in Brookline to hear panelists discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict's past, present and possibilities for a peaceful future. The panel, comprised of authors and academics, was sponsored by the Brookline Booksmith.
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Abood Okaal, who was visiting family before he became trapped in Gaza for a month after Hamas attacked Israel last October, also joined the discussion on Saturday.
“The suffering is so much worse than what is being shown on TV,” he said.
“My brother's home is gone, my sisters homes are gone. Every single individual that I know in Gaza, their home is gone," he said. "They’re on the streets in Rafah in southern Gaza right now...which is what keeps us up at night.”
Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip, is where Israel has threatened to attack in one week, and it's where many displaced Palestinians have fled.
In a "Hands Off Rafah" rally in Cambridge, some 2,000 people gathered to support Palestinians, which is what some panelists believe is needed from the United Sates.
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“Right now the United States is facilitating Israel’s war in Gaza. Most of the munitions going to Israel are coming from the United States and instead I think what the United States needs to do is to broker a settlement, beginning with a ceasefire,” said Israeli-American historian Omer Bartov.
As war rages on, journalists are urging Israeli and Egyptian authorities for free access to Gaza to report -- which has been denied.
“One hundred and twenty journalists killed because of this war and the lack of access is indicative of something very problematic as if Israel does not want journalists to see the facts on the ground, see the truth,” said Leila Farsakh, professor of political science at UMass Boston.
