FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Demonstrators gathered in Fort Lauderdale to protest the violence between Israel and Hamas that has escalated into numerous rocket strikes over the past few weeks.
Dozens could be heard chanting “Free Palestine” in front of the federal courthouse along Broward Boulevard, at around 5:30 p.m., Tuesday.
Multiple people attending the protest could be seen holding Palestinian flags and signs in the air while they chanted.
“They’re getting bombed,” a protester said. “Israel is saying it’s self-defense. It’s not self-defense. Palestine has no army, so what are we going to do? They got kicked out of their homes. There’s children dying.”
Some attending the protest said their relatives are living under conditions that are making them extremely upset, and they said their relatives are fearing for their lives due to the tensions.
One woman attending the demonstration with her young daughter expressed her worry for her family in Ramallah. She said she wakes up every day scared and wondering how they are doing during the conflict.
She said she fears her loved ones may die during the conflict, and that’s why she came out to protest against the violence.
“You know how heartbreaking that is? I feel guilty because there’s nothing I can really do about it,” she said. “There’s not much I can do about it but spread awareness, and it’s killing me inside. It’s killing me.”
The Israeli government has labeled Hamas as a terrorist group, but those attending the protest said Palestinians living in the West Bank, Ramallah and Gaza are suffering because of the tensions.
Demonstrators hope their actions will help people in the U.S. keep the people in the Middle East in mind.
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