In light of the recent horrifying escalation in violence in Gaza, community members are called upon to gather this Friday, October 20th, at 6:00 pm at City Hall. The rally will call for an immediate cessation of the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and an end to the blockade.
Since October 7, the Israeli government has laid siege to Gaza, leaving 2.3 million people without essential resources like food, water, fuel, and electricity. Their attacks have intensified, specifically targeting hospitals harbouring thousands, residential structures, and even evacuation routes. The results of these actions are heartbreaking: more than 4,000 lives lost, with over 1,000 being children. Currently, over 1.5 million Palestinians are internally displaced, and at least 47 families have been entirely erased from the Gaza civil registry.
Rimaz Abakar, a local resident, commented, “The situation in Gaza is not just a tragedy, it’s a humanitarian crisis. Every single day, innocent lives are taken, leaving families shattered. This isn’t just about “taking sides”; it’s purely about human decency and respect for life.”
The rally will be more than a call to end violence. It’s a journey of solidarity, taking a peaceful walk from City Hall at 99 Foster Drive, passing Ross Romano’s Office and culminating at MP Terry Sheehan’s office at 369 Queen Street E for a candlelight vigil.
Abakar adds, “Our strength lies in our unity. By coming together this Friday, we are sending a clear message that we stand with the children and the people of Gaza. It’s a plea to our government to not stay silent in the face of such egregious acts of violence.”
The community is urged to turn up in numbers and show their support for the people of
Palestine, ensuring their voices echo throughout the world.
For this specific clash -Hamas, which controls Gaza decided to place an attack on a music festival killing over 200 civilians – did they not expect retaliation from Israel? All of this is just based on the ancient tradition of religion vs. religion killing one another over disputed territory.
If you can’t all play nice, we’ll just have a 3rd party take ownership of both Israel and Palestine, you’ll now be called Palael or Isrine and we don’t have to hear about it anymore.
I can understand the immense frustration but the only way to stop these bloody butchers is to make them cease to exist. Talk will do squat.
What is this Palestine they speak of? The Hamas terror group went too far and now will pay the price.
I won’t support murderers. No one should.
Hamas wants to exterminate all Jews
They said this publicly
They hide behind citizens and fire their rockets from hospitals and schools
It is well known that the Palestine Jihad fired the rockets at the hospital, not Israel
Religion kills remember this well people !
A friend sent the following thoughts to me :
Are we being infiltrated because of the almighty dollar? Students are being recruited to our city with the guise of getting an education. While wars are being started in other parts of the world, these students are coming together to protest on our soil. Our city is noticeably being populated with people that are used to turmoil in their own countries. There will be a protest at city hall today about the Israel/Palestine conflict and there will probably be further action about other conflicts. While we worry about plastics, lack of food at decent prices, homelessness, and drugs, this problem is slowly but surely creeping up on us, on our own soil. How much longer will it be before there is violent disruptions in our city?
I can’t think of a single protest in our city that involved newcomers or international students.
The only protests I’ve ever seen here involved old white men protesting against abortion, LGBQ rights, Drag queens reading at the library, and of course the travelling clown show called the ‘freedom convoy’,
If you think the Indian students are infiltrating our country for some alterior motive, you need to give your head a shake. (oh right, it’s your friend, not you. Apologies )