Hundreds gather in Vancouver to demand an end to Israel-Hamas war
Posted December 2, 2023 6:10 pm.
Another march took place on the streets of downtown Vancouver on Saturday, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The march began at 3:00 p.m. at the Vancouver Art Gallery and proceeded to block traffic on streets such as West Georgia and Burrard as it moved.
Police were present to control traffic surrounding the march.
Prior to the march, a bike rally, titled #bike4palestine, travelled from Science World to the art gallery with stops in Vanier Park and English Bay.
A protest was also held outside of Indigo Books on Robson Street in advance of the march. This comes after a Toronto branch of the well-known bookstore was defaced in November due to accusations that its Jewish founder, Heather Reisman, supports genocide.
At least 200 Palestinians have been killed since fighting resumed Friday morning following a weeklong truce with the territory’s ruling militant group Hamas, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. Several multi-storey residential buildings were hit on Saturday, engulfing neighbourhoods in huge clouds of smoke.
Separately, the ministry said the overall death toll in Gaza since the Oct. 7 start of the war had surpassed 15,200, a sharp jump from the previous count of more than 13,300 on Nov. 20. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but it said 70 per cent of the dead were women and children. It said more than 40,000 people had been wounded since the war began.
The Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel. Around 240 people were taken captive.
The renewed hostilities have heightened concerns for 137 hostages who, according to the Israeli military, are still held after 105 were freed during the truce.
A post by social justice group Vancouver Ecosocialists about Saturday’s demonstration says it will continue encouraging people to gather in Vancouver every weekend until a ceasefire happens.
-With files from The Associated Press
