3,000 march in Toronto in support of Palestinian people, police estimate

CBC
Tue, May 7, 2024

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march in downtown Toronto on Tuesday. (CBC - image credit)

Thousands gathered in downtown Toronto as part of a pro-Palestinian protest on Tuesday evening.

Toronto police estimate that 3,000 people are taking part in the demonstration.

The "Hands off Rafah!" protest, which began outside the Israeli consulate at Yonge and Bloor streets, headed south on St. George Street. By 9 p.m., police said the group had reached the University of Toronto campus.

Police said there have been no arrests and no altercations.

Organizers said the protest was an emergency call to action as Israel begins an assault on Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip.

pro-Palestinian demonstrators Toronto

The 'Hands off Rafah!' protest began at Yonge and Bloor streets. (CBC)

According to the Associated Press, Israeli forces have seized the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

The closed border means U.N. humanitarian teams in Gaza will run out of diesel fuel by Wednesday, a senior humanitarian official said, leaving them unable to pump drinking water, maintain communications and deliver aid.

The war in Gaza has driven around 80 per cent of the territory's population of 2.3 million from their homes and caused vast destruction to apartments, hospitals, mosques and schools across several cities. The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials.

The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.