Protect Rafah, Pro-Palestine Rally in New York City, US par Jimin Kim / SOPA Images
Pro-Palestine demonstrators marched in Manhattan, New York City condemning the Israel Defense Forces' military operations in Gaza. Demonstrators marched to the Fashion Institute of Technology where some students and protesters have been holding a sit-in protest, forming a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" outside the campus museum. The encampment was inspired by a similar encampment that began at Columbia University last month, which was dismantled by the New York City Police Department last week. The march took place after the IDF launched strikes on the eastern section of the southern city of Rafah in Gaza. The IDF also captured a border crossing in Rafah between Gaza and Egypt. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF will launch an invasion of Rafah. More than half of Gaza's 2.3 million population are sheltered in the city living in tents and United Nations' shelters. Since the Israel-Hamas war started on October 7, 2023, Gaza's health ministry said more than 34,000 people have been killed in Gaza, a territory ruled by Hamas. The death toll does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.