Thousands attend Pro-Palestinian rally at U.S. consulate in Toronto

Another pro-Palestinian rally drew large crowds in Toronto Saturday afternoon, with thousands of people flooding the streets in the downtown core.

The rally is part of the Palestinian Youth Movement’s “national day of action for Palestine,” which aims to facilitate rallies and protests in cities across the country in order to voice its demands for an immediate ceasefire and lifting of the “siege on Gaza” to allow for immediate aid.

The rally began in front of the U.S. consulate in Toronto, located on University Avenue just north of Queen Street West.

Toronto police have been reporting multiple road closures as a result of the protest, with the most recent intersection being College Street and University Avenue.

Multiple streets were closed downtown Toronto as over 5,000 people marched holding signs that said “end the siege” and “free Palestine.”

Dalia Awwad, a member of the Palestininan Youth Movement, told CP24 on Saturday that they are calling for a ceasefire and for the Canadian government to take action.

“If Israel’s refusing to abide by the requests for a ceasefire, Canada can stop selling arms to Israel. The US can stop selling arms to Israel, and so really making it difficult for them to continue to bombard civilians,” she said.

“We’re being very clear and consistent with our message that we vote for them so they can advance our interests and not their own, and right now, they’re not doing that they’re failing to do that.”

This is the fourth consecutive weekend of significant demonstrations in Toronto related to the Israel-Hamas war.

MPP Sarah Jama, who represents Hamilton-Centre as an independent after being ejected by her party, is expected to attend the rally.

Jama was recently censured by the Progressive Conservative government for her comments on social media about the Israel-Gaza war, in which she expressed support for the Palestinian people and called for an end to the “occupation of Palestinian land.”

The statement omitted any mention of Hamas or the attack that spurred the latest round of violence in the region.