Hundreds rally for Palestinians on both sides of Canada-U.S. border in Niagara

It was "hard not to get emotional" at a cross-border rally for Palestinians in Niagara Falls last weekend, an organizer says.

Hundreds of people demonstrated on the Canadian side of the border, with a smaller group on the U.S. side. 

"This rally was really to show the Palestinian community that they don't need to be afraid anymore. They don't need to lay low. They can be Palestinian and they can be proud about it," said Gabriel Gebril, spokesperson for the Niagara Palestine Coalition. 

The St. Catharines, Ont., resident, who is Palestinian, said some members of his community have felt uncomfortable sharing their experiences, so the goal of this rally was to let them know others had their backs.

On Sunday, Gebril said, up to 2,000 people gathered in Niagara Falls and marched from Stanley Avenue and Highway 420 to the border to demonstrate their solidarity with Palestinians locally and abroad as the Israel-Hamas war that began in October continues.

In the nine months of offensives in Gaza, Israel has killed more than 38,600 people, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. 

The war has also created a humanitarian catastrophe in the coastal Palestinian territory, displaced most of its 2.3 million people and triggered widespread hunger.

Stephanie Sabourin, spokesperson for the Niagara Regional Police Service, told CBC Hamilton that police were aware of the Niagara event and monitored it to "ensure participant and community safety," as is their practice for all demonstrations. 

Sabourin said police estimate about 400 people were present, with rolling street closures as the march moved along its route.

For a relatively small city, having hundreds of people attend was heartening, Gebril told CBC Hamilton, with demonstrators from 14 different groups attending, some from as far away as Montreal. 

On the American side, a group demonstrated at Prospect Point in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Derek Seidman of Jewish Voice for Peace-Buffalo, one of the U.S. organizations that participated, told CBC Hamilton about 200 people were there.

Gebril said the point of the rally wasn't to convince elected officials to act.

"It's been nine months of a genocide and [the politicians] have not listened to us," he said, referring to Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

The hope, he said, is for Palestinians in Niagara and beyond to feel people have their backs during a challenging time. With close family in Lebanon, which is also in conflict with Israel, Gebril said worry leaves him exhausted.