Windsor's second rally for Palestinian people draws massive crowds Tuesday night
CBC
Windsorite Samia Zubaidi says her family in Gaza is not safe — but for now, they are alive.
Coming to Canada from Gaza as a refugee seven years ago, Zubaidi was one of an estimated 1,000 people at a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people on Tuesday night.
"I come tonight to raise my voice against what happened in Gaza. Children [were] killed in Gaza, people [were] kicked out from their homes," said Zubaidi.
"I'm coming here to express my sadness, anger, solidarity with Palestinians while they are facing [the most] strong army and weapon in the world, facing them with just their body."
Zubaidi says her family has left their homes and she's heard of friends who have died in the conflict.
"But you can imagine what life now without food, without electricity, without water, and even there they are not safe anywhere," Zubaidi said. "They bombed the hospital today."
"We're just like waiting, worried what the next moment will carry for us."
Hundreds of people were killed in an airstrike on a Gaza hospital on Tuesday — but Israel has denied involvement in the attack, saying it was a misfired rocket from the group Islamic Jihad.
Israel has carried out airstrikes in Gaza since an attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 people.
More than 3,000 people have been killed in Gaza, the Palestinian Health Ministry says. The Israeli military said at least 199 hostages were taken into Gaza.
The second such rally in less than a week, Tuesday's event in Windsor attracted enough people to block traffic in one direction on Ouellette Avenue for blocks at a time as attendees marched from the riverfront through downtown.
Windsor police maintained a presence throughout the march.
Zubaidi says she hopes people can learn more about the history of Gaza and the conflict with Israel.
"Unfortunately, most of the people [don't] know about what happened in Palestine … When they see a conflict, when they see violence they think of the last action," she said.