An emotional, passionate crowd gathered at Freedom Plaza in D.C., about a block from the White House, on Friday afternoon to grieve together and show their support for Israel following the attack by Hamas militants nearly a week ago.
Some in the crowd had the Israeli flag draped on themselves like a cape, while others held signs that featured the Star of David or the words “Stand With Israel.”
“I’ve been absolutely devastated by what happened,” said Jacque Simon. “I just wanted to be with other people who probably felt similar to me.”
The rally was hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.
American and Israeli flags flew next to each other, with the U.S. Capitol Building visible in the background.
“We feel as though we need to stand up and show everyone how we feel and how upset we are,” said Josh Schonfeld. “I think it sends a very strong message to be able to have rally like this.”
There was a long list of speakers at the event, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
“The United States will always have Israel’s back,” Moore said as the crowd cheered. “I want to be very clear — the state of Maryland stands in lockstep.”
Palestinians fled in a mass exodus Friday from northern Gaza after Israel’s military told some one million people to evacuate to the southern part of the territory ahead of an expected ground invasion in retaliation for the surprise attack by Hamas militants.
Israeli strikes over the past week leveled large swaths of neighborhoods, magnifying the suffering of Gaza, which has also been sealed off from food, water and medical supplies, and under a virtual total power blackout.
In the week-old war, the Gaza Health Ministry said Friday that roughly 1,900 people have been killed in the territory — more than half the victims were under the age of 18 or women.
The Hamas assault last Saturday killed more than 1,300 Israelis, most of whom were civilians, and roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were killed during the fighting, according to the Israeli government.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
