Imad Qendah says he’s glued to the television every day, hoping he doesn’t see his loved ones back home in Gaza among those killed on the news.
He said that’s the only way he’ll know if anything happened to them, because he hasn’t been able to communicate with his family since war broke out between Hamas militants and Israel.
“Two of my kids are there, I can’t go back. They don’t have water, they don’t have anything,” said Qendah, 38. “I can’t speak with my son, my daughter, my wife, my dad, my mom. The internet is off, their phone is off, everything is off. If they die, I’m just going to see it on the news.”
Qendah and two of his children, draped in the colors of the Palestinian flag, joined thousands of others Wednesday at a rally and march in the Loop in support of the Palestinian people. The demonstrators called for the U.S. government to step in and end the bloodshed.
The march was organized by the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine in collaboration with several other organizations.
“I feel bad, not just for my kids. For my family, for my country, for everything,” Qendah said.
Hamas stormed through a border fence Saturday and massacred hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.
The militant group said it launched its attack because suffering in Gaza had become intolerable under unending Israeli military occupation and a 16-year blockade of the coastal region, as well as increasing settlements in the West Bank.
The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 189 soldiers, have been killed in Israel, a staggering toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria that lasted weeks. In Gaza, 1,100 people have been killed, according to authorities there. Several Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in clashes with Israeli forces.
Abdallah Alaa used to live in the West Bank, and his mom and sister are still there in Ramallah. He says he’s scared for their lives, and checks in with them daily.
“They hear bombs and missiles all day over the house. And actually a missile hit about five miles away from them. It’s really scary,” Alaa said, adding that it is currently impossible for his family to get to safety. “They can’t get to the airport or pass any checkpoints or nothing. It’s very, very dangerous over there.”
Israel’s airstrikes in Gaza have flattened entire city blocks and left unknown numbers of bodies beneath debris. In a new tactic, Israel is warning civilians to evacuate whole Gaza neighborhoods, rather than just individual buildings, then leveling large swaths in waves of airstrikes.
Even with the evacuation warnings, Palestinians say some are unable to escape or have nowhere to go and that entire families have been crushed under rubble.
The U.S. is in active conversations to allow for safe passage out of Gaza for civilians, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Wednesday. The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency says 250,000 people have been displaced in Gaza.
Speakers at the protest railed against Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and President Joe Biden for pledging their support to Israel. They felt the politicians ignored the thousands of lives lost in the fighting in Gaza. “Shame on them,” the demonstrators shouted.
As protesters marched down Michigan Avenue and under L tracks, they carried signs reading “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and chanted “resistance is justified when people are occupied.” Hundreds of Palestinian flags blew in the crisp October air. A chorus of vehicles driving by the protest honked their horns in solidarity.
The protest was largely peaceful aside from one incident when tempers flared. As the demonstrators marched through the Loop, someone on the sidewalk tried to grab a Palestinian flag from a protester and then fled inside a building. A group of protesters chased after the man but were unable to enter the building. The situation didn’t escalate further. A small group of protesters burned an Israeli flag away from the main march.
Alaa brought his wife, Sahar, and their children to the protest. He was happy to see so many people gathered in support of the residents of Gaza and their plight.
“I love it, it’s wonderful. It gives me hope for our country and hopefully this will wake up the world and show them what’s really going on over there,” Alaa said.
Contributing: AP
