Montrealers call for ceasefire in Gaza as protests erupt across Canada

Demonstrations calling for a ceasefire in Gaza took place in 30-plus Canadian cities on Saturday, including Montreal.

Thousands of protestors marched through the streets near Montreal's Place-des-Arts. According to organizers, they're demanding "an immediate ceasefire," a "lifting [of] the siege on Gaza" and "an end to Canada's complicity in the genocide."

The Canadian rallies were carried out in tandem with a march in Washington D.C.

"Let's show the world that we are not just people in solidarity with Palestine, we are a movement that will rise from every corner of the world until all our demands are met," reads the Facebook page for the Montreal event.

The protests, organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, come nearly one month after the deadly Hamas attack on Israel.

Since then, Israeli forces have launched repeated airstrikes, laid siege to Gaza, and restricted food, water and other supplies into the territory. 

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most in the Oct. 7 attack, and 242 hostages have been taken into Gaza, according to The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza reports at least 9,000 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 3,900 children.

On Saturday, the day of the protests, Israeli military strikes killed multiple civilians at a United Nations shelter and hospital in the Gaza Strip's main combat zone. 

Palestinian Youth Movement organizer Sarah Shamy told the Montreal rally that she expected a historic turnout in demonstrations organized across North America.

Montreal protester Shaima Nakhli said what she described as Canadian officials' reluctance to condemn the killing of Palestinians made her doubt the government's commitment to human rights.

"Canada is always there for human rights, for humanism," Nakhli said. "Where are those values?"

-- Published with files from The Canadian Press