Pro-Palestinian march held in Ottawa amid global day of protests

Pro-Palestinian march floods Ottawa streets Demonstrators marched through the nation's capital on Saturday. CTV's Kimberley Johnson reports.

Demonstrators converged on downtown Ottawa Saturday afternoon as part of a global day of action to protest Israel's military actions in the Middle East.

The rally was organized as part of the Palestinian Youth Movement's "International Day of Action for Palestine." It began on Parliament Hill at 2 p.m. and continued into the afternoon with marchers walking down Rideau Street towards the Byward Market.

Oct. 5 has become a day of action for pro-Palestinian movements around the world to mark the one-year anniversary of the war and to honour the outpouring of solidarity with Gaza.

Demonstrators were waving Lebanese and Palestinian flags while holding signs calling for an "immediate and permanent" ceasefire in Gaza nearly one year after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The demonstrations are also being held in solidary with Lebanon as Israel ramped up missile attacks against the country in recent weeks.

"Today we are here to protest a year of ongoing genocide in Gaza and call on the Canadian government to implement an immediate two-way arms embargo and end its complicity in this genocide," said Palestinian Youth Movement organizer Sarah Abdul-Karim in an interview.

"For a year now, we have witnessed Israel wage a genocide against the people of Gaza and just in these past two weeks, we've witnessed Israel escalate this genocide across the region by carpet bombing densely populated neighbourhoods in Lebanon as well."

Ottawa police said to expect traffic impacts in and around the ByWard Market area.

In a social media post on Wednesday, the Ottawa Police Service said it is increasing its presence and patrols around Jewish and Islamic places of worship, as well as community centers.

"We recognize that next week, October 7th, marks the beginning of hostilities. We are closely monitoring the situation and assessing any potential impacts on our local community," Ottawa police said.

"Our priority is the safety and security of all community members, and we remain committed to fostering a peaceful and supportive environment during this time."

Israel declared war in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on Oct. 7 in which the militant group Hamas killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage. It was the deadliest attack in Israel's history and the deadliest for Jews since the Holocaust.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were fighters but say a little more than half were women and children. The military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

With files from The Associated Press and CTV News Ottawa's Kimberley Johnson