International Women's Day protest for Gaza held in Washington

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - A group of mostly women Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered Friday at Washington D.C.'s Freedom Plaza in solidarity with Palestinian women on International Women's Day.

The protest organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement was to draw attention to the dire conditions women and children in Gaza have been facing and to demand an immediate cease-fire and an end to US military support to Israel

Miranda Dube, from the Palestinian Youth Movement, said Palestinian women “are on the front lines of this violence” since the start of Israel's war on Gaza in October.

“Women are forced to give birth under horrible conditions, unsanitary conditions,” she said. “There have been 20,000 babies that have been born since Oct. 7. Without the proper care, babies are starving to death, mothers are unable to provide for their children.

“We're here because you cannot have a day to celebrate women without understanding that the patriarchy is inherently tied to imperialism and tied to Zionism,” she added.

Layla Summers, 45, from the state of California, said her message to President Joe Biden and all politicians is that women in “Gaza count -- the mothers that are losing their babies and mothers who are watching their children starve to death.”

At least 8,900 women have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli war on the enclave erupted Oct. 7, the Gaza Media Office said Friday.

More than 30,800 Palestinians have been killed and over 72,400 injured in Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Palestinian groups estimate that thousands of Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.