US: Pro-Palestinians shut down Golden Gate Bridge

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Pro-Palestinian protesters on Monday shut down Highway 101 on the Golden Gate Bridge, blocking traffic on the iconic bridge in San Francisco.

While stopping their vehicles and blocking all southbound lanes of the span, the protestors demanded the US stop arming and funding Israel in the ongoing Gaza war.

Protestors carried banners reading "Stop the World for Gaza," and "End the Siege on Gaza Now."

The California Highway Patrol was at the scene, with "no estimate time for reopening," according to the Golden Gate Bridge's X account.

"Drivers should expect significant delays & avoid using the Bridge where possible," it added.

The traffic was also blocked in other major cities, including Chicago at O'Hare Airport, due to the protests.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

Nearly 33,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and nearly 76,500 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most 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, which in January issued an interim ruling ordering Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.