Dozens of Yellowknife residents held what they termed an emergency protest in the city’s downtown on Wednesday over this week’s escalation in the Israel-Palestine war.
Israel’s military launched air strikes across the Gaza Strip earlier this week, ending a ceasefire in place since January. According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 400 people were killed within a few hours of the attack.
Israel also says it has resumed ground operations in Gaza, while Hamas’s armed wing has said it was behind a rocket attack on Thursday against Tel Aviv.
The YK Citizens for Ceasefire – a group that has called for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid for Gaza since 2023 – organized a protest outside the city’s Greenstone Building on Wednesday afternoon.
Demonstrators demanded “an immediate two-way arms embargo and an end to the genocide which has devastated people in Gaza and across Palestine.”
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“I think it’s very important to show up because the people in Gaza, they do see. People in our community have connections to people there,” said Janat Ibrahami, who has been attending each protest organized by the group.
The group previously held a rally at which more than 200 people marched across Yellowknife’s downtown. Last year, a dinner and auction raised money for Palestinian families. Another fundraising event is set to take place on April 5.
Ibrahami said while similar protests have happened on many occasions, she was surprised by the number of people present on Wednesday.
“Even if we feel like nothing is going to happen in Canada, our government isn’t listening to us, my mentality is it might feel hopeless but people there do see,” she said.
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“It’s showing the people in Gaza that they do matter. Their existence matters … in the North, we’re showing up for them.”
Jennifer Rafferty said a sense of community created through the protests had been “really comforting.”
“I think not only have we lifted each other up, we’ve also tried to educate the public and bring awareness to this,” she said.
“It’s truly, truly uplifting and warms the heart because if it was us in this position, we would want people supporting us. If our homes were being bombed, if our children were being killed, we would hope that people around the world would take notice and use their voice to support us.”
