'We will continue to escalate': Pro-Palestinian group blocks Fayetteville Street in Raleigh

Hundreds of Pro-Palestinian protesters on Thursday shut down Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh.

The rally started at Moore Square before noon, with protesters calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and humanitarian aid for the Palestinians who live there. The rally quickly grew in size, with an estimated 200 protesters blocking Fayetteville Street at Martin Street for at least one hour.

The Raleigh protesters then marched to the office of U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, asking her and other members of Congress to sign a resolution calling for a ceasefire and an end to American military support for Israel.

The protesters filled Fayetteville Street, blocking traffic for about an hour and chanting slogans like "Biden Biden stop the slaughter" and "Shut it down." Cars honked in support as they passed by.

Sky 5 flew overhead at 1 p.m., when protesters were marching back to Moore Square.

The rally was made up of various groups, including a pro-Palestinian group that calls itself Jewish Voice for Peace. The group is the same that led a protest that shut down N.C. Highway 147 in Durham for several hours during rush hour last Thursday.

All four of the women charged in connection with the N.C. 147 protest have turned themselves in. Some people in the Jewish community have accused the group of being anti-Israel.

Rania Masri, who helped organize the Raleigh rally, was one of the protesters who blocked the Durham Freeway last week. Masri said protests will not stop until there's a full ceasefire.

"We will continue to escalate and escalate and escalate until the genocide stops, and we have been escalating," Masti said. "We shut down the Durham highway. Some people were not happy about that, but it’s really hard to go on with our lives to pretend everything’s okay when our taxpayer dollars are killing children."

Pro-Israel protestors counter that Hamas killed Israeli children, too. They argue if Hamas would release the hostages, the siege would stop.

WRAL News estimated between 200 and 300 people attended Thursday's rally at its height. There were dozens of police officers at the protest.

No arrests were made, but Masri said she and others are ready to be arrested if that's what it takes to get a ceasefire. They are also planning a peace vigil in downtown Raleigh for Friday night.

Days earlier, pro-Israel supporters rallied in downtown Raleigh, calling on the terrorist group Hamas to release the 232 hostages they took during the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. Those hostages are believed to be being held in Gaza.

The Israel supporters said there should be no cease-fire until the hostages are freed.

Thursday's rally in downtown Raleigh was comparable to the size of an Oct. 12 rally at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, when pro-Palestine and pro-Israel groups argued back and forth on the steps of the library.

The protest, branded as a "resistance rally" for Palestine, began peaceful but turned contentious about 20 minutes into the event. Hundreds of people were in attendance.

The dialogue between the groups was heated at times, and an Israeli professor was pushed down the stairs. The professor had to be escorted away by UNC police officers. The man said he had a drink thrown at him. He was not seriously hurt.

As the war continues, the White House has said Israel will implement four-hour pauses of military operations in areas of northern Gaza each day. During that period, humanitarian assistance will be allowed into the city and civilians can flee the area.

Israel claims forces have captured a Hamas stronghold after a 10-hour battle.