LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Passionate pleas for peace echoed along the Waterfront, Sunday, as more than 100 people gathered at Waterfront Park to take part in a mile-long peace walk, with a trail simulating Gaza's 25 mile-long coast.
"Palestinians want to live with equality, freedom, self-determination -- just like any person in this world," Lina Yassine, a Palestinian-American living in Louisville, said.
The group, sharing in solidarity sent a direct message.
"Stop the killing of Palestinian civilians," Beverley Marmion, an activist, said. "Stop the killing period of everybody."
"I think what is going on has raised awareness about the Palestinian struggle, about the occupation of Israel to the Palestinian land, and hopefully people will be aware of that. Humanity will rise," Yassine said. "And I'm hoping things will improve."
Organizers said the gathering focused on four main points: calling for a lasting Ceasefire, the immediate flow of life saving humanitarian aid to the Gaza strip, the release of all Israeli and Palestinian hostages and the end of Israeli occupation in the West Bank.
"I feel like every house in Gaza is holding and carrying a lot of pain," Imani Kettaneh, who was born in Palestine but lives in Louisville now, said. "And even if the war is like, stopped and the ceasefire happens, I feel they need at least five, six years to survive, like, the current situation."
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) say more than 13,000 children have been killed in Gaza in Israel's offensive since October 7, while others currently suffer from severe malnutrition.
It's partly why this group is rallying to provide tangible support for those suffering on the ground, raising funds to donate to organizations helping to provide aid for displaced Gazans, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and the Peace Dove -- a local Louisville effort.
"For us, if we accept like for you know, these people to get killed, to get treated in this way, then we are reflecting a bad image for our society here. We are telling people it's okay," Kettaneh said.
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