As the genocide in Gaza passes its 700th day, the Israeli regime continues to brutalize, starve, and murder the people of Gaza. Yesterday, September 10th, Israel killed 72 people in Gaza. Today, at least 39 Palestinians have been killed, including 10 people seeking aid.
And yet, the worst is still to come for Gaza.
On September 9th, Israel ordered all one million residents of Gaza City to evacuate. This is after nearly two years of constant displacement, and the complete leveling of Gaza to the point where once busy neighborhoods and town squares have become completely unrecognizable. The ethnic cleansing of Gaza City has begun.
I have been frustrated with the lack of actions for Gaza in the DC area over the past month. Understandably, most organizing efforts right now are directed at the military occupation of Washington DC, following President Trump’s executive order which sent the National Guard to patrol the streets.
This is why I am extremely grateful for the efforts of brave organizers like Hazami Barmada. Barmada has been a key organizer for Palestine especially since October 2023, where she has led or been involved with countless protests, the encampment in front of the Israeli embassy, the encampment in front of disgraced Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s house, and the recent Gaza Media Accountability encampment in front of NBC, Fox News, and C-SPAN’s headquarters.
I joined Barmada’s autonomous activist group yesterday as we marched from DuPont circle to the British embassy, carrying banners and with all our sirens blaring.
At the protest’s peak, we had around 25-30 people. One would think that a smaller group would be less effective, but Barmada organized the march in a way that utilized our full potential. Most of us were carrying large banners while our megaphones were blasting their sirens. We ended up taking nearly an entire street as we were spread out just far enough to do so.
As we walked through Embassy Row, pedestrians, embassy workers, and diplomates stared at us, and many waved. Cars on the other side of the street were honking in support, showing that even in the Global North, support for Palestine among the people is higher than the mainstream media wants us to believe.
Once we got to the British Embassy, we dumped gallons of fake blood on the street, which produced an eerie resemblance to the rivers of blood seen in countless videos coming out of Gaza. The British government is not only complicit in the Gaza genocide, but is also actively criminalizing pro-Palestinian or anti-genocide speech. Over a thousand British citizens have been arrested in the last few weeks simply for holding a sign simply reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
On the march back to DuPont circle, we made sure to stop in front of the Egyptian embassy, another government complicit in the genocide, and dump more fake blood on the street.
This protest shows how much visibility one can get even from a small group. It is hard to ignore dozens of sirens blaring in the streets, and a highly organized group holding banners opposing genocide.
Below is a video I took from behind when we dumped the fake blood in front of the Egyptian embassy. Since I was holding banners, I was unable to get better footage, so I highly recommend checking out the Instagram videos below which have a better sense of the scale of this protest.
Protest Videos from Instagram
Video from Anadolu English and Queen of Palestine Instagram
Video from Hazami Barmada’s Instagram in Front of British Embassy
Video from March from Barmada’s Instagram
Organizer Links
Protest Link from Barmada’s Instagram
News Articles
Israeli Military Issues Full Evacuation Order for Gaza City – ABC News
Al-Mawasi (Humanitarian Zone) is a Site of Killing and Starvation – Euro Med Monitor
Gaza Death Toll Undercount (Likely Over 400K Dead) – Ralph Nader
Satellite Images Show Israel has Totally Destroyed Areas of Gaza City – Al Jazeera
PEOPLE BETWEEN WORLDS 
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