October 2026 marks the third year of the ongoing human rights violations by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Gaza Strip, prolonging the displacement, ethnic cleansing and occupation of Palestinians and their land that began in 1947. On Oct. 10, at least hundreds of people marched in the nation’s capital, joining more than a million people worldwide in unwavering solidarity for Palestine and the injustices its people are enduring.
“We will keep showing the true power of the people, from our flotilla participants who have sailed to break the siege, to our students who continue to confront institutional ties with Zionism, to the masses who’ve shut down their cities to demand an immediate arms embargo,” said the DMV (D.C., Maryland and Virginia) chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement.
Since the escalation on Oct. 7, 2023, the Palestinian death toll across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has reached a combined total of 75,453 per the World Health Organization’s Health Cluster. Across the world, activists are demanding an end to the Palestinian genocide, for countries like the United States and the United Kingdom to cease military exports to Israeli forces and for the imposition of economic and diplomatic sanctions on Israel in support of justice and accountability efforts.
At the rally on Capitol Hill, participants were clad in keffiyehs, a traditional cloth worn in North Africa and Southwestern Asia that typically symbolizes solidarity with Palestinian liberation efforts, and chanted slogans “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Free, free Palestine.” Their action showed that people around the world are still doing what they can to raise awareness and push for an end to the violence.
“If you take one thing from this march… it’s that the people of Palestine have sacrificed everything,” said Saad Ijaz with the American Muslims for Palestine DMV Chapter during the demonstration. “The least we can do is refuse to sacrifice our conscience for comfort.”
