NEW YORK: Thousands of people marched in the streets of New York City on Friday evening to protest Israel’s offensive in Gaza and call for an end to Israeli attacks that have already killed nearly 850 Palestinians.

A police contingent was at hand to control the demonstrators, estimated between 3,000 and 5,000, as they flooded into the busy streets around Times Square and walked to the Israeli consulate near the United Nations.

Waving Palestinian flags and signs condemning Israel for the offensive, many called for an end to US aid to Israel, which gets all its arms and ammunition from United States under a grant.

Another demonstration took place in lower Manhattan in which many Jewish Americans also protested Israeli attacks in Gaza. They carried placards inscribed with slogans like “Boycott Israeli Apartheid” and “New York Jews Say: Not in Our Name”.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2014