Hundreds marched through downtown Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon waving Palestinian flags, holding antiwar signs and echoing protest chants. The protest, two days ahead of the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war , was organized by the local chapter of the activist group ANSWER .
The demonstration began with a series of speeches in Lugar Plaza at around 2:15 p.m. Speakers called for a ceasefire and an end to U.S. financial support for weaponry in the Middle East. Several talked about their connection to the ongoing conflict.
Maya El-Chal, an IUPUI student, told the audience that 15 minutes after she got off the phone with her Lebanese grandfather last week, his house was bombed. He was in the only part of the house that wasn’t destroyed, and other family members had already evacuated to safety. El-Chal, who returned from her annual trip to Lebanon two months ago, said she constantly receives messages from friends and family living under the threat of displacement and war.