HARRISBURG, Pa. — On the steps of Pennsylvania’s Capitol Friday afternoon was a community mourning the suffering in Gaza. Of the numerous signs or flags, none belonged to Harrisburg resident Hashem Abulizz.
"Nobody sees anything about the kids of Gaza," he said. "“The people who live that reality are the ones who have to deal with all the challenges, have to deal with the deaths, with the bombing."
Abulizz brought that front and center during Friday's demonstration. He did not hold a flag. He did not hold a sign. Just images.
Rows of body bags; Palestinians killed in Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza strip. And, a final embrace between a father and his dying son.
"They are not with the military, they're not with Hamas, they're not with anybody," Abulizz said. "What is it that they did wrong that they get killed for? What is it?"
Constant chants of "Free, Free Palestine" echoed across State Street, as Palestinian-Americans rallied to support the voiceless.
"We’re standing up with 2.2 million people in the Gaza strip that are under Israeli occupation, living in an open-air prison, that are fighting for their lives," said Omar Mussa, who helped organize the demonstration.
He added that he is hoping to raise attention to the pleas of the people in Gaza who are being ignored by the media.
"No one is showing the true atrocities that are occurring there," Mussa said. "As of today, and the numbers are rising, 500 Palestinian children have been killed."
The Gaza Health Ministry said Friday that roughly 1,900 people have been killed in the territory, with more than half of them under the age of 18 or women, according to the Associated Press. The war has claimed at least 3,100 lives on both sides since fighting escalated on Saturday.
Mussa condemned the killing of any innocent civilians and called for an end to the cycle of violence.
“We want to make sure that not a single civilian is killed or has to live in fear," he said. "And in order for us to achieve that goal, we have to end the Israeli occupation, we have to lift the siege that is going on in Gaza right now. We have to stop funding Israel in terms of a military package, and we have to make sure that we're covering the story correctly."
Hashem notes it’s also important that people understand the history behind the Palestinian’s suffering and conflict.
"Read the history," Hashem said. "Go back more than 75 years ago, before 1948 and know the truth of Palestine."