Protest outside Sen. Schumer’s Brooklyn home calls for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas conflict, state lawmaker says

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) – Protesters calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict were arrested Friday evening after demonstrating outside the Brooklyn home of U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, according to a New York state lawmaker.

A large crowd of Jewish New Yorkers and allies were among the protesters who marched to Schumer’s home in Brooklyn, according to the office of New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani. Protesters held a banner reading “Jews Say Stop the Genocide of Palestinians,” Mamdani’s office said.

The NYPD later arrested dozens of the protesters, including Mamdani, after demonstrators blocked the entryway to Schumer’s street, according to Mamdani’s office.

“Tonight, we are on the brink of genocide of the Palestinian people,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Following the horrific murders of Israelis, we are seeing that Israel intends to level Gaza and is escalating its actions, including the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians, ongoing use of white phosphorous, targeting of first responders, bombardments of residential buildings, and is calling for 1.1 million Palestinians to leave their homes in the next 24 hours.”

Schumer is preparing to travel with a delegation of lawmakers to Israel this weekend. Schumer said he’s leading a bipartisan group of senators to show Israel “unwavering” support from the United States.

“The White House is actively opposing any calls for restraint in Gaza. This is the moment for all people of conscience to call for a ceasefire,” Mamdani said.

The protest was among the large demonstrations in New York City on Friday over the Israel-Hamas conflict. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators who gathered in Times Square marched through the streets of Manhattan and protested outside the Israeli consulate on the East Side.

The NYPD increased security in New York City on Friday due to the protests, but there were no credible threats detected, according to top intelligence from the NYPD. The demonstrations remained relatively peaceful.

Day 7 of the Israel-Hamas conflict

Palestinians fled in a mass exodus Friday from northern Gaza after Israel’s military told some 1 million people to evacuate to the southern part of the besieged territory ahead of an expected ground invasion in retaliation for the surprise attack by the ruling Hamas militant group.

The United Nations warned that evacuating almost half of crowded Gaza’s population would be calamitous, and it urged Israel to reverse the unprecedented directive. As airstrikes hammered the territory throughout the day, families in cars, trucks and donkey carts packed with possessions streamed down a main road out of Gaza City.

Hamas’ media office said Israeli warplanes struck cars fleeing south, killing more than 70 people. The Israeli military said its troops conducted temporary raids into Gaza to battle militants and hunted for traces of some 150 people abducted in Hamas’ assault on Israel nearly a week ago.

Unrelenting Israeli strikes over the past week have leveled large swaths of neighborhoods, magnifying the suffering of Gaza, which has also been sealed off from food, water and medical supplies, and under a virtual total power blackout.

“Forget about food, forget about electricity, forget about fuel. The only concern now is just if you’ll make it, if you’re going to live,” said Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza City.

In the nearly week-old war, the Gaza Health Ministry said Friday that roughly 1,900 people have been killed in the territory — more than half of them under the age of 18, or women. The Hamas assault last Saturday killed more than 1,300 Israelis, most of whom were civilians, and roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were killed during the fighting, the Israeli government said.