People across the Bay Area on Wednesday rallied outside the offices of elected officials, demanding a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.
Rallies took place at the offices of Rep. Eric Swalwell in the East Bay, Rep. Anna Eshoo on the Peninsula and Rep. Jared Huffman in the North Bay.
Swalwell briefly spoke with the activists via FaceTime. He said he doesn’t want any more people killed in Gaza but said a permanent cease-fire must be earned.
"What I’m looking for right now is a way of a permanent cease-fire, can there be trust on both sides, that the hostages will be released, no rockets will fly from Gaza?" he said.
Naiema Din of Saratoga has cousins and an aunt living in a shelter in Gaza. She said delaying a cease-fire will only cost lives.
"The Israeli government is moving forward and they are decimating Gaza, and they are killing thousands and thousands of people," she said. "If we say we can't do anything, that's just giving them the greenlight to continue the genocide that's unfolding."
The protestors also had other demands. They want the U.S. to stop providing military aid to Israel, and they want lawmakers to take a stand against Islamophobia.
The demonstrations come a day after residents of Berkeley called on city leaders there to pass a resolution in support of a cease-fire in Gaza.
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