In the heart of Gaza City, hundreds of Palestinians poured into the streets on Thursday, staging a rare public demonstration in front of the Rashad Shawa Cultural Centre.
The demonstration, named the "Last Hour Movement," was more than an act of protest; it was a desperate attempt to voice the pain of a city trapped under nearly two years of Israel's relentless war.
Men, women, and children stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying banners that read: "No to displacement," "Stop the genocide," and "International protection is a right for civilians."
Their chants echoed through Omar al-Mukhtar Street, mixing with the sound of traffic and distant explosions from Israeli airstrikes in the nearby Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods.
For many, the demonstration was not only about opposing the war, but about affirming life amid death, insisting on their right to remain in their homes, and rejecting the looming threats of displacement.
"This is not just a protest," 24-year-old Mohammed Abdel Sattar told The New Arab, as his voice rose above the crowd. "It is the cry of a people who have endured massacres and starvation. We came here to tell the world: stop this genocide, stop this slaughter. We love life, and we will not leave our land."
Pointing to children holding flowers and small banners, Abdel Sattar added that "if you count the dead, it is the children and women who pay the highest price. This daily killing cannot remain ignored by the world's conscience."
Beside him stood Salem al-Safadi, a father of four who has been unemployed since the first months of the war. His face was etched with exhaustion, but his voice thundered with anger.
"People are being killed every day just to survive. Enough injustice. Where is the international community? Where are the Arabs? Where are human rights? Everyone must act to stop these massacres. There is no excuse left for silence or division," he told TNA.
His words reflected both personal desperation and a collective cry against what protesters described as a deliberate attempt to break Gaza's will.
A protest under Israeli fire
As demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and raised pictures of relatives killed in airstrikes, news spread through the crowd of new Israeli bombardments in the neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra.
Local residents said that the Israeli army has been carrying out large-scale strikes on residential blocks, sending waves of fear into a city already devastated by rubble and loss.
"They bomb while we march. It's as if they want to remind us that nowhere is safe. But we will not stop. We are besieged from all sides without food, water, or medicine. And still, we shout for life," Mahmoud Hijazi, one of the participants, told TNA.
The protest unfolded against a dangerous political backdrop. On Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz confirmed that he had approved a military plan for a full ground invasion to "retake Gaza," intensifying fears of an imminent occupation.
For many Palestinians, Katz's words were interpreted as another attempt at forced displacement, echoing the Nakba of 1948. Demonstrators carried slogans directly responding to these threats, such as "We will not be displaced" and "Gaza will remain."
Political analysts in Gaza described the protest as a warning sign. "When ordinary people, beyond political factions, take to the streets like this, it reflects how unbearable life has become," Ahed Ferwana, a Gaza-based political analyst, told TNA.
"They are sending a message not just to Israel, but to the international community and to Palestinian leaders as well," he said.
The choice of the Rashad Shawa Cultural Centre as the protest site was symbolic. Once a hub of culture, dialogue, and international conferences, the centre now stands scarred by war, surrounded by neighbourhoods reduced to ruins.
For demonstrators, gathering there was a way of reclaiming a voice that war has tried to silence.
Organisers of the "Last Hour Movement" distributed a statement declaring that the protest was part of a continuing campaign, now nearly two years old, to resist both destruction and displacement.
"We take to the streets carrying our shrouds and our souls to say: Stop the war, stop the genocide at any cost," the statement read.
It called on unions, civil society groups, and intellectuals to transform the popular voice into collective pressure, stressing that "saving Gaza means saving Palestinian identity and the entire cause."
What set this demonstration apart was its diversity. Children held flowers beside banners, elderly men clutched walking sticks as they marched, and women carried portraits of loved ones killed in bombings.
Palestinian police forces were deployed nearby, regulating traffic but largely standing back, allowing the demonstration to unfold peacefully. Families had brought their children deliberately, sending what they said was a symbolic message: that life must continue despite the ruins.
Between despair and defiance
The protest's emotional intensity reflected the unbearable daily reality of Gaza. With the blockade tightening and humanitarian aid insufficient, residents have been plunged into hunger and illness.
Hospitals lack fuel, water is scarce, and disease spreads easily in overcrowded shelters. Against this backdrop, the demonstration became an outlet for both rage and hope.
"The war is not only killing us with bombs; it's starving us, it's suffocating us. We want to live like everyone else in the world. Is this too much to ask?" Mariam Ali, a Gaza-based woman, told TNA.
She said that the protest was also a veiled criticism of Palestinian political divisions, as some demonstrators openly denounced internal rivalries that have prevented a unified national response.
"The anger here is not only against the occupation, but also against paralysis in Palestinian politics and the indifference of Arab governments," she added.
As noon approached, exhaustion began to show on the demonstrators' faces. Yet few left the square.
Organisers announced that new protests would be held in the coming weeks, vowing to continue coordinating with professional unions, journalists, and civil society organisations to strengthen the campaign.
By the end of the day, as people dispersed into Gaza's narrow alleys, their chants continued to echo: "Stop the war… Stop the genocide… International protection is our right," the protesters said.