Pro-Palestine Protesters Crowd Into the Streets in Toronto, Blocking Traffic

Pro-Palestine protesters were seen holding banners as they marched along Bay Street in downtown Toronto on Oct. 9, 2023. Andrew Chen/The Epoch Times

TORONTO—A large number of pro-Palestine protesters gathered on the streets by Toronto City Hall on Oct. 9, blocking traffic, two days after Hamas launched terrorist attacks on Israel.

Ahead of the protest, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said the rally, which had been planned to be held at the base of city hall, Nathan Phillips Square, was unsanctioned and wouldn’t be allowed to be held on the city grounds.

“The Government of Canada has rightly listed Hamas as a terrorist organization and we simply must not tolerate any support of terror, full stop,” Ms. Chow said in a statement on Oct. 9.

“I am receiving updates from the Chief of Police, who assures me they will investigate and address any suspected incidents of hate.”

Protesters gathered close to Nathan Phillips Square around 2 p.m. on Oct. 9, and a large segment of them crowded onto Queen Street in front of city hall. The protesters then marched along Bay Street.

Police were seen on the scene redirecting traffic.

Protesters held Palestinian flags and signs in support of Palestine, and chanted slogans against Israel. Some were also seen with Communist Party of Canada flags.

Similar events have been held in other cities in Canada and other parts of the world following the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7.

A police car is on the scene as pro-Palestine protesters gather in downtown Toronto on Oct. 9, 2023. Andrew Chen/The Epoch Times

Pro-Palestine protesters hold flags and banners as they march along Bay Street in downtown Toronto on Oct. 9, 2023. Andrew Chen/The Epoch Times

The attacks, which started in the early hours of Oct. 7, involved air strikes from Gaza into Israel, and the targeting of civilians on the streets in Israeli cities near the Gaza Strip. Terrorists also took as hostages members of the Israeli military as well as civilians, including women and children, and took them into the Gaza Strip.

In response, Israel declared a state of war on Oct. 7, and conducted air strikes on targets in Gaza.

Following a series of rallies celebrating the attacks in the Toronto area, Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued a statement condemning the rallies on Oct. 8.

“The hate rallies celebrating the kidnapping and slaughtering of innocent Israeli people by terrorists are reprehensible and disgusting. They have no place in Ontario,” he said on social media. “Now more than ever, we stand with Israel and affirm its right to defend itself and its people.”

Pro-Palestine protesters hold flags and banners, including one that reads 'Smash Israeli Apartheid, Free Palestine," and another that reads "Resistance is Justified When People Are Occupied," as they march along Bay Street in downtown Toronto on Oct. 9, 2023. Andrew Chen/The Epoch Times

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also condemned the events.

“There is no place for the glorification of terror in Canada (or anywhere else). Hamas’ murder and rape of innocent Israeli civilians is despicable,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Oct. 8.

Marc Miller, minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship, decried a similar event on Oct. 8 in Montreal, where he is from.

“Disgusted and ashamed to see these scenes glorifying death and terror, in Montreal, the city I love and the city I represent. Hamas is a terrorist organization and nobody should glorify their bloody cowardly violence,” he said on X on Oct. 8.