Hundreds rally in support of Gaza, Lebanon amid Israeli attacks

A pro-Palestinian Winnipeg rally swelled in size Saturday as protestors decried Israel's military action in Gaza and Lebanon.

More than 200 people gathered at Confusion Corner in Osborne Village, holding signs condemning the ongoing war, waving Palestinian flags and at one point stopping traffic for around 15 minutes while they chanted.

The group, which has ralliedeveryweekendsince Oct.7, was larger than usual Saturday after escalating violencebetween Israel and Lebanon that has seen Israeliairstrikes devastate parts of southern and central Lebanon, including parts of Beirut.

"Every human body lost it affects us, all of us," said Ali Harb who is originally from Lebanon, but has lived in Winnipeg for nearly 50 years. "Every day is bombing, bombing, bombing and the world is sleeping on what's happening and it's not fair."

The Israeli military saidSaturday it had eliminated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on the group's central command headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday. Hezbollah confirmed he had been killed, without saying how.

More than 1,000 people have been killed and more than 6,000 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks in the past two weeks, the Lebanese health ministry said. About one million Lebanese have been displaced by the strikes, including hundreds of thousands since Friday, Nasser Yassin, the minister co-ordinating the government's crisis response, told Reuters on Saturday.

Ottawa announced it has started bookingblocks of seats on commercial flights to help Canadiansget out of Lebanon.

Harb told CBC News he's thinking about his relatives still livingin Lebanon even though they're in"a safe area." He also said he wants Canada to take a stronger stance against the U.S. in its support of Israel. As a Muslim, he said the war is affecting him a lot.

"All the people that died, they're part of us," he said.

Tarek Abdel Aziz is a Palestinian Winnipegger born in Lebanon who also attended Saturday's protest.

His mother is currently visiting Winnipeg from the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, and her house back home has been opened up for refugees, he said.

"It's been a year of constant escalation and cycles of grief and cycles of disbelief and disappointment," he said.

He said that disappointment stems fromhow thegovernment"[has]been handling this."

"I have lost all optimism and sense of belonging that I had when I first came here," he said.

Canada announces additional funding

On Saturday,Canada's International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen announced in a news releasethe countryis contributing $10 million for humanitarian assistance to civilians in Lebanon. The same release also called for an immediate, 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alsotook to X the social media platform formerly known as Twitter with a series of posts commenting onNasrallah's death calling for a ceasefire.

"Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has been killed," one of the posts in a thread said. "He was the leader of a terrorist organization that attacked and killed innocent civilians, causing immense suffering across the region."

Trudeau said more needs to be done to protect civilians,while also urging for calm during and restraint during "this critical time" adding Canada is working toward a "diplomatic solution that allows people to return home safely to Israel and Lebanon."

"We want peace and stability in the region and we reiterate our calls for urgent ceasefire," Trudeau saidin one of the posts.

Hezbollah has said it would ceasefire only when Israel's Gaza offensive ends. Hamas and other allies of Hezbollah issued statements mourning Nasrallah's death.

Hezbollah, the strongest armed force in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel, saying it was a show of support for the Palestinians.

Since then, it and the Israeli military have traded fire almost daily, forcing people to flee their homes on both sides of the border.

Organizers and speakers at the event in Winnipeg took turns speaking to the crowd, all sharing a similar call for peace and solidarity in Lebanon and Gaza, with a specific focus on the federal government, which some say hasan opaque policyon military exports to Israel.

"We just feel that Canada's on the wrong side of history with where we're at now," said Ernie Wiens, who attended Saturday's rally with his wife, adding he wants the federal government to take a stronger stance on international law as well.

"I'm afraid. I think if we're honest we all are."

Harbsaid he hopes there's an end to the fighting, adding that Lebanon "used to be a beautiful country" and it willbe once again.

"We stand for one unified body as the Lebanese, so whoever get hurt, we get hurt," he said.