Pro-Palestinian protesters block bridge and tunnel traffic in New York

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked the entrances to the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, as well as the Holland Tunnel, on Monday morning, disrupting rush-hour traffic in Manhattan as they protested the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip and called for a ceasefire fire.

Protesters at the Holland Tunnel held up a Palestinian flag and banners reading “Lift the siege of Gaza” and “End the occupation.” Nearby, a group of protesters in fluorescent vests and masks linked arms and directed cars away from the outbound ramp.

Participants gathered early Monday in City Hall Park, police said, before spreading out into smaller groups and traveling to the bridges and tunnel.

Such protests have become an almost daily part of life in New York City since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people. According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israel has since killed more than 22,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, in airstrikes and a ground invasion, while thousands remain missing.

The demonstrations have sparked debates about the effectiveness of public protests disrupting daily life in American cities.

“In Gaza, of course, people have limited mobility, no freedom of movement, they can’t leave even if they want to, they move from place to place and those places are bombed,” Rachel Himes, one of the protesters, said shortly before. she was arrested at the Holland Tunnel and explained why protesters had chosen to block traffic. “We wanted to temporarily create that situation in Manhattan.”

Shortly before 10 a.m., police officers at the Holland Tunnel told protesters they had two minutes to clear the area. Moments later, they began arresting some of them, tying their hands with zip ties, as onlookers chanted, “Let Gaza live!” Traffic through the tunnel resumed just after 10:30 am.

Those arrested at the Brooklyn Bridge were led to an out-of-service city bus.

Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how many people in total have been arrested.

Julian Roberts-Grmela And Claire Fahy reporting contributed.