On Saturday, February 8th, 2025, St. Louis residents showed up at Tower Grove park on the corner of Arsenal & Grand to hold a march in support of Palestine. A part of why the march was organized was because after a ceasefire deal was announced on January 15th, reports came out that Israel attacks had killed around 80 more Palestinians after the deal was made. This also comes after Donald Trump expressed a desire for the US to take over the Gaza strip after the fighting ends. Trump went on the record and said “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of the fighting,” He did reiterate that the idea would mean resettling Palestinians, and that no US soldiers would be necessary for the process. However, some local activists have their doubts.
After being asked “What do you think of new ceasefire deal?” Amna-Al Zahrani (First photo), 31 said “It’s not a ceasefire deal. A ceasfire means a ceasing of firing, but they keep shooting.”
When asked the same question, Sofia, 20, said “I think it’s bullshit. It’s one step, but many more are needed.”
Being asked “Do you have hope for the new ceasefire deal?” 26 year Upendo told me “No, I wish it was that easy.”
Jazelle, 20, said “We’ve seen this before, we can’t just overlook it. We’ve seen it in our history books, we’ve heard it from our people, we can’t overlook this, because it’ll just happen to us next.”
However, some St. Louis residents display cautious optimism towards the new deal.
Sasha, 35, when asked if she has any hope for the new deal, said “I do, it has been kinda semi-destroyed, but it’s still there. I feel like if we don’t have any kind of hope, what else is there?”
Khalid, 50, is cautiously optimistic about the deal, and told me “I’m cautiously optimistic, but I don’t think it’s gonna truly end until the zionist state is kaput”.
Palestine and Israel have been in conflict since 1948, after 30 years of friction between the Jewish and Arab people prior to that. Since October of 2023, the official Palesinian Health Ministry has said that more than 46,600 Palestinians have been killed by the Israel Defense Force. The numbers don’t necessarily reflect all of the victims sine a good number of them are still under rubble. The estimate from the Palestinian Health Ministry of the amount of bodies still under rubble is around 10,000 undiscovered bodies. In addition to the Palestinians murdered by Israel, it’s also estimated that at least 169 journalists have been killed according to the CPJ’s preliminary investigation. It’s said to be the deadliest period for traveling journalists sine CPJ started tracking such stats in 1992
First Photo Caption: Shouting a chant, Amna-Al Zahrani, 31 helps lead the crowd of protestors on Saturday, February 8th. Photo by; Seth Donovan
Second Photo Caption: Holding her fist in the air, a protestor gets involved in one of the chants that were consistently shouted during the march. Photo by; Seth Donovan
Third Photo Caption: Holding up a sign, a demonstrator walks behind one of the banner as the march goes on. Photo by; Seth Donovan
Fourth Photo Caption: A protestor holds up a Palestinian flag while being at the front of the march. Photo by; Seth Donovan
Fifth Photo Caption: Holding up one of the banners, a group of protestors help lead the march. Photo by; Seth Donovan
Sixth Photo Caption: Talking to the crowd at a stopping poing off of Gravois Ave, 26 year old Upendo shares their thoughts on the march to everyone. Photo by; Seth Donovan
Seventh Photo Caption: Getting a chant started, one of the event organizers helps lead the crowd through the streets of South St. Louis. Photo by; Seth Donovan
Eighth Photo Caption: Holding up a sign while marching toward the back of the crowd, a protestor holds up a sign in support of Gaza. Photo by; Seth Donovan
Ninth Photo Caption: Beating the drum, Sasha, 35, gets the crowd hyped up while marching. Photo by; Seth Donovan