At least 140 protests across the country have been tracked since the Hamas attack on Israel last Saturday, in which some protesters glorified violence and attacks on civilians. While the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalates in the Middle East, protests are growing and tensions are mounting across the United States, prompting an enhancement in security.
Major U.S. cities, including New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Portland and Pittsburgh, are on a heightened alert in bracing for protests and potential violence this weekend.
Hundreds of people joined a rally at the Times Square in Manhattan on Friday afternoon, chanting and waving the Palestine’s red, black and green flag. Some held signs reading “Free Palestine.” They demanded ending the bombardment of Gaza and the funding of Israeli military.




On Thursday evening, two groups of students gathered in dueling rallies at the Columbia University in New York, in support of either Israel or Palestine in the wake of the Gaza conflict.
Tensions also heated as pro-Palestine and pro-Israel groups clashed on campus at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Thursday.
The scene turned hostile and chaotic as the two sides shouted and argued back and forth with physical confrontations in some cases, according to a report of the WRAL News.
The demonstrations came after former Hamas leader Khaled Mashal called for Friday to be a global day of protests against Israel’s retaliation against Hamas, and urged supporters to send a “message of rage to Zionists and to America.”
Law enforcement agencies across the United States have stepped up their presence around synagogues, places of worship in the American Jewish community, and Israeli diplomatic posts.