Protesters calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have blocked the escalators of a Chicago skyscraper that has an Israeli consulate on its 31st floor.
Scores of peace activists sat on the steps of the Accenture Tower’s moving staircases Monday morning, blocking people from moving up them to go to work.
The protesters – reportedly numbering in the hundreds – were Jewish, and wore black shirts with the message Not In Our Name emblazoned. They all demanded an immediate ceasefire.
They also donned facemasks and touted massive signs – draping them over the only three escalators on the building’s second floor. Some called for an ‘end [to] the siege on Gaza,’ while others demanded onlookers ‘mourn the dead.’
As the procession was forced outside around 11am, officers were seen making arrests. Israel, meanwhile is ramping up its war effort – a month after more than 1,200 were killed and 239 taken hostage during a series of attacks by the terror group.
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Protesters calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have blocked the escalators of a Chicago skyscraper that has an Israeli consulate on its 31st floor
Scores of peace activists sat on the steps of the Accenture Tower’s moving staircases Monday morning, blocking people from moving up them to go to work
As the procession was forced outside around 11am, officers were seen making arrests. It is not yet known how many were taken into custody
The protesters descended on the Chicago office building – which has an Israeli consulate on its 31 floor – around 9:30am, when workers were filing in, to call for a ceasefire. Israel, meanwhile is ramping up its war effort – a month after more than 1,200 were killed and 239 taken hostage
At the Chicago office building Tuesday morning, dozens of adults remained stationed on the escalator to block off offices on the third floor.
‘Ceasefire! Ceasefire!’ the crowd chanted as most remained in the second floor lobby, creating a sort of blockade.
Photos and video from the hectic scene show how the procession first surfaced shortly before 10am, when workers at 500 West Madison were likely still filing in.
By 10:55am, the procession had grew, with hundreds sat at the base of the escalators armed with signs, screaming ‘Ceasefire now’ at the top of their lungs.
Several news crews were seen at the scene, but few police officers, as the protests remained peaceful.
Still, the unrest could be felt even from footage recorded at the scene, as several carried signs calling the current IDF operations in Gaza a ‘genocide.’
Several were seen outside the building as well, where some officers were stationed to keep the peace.
Footage from outside the tower just after 11am showed a mob of more than a hundred gathered in a line outside the building’s entrance, as more security and police personnel were called to keep a lid on the chaos.
By 10:55am, the procession had grew, with hundreds sat at the base of the escalators armed with signs, screaming ‘Ceasefire now’ at the top of their lungs
Several news crews were seen at the scene, but few police officers, as the protests remained peaceful
Still, the unrest could be felt even from footage recorded at the scene, as several carried signs calling the current IDF operations in Gaza a ‘genocide’ while demanding an end to the conflict
Several were seen outside the building as well, where some police officers were stationed to keep the peace
The latest US protest over the conflict comes as the Biden administration has sought to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza while backing the Israeli war effort
Biden, however, has largely ducked calls to pressure Israel into a ceasefire – instead moving US troops and defense systems into the region and hoping for a result
Israel , meanwhile, has been unrelenting in its military campaign to annihilate Hamas, and has refused offers for a ceasefire for the return of hostages
First utilizing a series of airstrikes, which have killed more than 11,000 people according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, the country is now engaged in a ground invasion that has seen soldiers quickly encircle Gaza City – something likely in the protesters minds Monday
Fighting has since been concentrated in a circle around the Al Shifa hospital, Gaza’s biggest, where thousands of civilians sought shelter
The group was forced out of the building, set on 500 West Madison, around 11am, but continued to protest outside
As widespread protests of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in other cities like New York and Los Angeles continue to attract thousands, the Biden administration has sought to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza while backing the Israeli war effort.
Biden, however, has largely ducked calls to pressure Israel into a ceasefire – instead moving US troops and defense systems into the region and hoping for a fortuitous result.
Israel, meanwhile, has been unrelenting in its military campaign to annihilate Hamas, and has refused offers for a ceasefire.
First utilizing a series of airstrikes, which have killed more than 11,000 people according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, the country is now engaged in a ground invasion that has seen soldiers quickly encircle Gaza City.
Fighting has since been concentrated in a circle around the Al Shifa hospital, Gaza’s biggest, where thousands of civilians sought shelter.
About 650 patients, 500 healthcare workers and an estimated 2,500 displaced have been displaced since, said Mohammed Zaqout, director of hospitals in Gaza, on Monday.
Israel, meanwhile, maintains the facility is being used to hide militants, and that the hospital is the prime example of Hamas’s alleged use of human shields.
Israeli soldiers walk through the destroyed streets of the Gaza Strip during battles against Hamas terrorists
An Israeli soldier takes position, amid the ongoing ground operation of the Israeli army against Hamas terrorists, in Gaza Strip
A man carries a Palestinian child at a hospital following Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas in Khan Younis, on Monday
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on Monday
The country claims that the militants have a command center and other military infrastructure in and beneath the medical compound – Hamas and hospital staff deny those allegations.
Gaza health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra, who was inside the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city, said an Israel tank stationed at the hospital gate Monday
‘The tank is outside the gate of the outpatient clinic department, this is how the situation looks this morning,’ Qidra said.
As witnesses reported more ‘violent fighting’, overnight aerial bombardments and the clatter of gunfire echoed across the hospital, turning the area to war zone.
Israel has told civilians to leave and medics to evacuate patients, dead-set on continuing its invasion at any cost..
The country said in a statement that it has attempted to evacuate babies from the neo-natal ward, but that the offers were blocked by Hamas.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, has insisted that there will be no ceasefire in the war against Hamas until all of the hostages are returned.
‘There will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages,’ he told told crews at the Ramon air force base in southern Israel.
‘This [the word] should be completely removed from the lexicon,’ he added.
Hamas’s deadly assault on October 7 saw around 240 taken captive and at least 1,200 Israelis have been killed.