Pro-Israel protesters in Vancouver call for release of Hamas-held hostages

Around 400 pro-Israel protesters gathered in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday in support of families whose relatives were abducted by Hamas militants last month.

The demonstration saw emotional testimonies from some of the hostages' relatives, who say they are barely able to manage amid the stress of not knowing whether their loved ones are safe.

Around 240 hostages were taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 during a series of attacksin Israel in which an estimated 1,200 people died, according to officials in the country.

"I think it's just a constant battle against a feeling of hopelessness and pain," said Randi Sommerfeld, whose husband's cousin Ofir Engel was abducted. "You have to dig so deep right now to remember your values and remember that there are good people in the world."

Navah Jacobs says five of her cousins were killed in the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, and said she felt for the mothers of hostages,many of whom are children.

"We feel that everybody that's suffering there is something that we're feeling right to our very core," she said.

Sunday's rally followed a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the same location on Saturdaythatattracted around 1,000 people.

Following the Hamas attacks on Israel, the country immediately began an airstrike campaign and cut off food, water and supplies to Gaza, which is home to 2.3 million Palestinians.

Palestinian authorities have said more than 12,000 people have been killed since then,two-thirds of them women and children, and another 2,700 people have been reported missing.

Israel has pledged to continueits siege of Gazauntil all hostages have been released, even asinternational pressurecontinues to build for a humanitarian ceasefire.

The Oct. 7 attacks on Israelprompted a declaration of war, with Israel's security cabinet approving "significant military steps" and giving the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a wide mandate, after an outpouring of grief and rageamong much of Israeli society.

"We have only started striking Hamas," Netanyahu said in a nationally televised address at the outbreak of the war. "What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations."

The UN's Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA)saiddozens of peoplewere killed and wounded at a school in the north of Gaza, where displaced civilians had taken shelter on Saturday.

"These attacks cannot become commonplace, they must stop. A humanitarian ceasefire cannot wait any longer,"UNRWAcommissioner generalPhilippe Lazzarini saidon the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Israel's military did not immediately comment.

This story has been updated topresent more context about Israel's response to the Oct. 7 attack by the militant group Hamas.