Ohio State’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine hosted a silent “study-in” protest for northern Gaza in the Grand Reading Room of Thompson Library Tuesday.
Students were invited to study between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. while organizers passed out signs for students to stick on the back of their laptops or other devices.
According to an Ohio State SJP Instagram post, the organization called students to protest “the horrific ongoing genocide in Gaza and the rampant escalations in North Gaza.”
The war in Gaza began Oct. 7, 2023 after Hamas — a Palestinian militant group — entered neighboring Israeli towns on a major Jewish holiday, Simchat Torah, where about 1,200 people were killed, according to NPR.
Israel declared war the next day and launched airstrikes on Gaza, destroying entire neighborhoods and killing thousands of Palestinian civilians in the months that followed, with the current death toll surpassing 41,000, according to the Associated Press.
This war is a continuation of a 76-year conflict since Israel’s creation in 1948, with previous Israel-Hamas wars in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021, according to the Associated Press.
