Palestinian supporters took their protests to the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge on Friday. Any traffic disruptions were minor but it followed police action against demonstrators in Montreal, as Israel’s offensive in Gaza continues with mounting casualties.
About 25 Palestinian supporters lined up on the sidewalk of the lift bridge over the Burlington Canal.
READ MORE: Israeli strike on UN school in Gaza kills dozens
The demonstration was peaceful with no disruption to traffic across the bridge. But they refused to explain why they chose a major shipping route to protest and what they hoped to accomplish. The demonstrators wouldn’t explain their goal.
Police negotiated for the protestors to leave the bridge temporarily so it could be raised for waiting boats and the protest left after a couple of hours.
The federal government says there was no delay to shipping.
But, a protest in Montreal wasn’t so peaceful.
Police opened fire with tear gas to disperse pro-Palestinian demonstrators at McGill University. They say 15 people were arrested.
READ MORE: Burlington students stage walk out in solidarity with Palestine
The university says a tent protest had escalated to harassment and illegal tactics, threatening staff and causing damage during an occupation of an administration building.
In Gaza, Israel kept up its offensive. It says an air strike on a Hamas position in a United Nations school killed three people.
That follows Thursday’s Israeli strike on another school in Gaza. Palestinian health officials say 33 people were killed, including children.
The Save the Children fund says there’s nowhere safe for Gaza’s children or their families.
Rachael Commings, Save the Children, “So what you have is a massive congested, overcrowded population with very limited food, with very limited water and pretty non-existent sanitation facilities. So you have open sewage in the streets, you have children walking through those streets.”
READ MORE: Hezbollah rockets spark fires in northern Israel
There was one positive note as the U.S. military said its floating pier has been repaired and aid will soon be arriving in Gaza.