A national march was held in Montreal to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Nakba.

The Nakba, which translates from Arabic to English as the catastrophe, is when more than 750 thousand Palestinians were forcefully evicted from their homes and displaced in the day following the establishment of the Israeli state.

This year’s Nakba anniversary was commemorated as Gaza continues to experience ongoing bombardment from Israel going into its seventh month since the war began. More than 40 thousand Palestinians have been killed.

The violence extends into the West Bank, as Israel has arrested more than 84 hundred Palestinians. These numbers are according to the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainee Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner Society, and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association.

540 children and 66 journalists are included in these numbers.

Many of those arrested experience severe violence, including beatings, abuse, threats against family members, destruction of homes, seizure of money and more.

Many speakers highlighted that the Nakba is not a historical moment in 1948, but that the Nakba is ongoing.

This march was organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, with the support of numerous organizations including Lawyers4Palestine, Health Workers Alliance for Palestine, Palestine Quebec and many more.

The protest began at the Israeli consulate in downtown Montreal and ended at the Gaza Solidarity Encampment located at McGill University.

The encampment was erected at the end of April seeking for McGill to disclose all of their ties with Israel, divest from Israeli companies and impose an academic boycott.

McGill is currently seeking an injunction to have this encampment removed.

Students say they will not leave despite threats of a police raid until their demands are met.