A group of protestors demanding a cease-fire in Gaza shut down traffic on the Central Freeway in downtown San Francisco for about 90 minutes Saturday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol said.
A large demonstration on city streets moved onto the freeway about 4 p.m., shutting down a quarter-mile section from the South Van Ness/Mission exit to the Octavia/Market exit, said CHP Officer Mark Andrews, a highway patrol spokesman.
The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management said the highway was reopened about 5:30 p.m., but advised drivers to expect continued delays.
"The world is watching a genocide unfold," Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, said in a press release. "We are taking a stand to say no to genocide, no to war, no to invasion. Ceasefire now."
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Before the incident, there was a rally that called for a cease-fire in Gaza started earlier in the day at the San Francisco Ferry Building. It called for U.S. political leadership to call for a cease-fire, the delivery of aid to Gaza and an end to U.S. taxpayer money going to Israel.
Saturday's demonstration comes as Israel has started what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls a "second stage" in the war with Hamas, sending in ground forces to Gaza while it expands attacks from air and sea.
Bay City News contributed to the report.
