‘Kill Hostages Now’: Masked protester carries disturbing sign while trying to disrupt NYC Israel Day Parade

A masked person held a disturbing sign reading ‘Kill Hostages Now’ while trying to disrupt the Israel Day Parade on Sunday, June 1. The protester was seen wearing a black mask and black shirt, as well as a Palestinian flag as a cape. He was among anti-Israel demonstrators facing off with pro-Israeli New Yorkers.

People march on Fifth avenue as they participate in the annual Israel Day Parade on June 2, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski / AFP)

This year, several family members of Hamas hostages participated in the Israel Day Parade in New York. At one point on the parade route, a pro-Israel demonstrator came face-to-face with a man who had covered his face with a traditional Palestinian scarf, known as a keffiyeh. “Don’t step up to me,” the man is heard saying

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Before any violence could erupt, the NYPD stepped in and separated the two groups amid the tension on Fifth Avenue between 79th and 80th streets. There was heightened police security as the annual Israeli pride parade took place this year. In recent days, there have been increasing antisemitic incidents. Many of them led to clashes with NYPD cops in riot gear.

Calls made for Hamas to release hostages

The protests followed the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year, prompting an Israeli counter offensive in the Gaza Strip. While hundreds of Israelis were slaughtered and many were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7, thousands of Palestinians died in the attacks that followed, and many were left homeless.

Calls were made during this year’s parade for Hamas to release the hostages. Many hostages have already been found dead, including Shani Louk, the infamous photo of whose battered and half-naked body went viral after the attack.

In May, Israel’s army recovered the bodies of three more hostages killed during the October 7 attack, who were identified as Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, and Orion Hernandez Radoux. According to the army, they were killed on the day of the attack at the Mefalsim intersection, following which their bodies were taken to Gaza.