WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — This is how demonstrators on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre are sharing their feelings on the return of dozens of Palestinians back to their home country.
A truce to cease fire for four days has allowed 150 hostage Palestinians to go home in exchange for 50 Israeli hostages.
Something demonstrator Mohamed Mameche is relieved to see make the headlines.
“50 days before, a lot of people died, a lot of kids died. But when I saw the other side, of them releasing people and to get out from the jail, I felt so good,” said Mohamed Mameche from Sterling.
He and other demonstrators say it's a step in the right direction.
For Gabrielle Murphey, she says this is only the beginning of the long road to finding peace for Palestinians.
“I'm a veteran, and I was in the Iraq war. I saw the true toll that took on soldiers and the locals, the civilians that were affected. And it's all terrible, and I want it all to end,” said Gabrielle Murphey, a member Islamic Center of Scranton.
In northeastern Pennsylvania alone, she has attended five rallies.
Two weeks ago, she traveled to the state capitol to stand up for the Palestinians not only overseas but in our own borders.
A group she feels has been dehumanized for decades.
“The only way that we can really excuse the behavior of bombing basically Gaza off the planet is to dehumanize the Palestinians,” Murphey added.
According to the United Nations, more than twice as many women and children have been killed in Gaza than in Ukraine after two years of Russian attacks.
Another reason why many gather here on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre is to give a voice to the voiceless in Palestine.
“I keep seeing videos of them being pulled out of the rubble, in the hospitals, shaking because they are so scared. I keep seeing videos of parents crying, and it's tragic and very traumatic, and it's hard to not come out here and speak up,” Murphey said.
Murphey says seeing the reunion videos of hostages and their loved ones has given her some peace of mind.
The recent 4-day ceasefire is the first significant pause since the war began seven weeks ago.
What worries the members of the rally the most is when the violence between Israel and Palestine will resume.
“For me, I'm Muslim, but I'm human. So I think every human like me needs four things. You need clothes, you need home, you need food, you need to drink like water,” Mameche said.
And until those living on both sides have all four of those things, the group will continue to protest for Palestine.