AUSTIN, Texas (FOX 44/KWKT) — Thousands gathered at the state capitol in Austin this weekend and marched the streets to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Attendees also called for an end to both U.S. Aid to Israel and to what they call a 17-year siege of Gaza.

According to the Palestinian Youth Movement and partnering organizers, the Sunday protest was the largest in favor of Palestinians in Texas history.

“Sunday was a continuation of what we saw in D.C. a week ago, where we saw hundreds of thousands of people on the streets in D.C., Declaring that this is just the beginning and that they want to escalate until they get what they want, which is a cease fire,” says Palestinian Youth Movement Member Nashwa Abdelwahed.

Thousands lined the streets to protest the deadly bombings in Gaza and demand an immediate ceasefire to end what Abdulawahed calls a 17-year siege.

Conversely, Israelis like Dorit Heldenberg who moved to the states just two months before the war started, are fighting for the return of Israeli hostages.

“It’s humanitarian tragedy. I mean, we live in a horror situation for the past 30 days. I think that Israel won’t be the same,” says Heldenberg.

Both Dorit and Nashwa say their people are suffering through bombings and a loss of security for their homes and communities.

“This war is different from other wars or operations that were in Israel because a boundary was crossed here. The boundary of inhumanity. I think the human mind and the human heart cannot comprehend this kind of war,” shares Heldenberg.

Abdulawahed adds, “I think the hardest part of all of this has been seeing the way people are treated, the way people, the way the Palestinian people have been talked about in order to justify their genocide. What we’ve seen is, is the worst of humanity in Gaza.”