by JESSICA A. BOTELHO | The National Desk
Mon, April 15th 2024 at 11:46 AM
Updated Mon, April 15th 2024 at 6:48 PM
Pedestrians and bicyclists wait outside the pedestrian gate on the south side of the Golden Gate Bridge while the bridge is closed due to protesters on Monday, April 15, 2024 in San Francisco, Calif. (Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
SAN FRANCISCO (TND) — Pro-Palestinian protests were underway in several states across the U.S. on Monday, including California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, and California.
One protest caused a shutdown of multiple lanes and a huge traffic backup along the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
SEE ALSO: Pro-Palestinian protester waves terrorist flag in front of New York Stock Exchange
Drivers should expect significant delays & avoid using the Bridge where possible,” according to an alert posted to the Golden Gate Bridge’s X account.
The post also noted the Bridge was temporarily closed to bikes and pedestrians.
After about three hours, the scene was cleared and the bridge later reopened.
Demonstrators chained themselves to barrels on the Bridge “as part of a worldwide economic blockage in solidarity with Gaza,” according to ABC 7 News.
The media outlet shared video that showed authorities were cutting chains to free the protestors.
Video showed multiple people in handcuffs.
NBC reported the protests stopped their cars on the Bridge and blocked all southbound lanes of the span, adding that another protest happened simultaneously in Oakland, with protestors blocking northbound lanes on Interstate 880 for several hours.
Similar protests were reportedly underway in other parts of the nation, including Chicago and Philadelphia.
Protesters blocked the roadway entering into Terminal 1 at O’Hare Airport in Chicago, forcing people to park elsewhere and walk in order to make their flights, according to WLS.
WPVI reported multiple people involved in a protest were arrested in Philadelphia during the morning commute.
Another group blocked a road in San Antonio, with several protesters laying in the street. At least three protesters were seen holding a sign that read, “If I must die, you must live to tell my story.”
Protests have taken place throughout the U.S. since a war erupted after Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a devastating cross-border attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others.
Tensions flared during the weekend when Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles in Israel in an unprecedented revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a region-wide war.
A military spokesman said the launches numbered more than 300 but 99% of them were intercepted.
The sharp increase in regional tensions over Israel’s war in Gaza and the weekend developments have raised further questions about the viability of the two-decade American military presence in Iraq. However, a U.S. Patriot battery in Irbil, Iraq, did shoot down at least one Iranian ballistic missile, according to American officials, one of dozens of missiles and drones destroyed by U.S. forces alongside Israeli efforts to defeat the attack.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
