Pro-Palestinian Rally Becomes Mass Subway Ride to Confront Kathy Hochul

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Union Square in Manhattan on Thursday evening, then flooded a subway platform and rode a train to the financial district, where they condemned U.S. military aid to Israel and took aim at Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York as she delivered remarks at a Wall Street restaurant.

The protest, organized by the activist group Within Our Lifetime, began with a 6 p.m. rally in Union Square that drew about 400 people, many wearing kaffiyehs and carrying Palestinian flags. Protesters then surged into the Union Square subway station and rode a No. 5 train en masse to Wall Street, chanting and placing stickers with slogans on the car’s walls.

They disembarked and marched toward Cipriani Wall Street, where Ms. Hochul was scheduled to appear. Finding a police barricade outside the restaurant, they circled the area repeatedly, at times clashing with the police.

The demonstration was the latest of hundreds of protests throughout New York City since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. Those attacks killed at least 1,200 Israelis, according to Israeli officials; Israel’s subsequent military operation in Gaza has killed 30,000 Palestinians, according to Gazan health officials. The mounting death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza have prompted international calls for a cease-fire.

Near Cipriani on Thursday, at least one demonstrator was arrested by police officers. At least half a dozen people were arrested during a scuffle with officers at the intersection of Broadway and Vesey Street. In the chaos, a few protesters fell to the ground. Others were slammed onto the street by officers, their wrists were zip-tied, and they were taken to a waiting N.Y.P.D. van.