Around 1K protesters gather in Raleigh in support of Palestinians as attacks continue across Israel and Palestine territories

Hours later, Israel bombed the home of a top leader of Gaza’s ruling militant Hamas group.

The Israeli military said the home of Khalil al-Hayeh served as part of what it said was the militant group’s “terrorist infrastructure.” Al-Hayeh is a senior figure in the Hamas political leadership in Gaza, and the attack marked a further escalation, signaling that Israel is going after Hamas’ top leadership, and not just military commanders. His fate after the strike was not immediately known.

According to Associated Press, the tensions began in east Jerusalem earlier this month, with Palestinian protests against attempts by settlers to forcibly evict a number of Palestinian families from their homes and Israeli police measures at Al-Aqsa Mosque, a frequent flashpoint located on a mount in the Old City revered by Muslims and Jews.

"The spiraling violence in the region has raised fears of a new Palestinian “intifada,” or uprising, when peace talks have not taken place in years. Palestinians on Saturday were marking Nakba (Catastrophe) Day, when they commemorate the estimated 700,000 people who were expelled from or fled their homes in what was now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. That raised the possibility of even more unrest," writes the Associated Press.

Since Monday night, Hamas has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, which has pounded the Gaza Strip with strikes. In Gaza, at least 145 people have been killed, including 41 children and 23 women; in Israel, eight people have been killed, including a man killed by a rocket that hit in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, on Saturday.

The conflict, which was sparked by tensions in Jerusalem during the past month, has reverberated widely. Israeli cities with mixed Arab and Jewish populations have seen daily violence, with mobs from each community clashing and trashing each other’s property. New clashes broke out Friday in the coastal city of Acre.

After Years of Quiet, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Exploded. Why Now?

Organizations like the Answer Coalition and Muslims for Social Justice, along with other co-sponsors and community members, gathered in Raleigh to commemorate Nakba Day and show their solidarity and support for Palestinians and Colombians.

"They are struggling against colonialism and state sanctioned violence," says a release about the event.

Protesters in Raleigh chanted, "Free, free Palestine!" and "No more people killed!"

Many different civic and political organizations will be in attendance to commemorate Nakba Day on its 73rd anniversary and demand the liberation of Palestine and Colombia.

Organizers also plan to draw a comparison "between the Israeli occupation and the treatment of Black and Brown people as occupied people by the US law enforcement."