ATLANTA — Monday marks one year since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took hostage hundreds more on Oct. 7.
It sparked retaliation from Israel, whose military response is now broadening regionally into neighboring countries, such as Lebanon.
On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators in Atlanta marched at a pro-Palestine rally, recognizing the grim milestone of war at Centennial Olympic Park.
Their message remains the same: a demand for a permanent cease-fire, arms embargo, end of occupation in Palestine and no aid to Israel.
Jawahar Kamil is a Palestinian activist who participated in Saturday's demonstration. She looked back at the past year as a devastating one.
"Bombing Lebanon, bombing Iran, assassinate this leader, assassinate that leader," Kamil listed off.
For Kamil, time hasn't healed her pain.
"We need peace," she urged. "This is just getting too much on us."
Born and raised in Jerusalem, she said she watched her people suffer far too long. This conflict, she said, has been brewing since at least the 1940s.
"It makes me feel very sad -- not because they're Palestinian or they're children [but] because they're a human being," Kamil said. "They deserve to live free."
Protests like Saturday's have happened countless times since last October and are now spreading worldwide. Jacob Dallas-Main helped organize the protest with the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
"We've seen a global movement for a cease-fire—a really, vibrant movement here in the United States pushing for a cease-fire, end the occupation and end of U.S. aid to Israel. And it's grown in popularity massively," Dallas-Main said.
Demonstrators demand more from Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump, and their running mates. Their continued demands come just under a month from the presidential election.
"Look at a third option for when you go to the election because those two-party systems, it seems they failed," Kamil pressed.
And Dallas-Main said they're not giving up. Groups said they will continue to pound the pavement until the war is over.
"If we organize and we force it to happen, just like the Vietnam war," Dallas-Main continued. "The Vietnam war--that did not win in a month, in a week, in a year. It takes consistency."
According to CNN, Hamas' attack killed 1,200 people. The subsequent war Israel launched against Hamas, in Gaza, has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry there.