DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — As hostilities intensify between Israel and Hezbollah, hundreds of metro Detroiters gathered for a rally in Dearborn on Wednesday, calling for an end to the violence and praying for the lives lost.
The rally took place outside the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, a city with one of the largest Arab American populations in the United States.
Osama Siblani organized the rally so the large Middle Eastern population in the area could feel like they have a voice.
"This rally is to send a message that we are not going to be silent about the killing that continues to happen in the Middle East and we demand that our leaders take action to stop it," he said. “I cannot stand what I am seeing right now. I can’t sleep, I cannot comprehend.”
Bloomfield Hills resident and Lebanese American Ayette Dourra attended the rally with her children to express her grief and worry as some of her family remains trapped in the southern part of the country.
“My uncle couldn’t leave for a while because the bomb hit the area where he can’t drive out of there, so it was kind of devastating, it was really hard for us," she said.
Related video: Dearborn Heights City Council member heartbroken after family killed in Lebanon strikes
Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu has warned the strikes will continue to target Hezbollah and urges residents to flee. However, these metro Detroiters say for some civilians, it’s already too late, and they will take their outrage to the polls.
"We’re very angry and we’ll take it all the way to November 5," Siblani said.
Lebanese American Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who has been an outspoken voice in the uncommitted vote movement, echoed Siblani's sentiment at the rally.
“We cannot condone any president that uplifts any administration that bombs every school, decimating children to smithereens. That is the message we have and those are values we will take with us to November," Hammoud said at the rally.
The Israeli army chief said Wednesday that their military is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon as Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets into Israel.
Lebanon’s health minister said more than 50 people were killed Wednesday in the continuing Israeli strikes, raising the death toll from the past three days to over 600, with more than 2,000 wounded.
