WINDSOR, ONT. -- Around 1,000 pro-Palestinians gathered Saturday evening in the downtown core.

Windsor's Palestinian Solidarity Group and its supporters waving flags, honking horns and chanting, “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free!”

The massive crowds commemorating Nakba day, also known as "catastrophe" day, following the violent displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during Israel's declaration of independence in 1948.

This year's Nakba day taking place as deadly violence grows in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

Organizers say the goal of the rally is to spread awareness and put pressure on the Canadian government to take more action