Hundreds of people took part in a silent walk for peace showing solidarity with the people of Palestine despite the poor weather.

Attendees walked from Wesley Square in Hamilton to Church Street, along Burnaby Street, down Front Street and along Queen Street on Saturday.

Maha Turner, one of the organisers, said almost 200 people joined the walk — much more than anticipated.

She added: “We did not have any problems at all. People were actually beeping to us and shouting ‘free Palestine’, people were leaving their shops and waving to us.

“We did two laps and every time we had more people joining, so I was pleasantly surprised by the support and eagerness.

“It’s very encouraging that people are aware of the problem and everyone wants to show their support to the people of Palestine.”

Marchers at the event waved Palestinian flags and carried signs calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Signs also showed support for freedom for the people of Palestine.

Ms Turner said that people were becoming more aware of the history of Palestine as the Israel-Hamas war continued.

She said: “When it first started on October 7, people didn’t understand what was going on.

“People were living far away from that part of the world and you don’t know anyone who lives there, so your knowledge about it is very limited.

“But I think now people are reading more and watching more and listening more and becoming more aware of the history.

“There is now context here — it’s not just something that happened, and that helps a lot.”

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Ms Turner said that she did not expect any backlash when organising the protest because Bermuda was a very “peaceful community”.

She explained that it had always been friendly and close-knit in her 30 years of living here.

Ms Turner added that her overall hope was to spread more awareness and that the leaders of Israel and Hamas could eventually arrange peace talks.

She said: “Both parties must commit to peaceful negotiations and must put aside personal emotions.

“It’s imperative now to shift from the conventional approach of conflict and mutual harm and instead go the negotiation table and try to seek a peaceful revolution to this ceaseless cycle of destruction.”

Ms Turner added: “It’s very frustrating for people in Gaza and Israel that you don’t know what’s going to happen to you.

“They wake up in the morning and wonder ‘am I going to lose my son? am I going to lose my husband? Is my house going to blow up?’

“It’s not a good life for anyone.”

Organisers of the walk plan to put together another demonstration on November 13 at City Hall.