WASHINGTON (TND) — Hundreds of protesters assembled on the National Mall to demonstrate for an immediate and permanent ceasefire for the war in Gaza while marking a solemn event in Palestinian history.

While thousands were expected, rain and wind kept larger crowds from gathering, some 400 chanted pro-Palestinian slogans and voiced criticism of the Israeli and American governments as they marked a painful present — the war in Gaza — and past — the exodus of some 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from what is now Israel when the state was created in 1948.

Washington has been home to many such events over the last seven months, this gathering has special resonance as it falls during the commemoration of the 76th anniversary of the "Nakba" -- "catastrophe" in Arabic -- an event that saw around 700,000 (and as many as 1 million) Palestinians forcibly displaced from their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, also known as the First Arab-Israeli War or the Israeli War of Independence.

Shortly after the United Nations officially passed the charter to divide Palestinian territory into two states, Zionist militias began forcing Arab Palestinians from their homes in what would become Israeli territory, according to the Institute for Middle East Understanding. The process was accelerated by the burgeoning Jewish state's armed forces as the Palestinians along with military forces from neighboring Arab nations, which opposed the U.N. plan and sought to restore an Arab majority sovereignty, were pushed out and into the rough borders that exist today.

The Nakba had a profound impact on the Palestinian people, who lost their homes, their land, and their way of life," says the U.N. "It remains a deeply traumatic event in their collective memory and continues to shape their struggle for justice and for their right to return to their homes.

After the war, Israel refused to allow to those displaced people to return because it would have resulted in a Palestinian majority within Israel's borders. Instead, they became a seemingly permanent refugee community that now numbers some 6 million, with most living in slum-like urban refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In Gaza, the refugees and their descendants make up around three-quarters of the population.

Experts around the world have expressed concerns since Israel launched its destructive response in the Gaza Strip to the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks that the mass displacement of Palestinians in Gaza from air strikes, bombings and other military actions could create a second "nakba" in the conscience of the Palestinian people.

"As time passes, there is increasing fear that the displacement and destruction will become a permanent reality – and the residents of the northern Gaza Strip will become refugees, like their forefathers, the refugees of the 1948 Nakba," wrote the editorial board of the prominent Israeli newspaper Haaretz in March.

The war that aimed to bring down Hamas and return the hostages to Israel – and whose goals have not been achieved, even after many long and bloody months – must not turn into the Palestinians' second Nakba.

Many Israelis gathered at Tel Aviv University Wednesday -- the official U.N. "Nakba Day" -- to commemorate the tragedy and demonstrate their opposition to the actions of their government in the Gaza Strip.

Those seeking to assemble in Washington may face significant obstacles to their protest activities, as organizers did not acquire or even apply for the proper permits from The National Park Service, which oversees the National Mall. These permits, which include estimates on attendance, are a traditional step for large rallies or protests. However, the Park Service said it intended to still support the protesters' First Amendment rights, as it does all visitors.

“Permits are required for any organized activity in order to provide for public and participant safety, protection of park resources, and maintaining a commemorative mood where appropriate,” Mike Litterst, the agency's chief of communications for the National Mall, told the Associated Press.

However, in the event no permit application was submitted, we make every effort to support the First Amendment rights of all visitors to the areas we protect with the priority being placed on safety and protection of park resources.

The rally is also being fueled by anger over the violent crackdown on multiple pro-Palestinian protest camps at universities across the country, including at Washington's own George Washington University, which stands nearly blocks from the White House.

There were calls in support of Palestinian rights and an immediate end to Israeli military operations in Gaza. “No peace on stolen land” and “End the killings, stop the crime/Israel out of Palestine,” echoed through the crowd.

Protesters also focused their anger on President Joe Biden, whom they accuse of feigning concern over the death toll in Gaza.

“Biden Biden, you will see/genocide’s your legacy,” they said. The Democratic president was in Atlanta on Saturday.

Protesters organized a similarly large-scale demonstration in Washington against the war in Gaza in January. While it mostly remained peaceful, some attendees later swarmed the White House fence and banged on it while screaming obscenities like "F*** Joe Biden."

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The Associated Press contributed to this report

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