PORTLAND, Ore. — The Israel-Hamas war rages on in the Middle East, nearly three weeks after Hamas' deadly attack on October 7, when militants stormed southern Israel, killing more than 1,400 people and taking 200 people hostage. Officials in Gaza claim more than 6,500 people have been killed there since the start of the war.
As Israeli airstrikes continued this week, Palestinian officials said aid is only trickling in. The World Health Organization added that hospitals and clinics in Gaza are on the edge of failing.
Amidst the increasing violence, many are calling for a ceasefire, including Palestinians and Jews in Portland. Two men with deep ties to the region sat down with KGW to discuss their push for peace.
"It was pretty easy for us to agree that the most important thing that has to happen is an immediate ceasefire, establish a humanitarian corridor to deliver aid, and release of the hostages," said Joel Beinin. "So we've issued a statement calling for that."
'Pray for peace': Faith leaders gather in Tigard as Israel-Hamas war continues
"We are here to say enough of killing innocent people from both sides," said Nael Saker. "We are here to say that immediate ceasefire has to be in place."
Both Beinin and Saker and their families have suffered unthinkable tragedies in the last several weeks.
"My brother's older daughter Liat and her husband Aviv lived on Kibbutz Nir Oz, which was one of the Israeli kibbutzim that was severely attacked by Hamas on October 7. They were taken hostage," said Beinin. "Their three adult children got out alive."
He said that they've been lobbying lawmakers and the United Nations to focus on the release of the hostages.
For Saker, a Palestinian-American, retaliation from Israel hit home.
"I lost 39 people of my immediate family. My cousins ... and their kids," he said.
For the past few weeks, they've watched the horrors of war from afar. Both have a deeper understanding of the region's history. Saker was born and raised in Gaza City. Beinin was a professor of Middle East history for more than three decades.
"I was born and lived in a big jail. A jail surrounded with barbed wire and everything called Gaza City," Saker said. "I witnessed the humiliation and the occupation, with all the dirty aspects of it."
'We're saying this must stop': Portlanders call on state leaders to sign Ceasefire Now Resolution for Israel-Hamas war
"My heart was doubly heavy both for my family members and because I had a huge sense of failure," said Beinin. "Whatever we did wasn't enough to prevent this from happening."
With the violence weighing heavily on both, they're part of a group of Portlanders — Palestinians and Jews — who are calling for ceasefire.
But neither believes this will happen without international pressure to do so.
"I'm personally afraid of the whole area, the whole region will explode," said Saker. "I hope for serious peace talks to place justice in the beginning and to place hope for our young generation in the future."