Israeli officials are under growing pressure at home but say the fighting is likely to continue for several more months. Hamas says it will not free more hostages until Israel ends its offensive.
Although the protest was student-led, older Palestinians and families from the Champaign-Urbana area also marched alongside the university students.
The speech will be an opportunity for Biden to argue that the United States has an obligation to help in both places, as well as for him to lobby lawmakers for the money to do so.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision on aid was approved after a request from visiting U.S. President Joe Biden.
The U.N. warned that so many people fleeing en masse would be calamitous. Hamas dismissed the evacuation order as a ploy and called on people to stay in their homes.
Governor calls attacks ‘sickening’ at pro-Israel rally, acknowledges ‘many peace-loving Palestinians’.
At least 700 people have reportedly been killed in Israel. More than 400 have been killed in Gaza.