Protesters demanding cease-fire in Gaza shut down US bridges

Demonstrators demanding a cease-fire in Gaza shut down bridges in Boston and San Francisco

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Protesters demanding a cease-fire in Gaza shut down traffic on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge as U.S. President Joe Biden and world leaders gathered in the city for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ conference. (Nov. 16) (AP video: Noah Berger)

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Police and protesters clashed outside Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, DC on Wednesday night during a demonstration for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas. (Nov. 16)

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A demonstration was held outside the White House on Wednesday, demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. (Nov. 15)

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Demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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Demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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Demonstrators calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip join hands on the field at Magazine Beach after blocking traffic on the nearby BU Bridge for several hours Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023 in Cambridge, Mass. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via AP)

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Demonstrators shout slogans after shuttting down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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Demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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Demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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Demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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Demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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Demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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CORRECT TO GESTURES AS DEMONSTRATORS SHUT DOWN THE BRIDGE - Dr. George Tanaka, an eye surgeon, gestures as demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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CORRECT TO GESTURES AS DEMONSTRATORS SHUT DOWN THE BRIDGE - Dr. George Tanaka, left, an eye surgeon, gestures as demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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Motorists wait in a queue as demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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Motorists wait as demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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Police officers detain a protester blocking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge while demonstrating against the APEC summit and the Israel-Hamas war, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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Elsa Santos and her children wait for police officers to clear protesters off the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge during a demonstration against the APEC summit on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. Santos was stuck for several hours while trying to take her kids to school. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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Police officers clear demonstrators blocking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge while protesting against the APEC summit on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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The Democratic National Committee headquarters is seen in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, the morning after U.S. Capitol Police and protesters clashed outside during a demonstration for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Scores of Democratic representatives and candidates, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, were inside at the time. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By JANIE HAR

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Demonstrators seeking a cease-fire in Gaza blocked bridges on both sides of the U.S. on Thursday, including a major span into San Francisco during a global trade summit involving President Joe Biden and other world leaders.

Eighty protesters were arrested on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and 29 vehicles were towed after demonstrators blocked all lanes on the upper deck, with some drivers tossing their keys into the bay. One person was booked into county jail but the others were cited and released, the San Francisco’s Emergency Operations Center said in an email.

Traffic was snarled for hours after more than 200 demonstrators demanded that Biden, in San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ conference, call for an immediate cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

In Boston, about 100 protesters stopped traffic on the bridge connecting the city to Cambridge for more than two hours during the morning rush. They chanted “cease-fire now!” and held a banner with the words “Jews say: ceasefire now” and they called on one of Massachusetts’ two senators, Democrat Elizabeth Warren, to do more to halt the hostilities.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Under a communication blackout, Gaza’s 2.3 million people are cut off from each other and the world

Thousands of bodies lie buried in rubble in Gaza. Families dig to retrieve them, often by hand

The protests outside DNC headquarters signal the divides in Biden’s base over Israel-Hamas war

On the West Coast, Aisha Nizar, of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said in a statement that President Biden was “hosting cocktail parties in San Francisco” while thousands of people were being killed in Gaza. Protesters unfurled huge banners and some of them lay on the ground with white sheets draped over their bodies as part of a “die-in.”

California Highway Patrol division chief Ezery Beauchamp called the Bay Area protest highly coordinated. He said the patrol supports free speech rights but not a traffic shutdown that could prevent emergency vehicles from crossing.

“This is the wrong way to do it,” he said. “This is 100% wrong, it’s unacceptable and it’s illegal.”

Demonstrations over the war are becoming more disruptive across the U.S. Protesters calling for a cease-fire clashed with police Wednesday outside Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., where Democratic representatives and candidates were inside for a reception.

The protests came as Israeli forces dropped leaflets warning Palestinians to flee parts of southern Gaza, residents said Thursday, signaling a possible expansion of the Israeli offensive following Hamas-led attacks in Israel on Oct. 7.

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Associated Press writer David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.

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For more AP coverage of the Israel-Hamas war: https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war