Protesters have staged a sit-in inside the New York Times building, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza while accusing the newspaper of showing a bias towards Israel in its coverage of the conflict.
A series of protests have taken place in New York over several weeks, including a march through Midtown Manhattan to protest Israel's attack on Gaza after Hamas terrorists stormed southern Israel on October 7.
On Thursday evening a small group of demonstrators, led by media workers calling themselves "Writers Bloc", entered the lobby of the Times building carrying a banner calling for a ceasefire.
They remained for more than an hour, reading off the names of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza, including at least 36 journalists whose deaths have been confirmed since the war began.
The group scattered editions of a mock newspaper - "The New York War Crimes" - that charged the media with "complicity in laundering genocide" and called on The Times's editorial board to publicly back a ceasefire.
Photos showed the word "Lies" painted across the doors of the Times headquarters. It wasn't immediately clear if anyone was arrested during the sit-in.
Outside a larger rally took place, with people holding placards that read "free all Palestinian political prisoners". A car that had "free Gaza" spray painted onto the windows was seen parked in the middle of the crowd.
An email sent to New York Times staffers by the publication's head of corporate security described the protest as "peaceful," noting that "no entrances are blocked."
The action came hours after students across New York City walked out of classrooms in support of Palestinians. Some remained in the streets for a protest that blocked traffic in Manhattan during rush hour and grew unruly at times.
The demonstration at The New York Times was the latest in a series of actions at high-profile locations in New York intended to bring attention to the growing death toll in Gaza.
On Tuesday, activists with the group Jewish Voice for Peace briefly took over the Statue of Liberty.
A week earlier, hundreds of people packed into Grand Central Terminal, shutting down the commuting hub during rush hour while hoisting banners that read "Ceasefire Now."
More than 10,800 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory, since the October 7th massacre by Hamas, which took the lives of at least 1,400 people in Israel.
