BATON ROUGE - Demonstrators gathered Monday morning at the State Capitol to participate in a rally calling for a cease fire in Gaza and for a "free Palestine."

The Islamic Center of Baton Rouge was among those working to coordinate the event, which it billed as a "statewide march for Palestine."

Several hundred people turned out for the event, many with signs calling for an immediate cease fire in the war between Hamas and Israel.

Marches and demonstrations have also been staged in states ranging from California to Ohio to Maine, and in Washington, DC.

Two weeks earlier, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered along Bluebonnet Blvd., while a demonstration in support of Israel was staged recently at City Court in Baton Rouge.