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Pro-Palestinian protest group targets Massachusetts Puma store in Assembly Row on Black Friday

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched outside of store entrances in Somerville’s Assembly Row on the morning of Black Friday, traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year.The group, Boston Coalition for Palestine, said in a statement they were targeting the Puma store but they were also seen marching in front of the neighboring Express location. Several members of the group carried signs or wore shirts with messages calling for a permanent ceasefire, the end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, suspension of U.S. support for Israel and other messages, including some slogans that are widely perceived as calling for an end to the Israeli state. Puma, a Germany-based company, has been widely targeted by pro-Palestine groups because of its position as a primary sponsor of the Israeli Football Association. NewsCenter 5 has attempted to request a response from the company.Friday’s protest came as Israel and Hamas began a four-day cease-fire, allowing sorely needed aid to start flowing into Gaza and setting the stage for the release of dozens of hostages held by militants and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.The war erupted on Oct. 7, when several thousand Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel, killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking scores of hostages, including babies, women and older adults, as well as soldiers. The Israeli offensive has killed more than 13,300 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which resumed its detailed count of casualties in Gaza after stopping for weeks because of the health system’s collapse in the north.The ministry says some 6,000 people have been reported missing, feared buried under rubble.>> ‘Not a Tribal decision’: Mashpee Wampanoag respond to protest during paradeThe ministry does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its death tolls. Women and minors have consistently made up around two-thirds of the dead, though the new number was not broken down. The figure does not include updated numbers from hospitals in the north.Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters, without presenting evidence for its count.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

SOMERVILLE, Mass. —

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched outside of store entrances in Somerville’s Assembly Row on the morning of Black Friday, traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

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The group, Boston Coalition for Palestine, said in a statement they were targeting the Puma store but they were also seen marching in front of the neighboring Express location. Several members of the group carried signs or wore shirts with messages calling for a permanent ceasefire, the end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, suspension of U.S. support for Israel and other messages, including some slogans that are widely perceived as calling for an end to the Israeli state.

Puma, a Germany-based company, has been widely targeted by pro-Palestine groups because of its position as a primary sponsor of the Israeli Football Association. NewsCenter 5 has attempted to request a response from the company.

Friday’s protest came as Israel and Hamas began a four-day cease-fire, allowing sorely needed aid to start flowing into Gaza and setting the stage for the release of dozens of hostages held by militants and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The war erupted on Oct. 7, when several thousand Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel, killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking scores of hostages, including babies, women and older adults, as well as soldiers.

The Israeli offensive has killed more than 13,300 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which resumed its detailed count of casualties in Gaza after stopping for weeks because of the health system’s collapse in the north.

The ministry says some 6,000 people have been reported missing, feared buried under rubble.

>> ‘Not a Tribal decision’: Mashpee Wampanoag respond to protest during parade

The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its death tolls. Women and minors have consistently made up around two-thirds of the dead, though the new number was not broken down. The figure does not include updated numbers from hospitals in the north.

Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters, without presenting evidence for its count.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.