The People’s Hunger Strike for Gaza (also known as the People’s Hunger Strike in Solidarity With Gaza) is a Palestinian-nationalist protest movement based in Boston, Massachusetts. It began on September 4, 2025 and was organized by a coalition of healthcare workers, healthcare organizations, and left-of-center community-based organizations. ^{1  2}

In October 2025, United States Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) joined the People’s Hunger Strike for Gaza outside the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Boston to show support for Palestinians and opposition to Israel. ³

Background

The People’s Hunger Strike for Gaza is a collection of Boston-based health-care workers who claim to have responded to Palestinians who are “calling for an international hunger strike” to protest the Israel-Hamas war. The protest group formed in anticipation of the two-year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel. The group claims that even before October 7, 2023, the State of Massachusetts sent $129,675,320 to Israel, with annual spending rising to $612,252,169 in 2024. The People’s Hunger Strike for Gaza argues that funds that would support Israel should be spent on impoverished Americans in Massachusetts, particularly through increased Medicaid spending and social-welfare programs. The three central aims of the hunger strike are to end what it considers “[a]partheid, Zionism, and [s]ettler [c]olonialism” in Israel and the disputed Palestinian territories. ¹

Activities

Protests and Demands

The People’s Hunger Strike for Gaza began with its first protest held on September 4, 2025 outside the John F. Kennedy Federal Building, followed by daily demonstrations on Monday through Friday from 3 to 5 pm. ¹

The hunger strike and its participants have two central demands. First, the protest group called on U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) to introduce a Senate version of the Block the Bombs Act (H.R. 3565) to block the second Trump administration from delivering U.S.-made weapons to Israel during its war against Hamas in Gaza. The hunger strike also called on U.S. Representative Katherine Clark (D-MA), the Democratic Whip, to co-sponsor the Block the Bombs Act. ¹ The bill has been sponsored by several Palestinian-nationalist advocacy organizations, including Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Human Rights Watch, and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Action. ⁴

Political Support

On October 1, 2025, U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) joined the hunger strike outside the Kennedy Federal Building in Boston to show support for Palestinians and opposition to Israel. Pressley addressed the crowd of hunger strikers, arguing the United States government has “to speak out vigorously in condemnation of the Israeli government.” Pressley also helped the protesters deliver over 1,000 letters to Senators Warren and Markey, urging them to introduce the Senate version of the Block the Bombs Act. ³

Partners

The People’s Hunger Strike for Gaza has several partner organizations with which it has planned its demonstrations and from whom it has received financial support. These partner groups include Doctors Against Genocide, Healthcare Workers for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, Massachusetts Peace Action, the Boston Palestine Film Festival, the Committee of Interns and Residents of the Service Employees International Union, and others. ¹

1. “Home.” People’s Hunger Strike. Accessed November 29, 2025. https://www.peopleshungerstrike.org/
2. “Wave of Pro-Palestinian, Pro-Hamas Protests Planned.” Atlanta Jewish Times. August 28, 2025. Accessed November 29, 2025. https://www.atlantajewishtimes.com/wave-of-pro-palestinian-protests-planned/
3. Zullo, Darin. “Pressley joins strikers, protesters at Gaza hunger strike rally.” Boston.com. October 2, 2025. Accessed November 29, 2025. https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2025/10/02/pressley-joins-strikers-protesters-at-gaza-hunger-strike-rally/
4. Stein, Sam. “Boston Organizers Launch Hunger Strike for Gaza.” The Progressive Magazine. September 15, 2025. Accessed November 29, 2025. https://progressive.org/latest/boston-organizers-launch-hunger-strike-for-gaza-stein-20250915/