For Palestinian Americans.

The pain and anguish of this last year has been unbearable.

More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's counterattack.

The majority civilians.

It's created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Shortages of food, water and medicine.

The collapse of the health care system.

And it's now unleashed a wider multi-front war between Israel and Hamas as regional allies in Lebanon and Iran.

The future of Gaza and Palestinians more uncertain than ever.

On Sunday, roughly a thousand people gathered for a rally in Paterson.

Home to one of the largest Palestinian populations in the country demanding a cease fire and justice.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagis has that story.

Burning together to honor and commemorate one year, 365 days of Israel's genocide on Gaza, on Palestine, and now also on the UN.

In the years since Israel first responded to the horrific Hamas attacks on October 7th, the Palestinian community in new Jersey has mourned the mounting death toll of those killed by the Israeli military in Gaza.

An estimated 41,000 people.

As we mark 365 days of genocide, we continue to remember and honor every one of our martyrs.

Forever and forever, Hamza, or the countless others we may never hear about.

We are against this war, and we don't want to use our tax money in any killing, any time in the world.

Imam Mohammad Qatanani,, from the Islamic Center of Passaic County, has lost at least 15 family members during Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

Netanyahu, what did you do last year?

Did you bring security and peace?

You did not.

Palestinian has lost lives, but they did not lose their dignity.

And they determined that we want to liberate our land.

Israel bombs.

USA pays well.

How many kids have you killed today?

Gathered in Little Palestine in Patterson.

They cited stories of people who they call martyrs killed in Gaza in the last year.

This morning, young journalist Hassan Hamad was targeted and murdered.

He was covering the attacks just two hours before his death.

Mahmoud explaining the death of his older brother and his family.

I received the news.

That's my brother's.

And his leaves with his family.

Got a strike by Israeli air to fly airplane and get killed.

We were hoping that by now we wouldn't have to be protesting.

But here we are one year later, and just this morning, you know, I open my phone and I see the bombing is continuing.

The targeting is continuing.

It doesn't stop.

So we're not going to stop until it does.

Huge swaths of Gaza have been utterly destroyed by air raids since last October, and with resources cut off, hunger and disease continue to contribute to the death toll.

Speakers didn't mention the Israeli lives lost in the last year.

The division between these communities still apparent.

The message brothers and sisters, it's we still take this personally.

We are not tired.

We will not get tired and we will keep on working.

The Zionist state is a terrorist state and it must be dismantled.

Israel has spent decades conditioning the world and us to normalize the death of Palestinians.

The genocide may have escalated in intensity this year, but Israel's campaign of violence began long before that.

Before 1948.

Before you have seen even for over 76 years, the Zionist state has stolen the lives of our people, from Philistine to Lebanon and beyond.

What we hope to come out of this day is that the world will hear the message that the problem is a Zionist regime built on stolen land and historic Palestine.

And if the only way there's going to be justice for all throughout historic Palestine is the end of a Zionist regime and one state with equal rights for all.

From the river to the sea.

But one year in Israel and Gaza don't seem any closer to a cease fire than they were last October 7th.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Joanna Gagis.