Pro-Palestinian protesters storm Brooklyn Bridge, blocking traffic

NEW YORK - Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters stormed the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan Monday afternoon, snarling traffic.

Video from SkyFOX shows demonstrators running up the Manhattan-bound exit ramp around 3:30 p.m., surrounding carts driving into the city.

SkyFOX captured pro-Palestinian demonstrators running onto the Brooklyn Bridge.

Once onto the road deck of the Brooklyn Bridge, protesters were seen banging drums and waving Palestinian flags.

Flares were ignited and thrown into the East River, SkyFOX video showed.

Police on bicycles later corralled the group to the pedestrian walkway. Several arrests were made.

Protests originated near City Hall in Lower Manhattan, according to reports.

Several organizers called for "a national strike for Gaza on Tax Day, April 15." Disruptive protests were also reported in San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia on Monday.

"The upcoming national strike on April 15th is not merely an act of solidarity but a direct demand on the US administration to take decisive and permanent action to end the ongoing genocide in Gaza.," the STRIKE4GAZA Coalition wrote in a press release.

Anti-war protesters have continued to demonstrate in NYC since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people. Israeli warplanes and ground troops have conducted a scorched-earth campaign on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli offensive has killed more than 33,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

This is a breaking news report. Check back with FOX 5 NY as this story develops.