About 200 people lined Fayetteville Street in front of the state Capital Building Saturday to protest the $3.15 billion in aid Israel receives from the U.S. government annually, claiming money is being used to fund violent crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Rania Masri, N.C. State alum and spokeswoman for the coalition of different organizations involved in the protest, said the goal of the demonstrations was to raise awareness about the violence and human rights violations that are continuing to unfold throughout Gaza and the West Bank.

Gaza suffered its bloodiest day in the two-week conflict between Hamas and Israelon Sunday after an Israeli assault resulted in at least 87 dead Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers, most of the victims coming from an eastern neighborhood of Gaza City called Shejaiya, The New York Times reported.

Masri said the media has been presenting an inaccurate depiction of what has been happening in Gaza, and are portraying the violence as Israel’s attempt to defend themselves against Hamas rockets.

“The reality of the situation is, one, Israel attacked Gaza without provocation,” Masri said.

Israel occupied Gaza in 2005 after an illegal military siege and has been present in the area ever since, according to Masri.

“We are having literally hundreds of Palestinians being killed in their neighborhoods with no place to them to go for shelter to evacuate,” Masri said. “And there are no decent hospitals for them to seek proper medical treatment.”

These events are occurring while the U.S. government continues to supply billions of dollars in federal military aid to Israel every year, Masri said.

On August 2, activists from across the U.S. will gather in front of the White House for the National March on the White House to protdest U.S. aid to Israel and to call for an end to the ongoing violence in Gaza.