KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT)- With the threat of a possible ground assault by Israeli troops into Palestine, folks here in East Tennessee are making their voices heard on the matter.

Over the past two days, Israel and Hamas have been exchanging deadly blows.

On Thursday, pro-Palestinian ralliers gathered on Cumberland Avenue near UT's campus. Organizers say Arabs, Jews, and Christians were part of a group demanding Israel stop airstrikes against Hamas. the protesters claim the host of hunting terrorist is too high.

The protesters claim the violence not only hurts Arab families, but Palestinians of all faiths and nationalities.

Meanwhile, at Rothchild Catering in West Knoxville, Israel's Consulate General to the Southeast, Opher Aviran, was meeting with a group of Christian and Jewish supporters of Israel, at an event called "Standing Together."

Aviran told Local 8 News, "Our people cannot live under this barrage of rockets. That lives became unbearable, impossible. This is the duty of the Israeli government to defend it's own citizens like every other nations would do it."