Activists from an American Jewish human rights group have taken to the streets of New York City to mark the first anniversary of Israel's last war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Protesters demanded Israel to end the ongoing blockade of Gaza and asked the US government to stop funding and supporting Israel.

The rally was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, an American-based anti-Israel organization.

The group strongly opposes the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and has criticized Israel for its daily violations of human rights.

Israeli’s 51-day war killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians and destroyed about 19,000 homes in the Gaza Strip.

Jewish Voice for Peace, like a growing number of Jewish Americans, has endorsed the BDS movement, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign that seeks to boycott Israel.

The BDS campaign encourages organizations and institutions such as universities and churches to divest from Israel until the fundamental rights of the Palestinians have been recognized.

The United Church of Christ, the largest Christian Protestant denomination in the United States, voted in July to boycott products from Israeli settlements and divest from companies with business in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

BDS activists expect the United Methodist Church, which has nearly eight million members in the US, to join the movement next year, underscoring the growing momentum of the US protest movement against Israel.