A large group of pro-Gaza demonstrators, many of them masked, gathered outside Philadelphia’s City Hall overnight and set dozens of US flags on fire. The crowd chanted anti-American and anti-Israel slogans while waving signs supporting Hamas and other extremist causes.

According to local reports, the event quickly escalated as masked activists moved to the front lines, ignited piles of American flags, and cheered as the flames rose. Police kept their distance, and no meaningful enforcement was recorded despite the open burning of national symbols and the openly hostile rhetoric toward the US and Israel.

The dramatic images—masked activists torching the very flag of the country that protects their freedoms—spread rapidly online and triggered a strong backlash from residents, Jewish communities, and commentators nationwide. Critics warn that these protests, increasingly emboldened and radicalized, reflect a growing acceptance of extremist narratives inside American cities.