'Shut it down for Palestine' protesters demand Gaza ceasefire in DTLA

LOS ANGELES - Thousands of protesters gathered in downtown Los Angeles Saturday in support of Palestinians in Gaza and to demand a ceasefire in Israel's war against Hamas. 

The protests downtown were part of hundreds of scheduled demonstrations across the U.S. and the world, all part of a global day of action dubbed Shut it Down for Palestine. Several other similar demonstrations were scheduled in other California cities Saturday, including in San Francisco, San Diego and Bakersfield.

Images from SkyFOX showed protesters flooding the street outside of LA's City Hall. In addition to demands of "ceasefire now," protesters called out Israel's plans to invade the city of Rafah, which borders Egypt. According to The Associated Press, the city of Rafah had a population of around 280,000 before the war broke out, but as of Feb. 25, was home to 1.4 million people living with relatives, in shelters or tent camps.

RELATED: Gaza ceasefire: Israel has agreed to a framework, US says

Saturday's protests come as Israel has "more or less accepted" the framework of a potential ceasefire deal with Hamas, according to a report from The AP. A senior U.S. official told the AP Saturday that "the ball is in the court of Hamas and we are continue to push this as hard as we possibly can."

But despite Israel's apparent agreement to the terms, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a potential ceasefire would only "somewhat" delay Israel's planned invasion of Gaza. Netanyahu said that four of Hamas' six remaining battalions are in Rafah.

According to the LAPD, five people were arrested during Saturday's demonstration.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.