A rally was held in downtown Fredericton Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the end of an Israeli offensive in Gaza, which left about 1,400 dead.

About two dozen people attended the noon demonstration at city hall, braving the chilly weather.

Last year, about 200 people showed up for a similar event, said organizer Tracy Glynn.

Despite the smaller turnout, she said she hopes the peaceful demonstration will still serve as a reminder of the problems that continue along the Gaza Strip.

"It's cold there. There's flooding happening. People are losing their livestock, which is their only source of livelihood and food," Glynn said.

"It's still a humanitarian disaster there and Israel has actually blocked some of the borders to humanitarian relief," she said.

"People need to rebuild — they need to build homes and they need concrete and the elements in order to build the homes, but Israel is saying that those materials are going to be used by Hamas, the government of Palestine.

"So people need homes, they need to rebuild their lives — and we're here today to talk about that and solemnly mark the anniversary of when so many people lost their lives."

Groups represented at the rally included the Fredericton Peace Coalition, Jews for a Just Peace and the Fredericton Palestine Solidarity Society.

Israel carried out the incursion into the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip from Dec. 27, 2008, to Jan. 18, 2009, saying it was trying to halt years of Palestinian rocket fire at Israeli towns. The conflict resulted in almost 1,400 Palestinian and 13 Israeli deaths.

A United Nations-commissioned report into the conflict concluded that Israel used disproportionate force, deliberately targeted civilians, used Palestinians as human shields and destroyed civilian infrastructure during the incursion.

It also accused Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, of deliberately targeting civilians and trying to spread terror through rocket attacks on southern Israel.

Israel and the U.S. have called the report flawed.