by Xinhua writer Shadati

TEHRAN, March 14 (Xinhua) -- A blade of light ripped through the sky; in seconds came rising plumes of smoke and low rumbles of explosions.

That was what Xinhua reporters and thousands of Iranians experienced on Friday when a powerful airstrike hit an area near their demonstration route.

Earlier that morning, a fellow journalist had called, urging extra caution in covering the event. Large gatherings were clearly dangerous during wartime, and the air in the bustling, conflict-stricken city was thick with tension.

The rally, nevertheless, drew thousands onto the streets. Planned as an annual pro-Palestinian event, it had transformed into an outlet for public anger over the ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes, which have claimed over 1,000 lives in Iran, and a show of unity.

Residents of Tehran set out from various points across the city toward the iconic Enghelab Square in the center. They chanted slogans against the United States and Israel, waved Iranian flags, and carried pictures of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his successor, Mojtaba Khamenei.

Suddenly, a plume of smoke curled into the gray sky from the airstrike ahead.

Undeterred, the march pressed on, the avenue alive with resolute crowds. Iranian flags soared, fists and voices rose in unison, and slogans rang through the throngs filling the streets.

"I have come to make our enemies understand that these bombardments cannot prevent us from being present on the scene," said Tehran resident Rezaei.

"They (the enemies) should just know that they will get nowhere through this bloodshed," he added. "Our people will become more vigilant, and these bloods will awaken more consciences."

"All Iranians are standing behind one another," said Alireza Jahanbakhsh, another demonstrator. "A larger number of people have taken part in this year's International Quds Day, which features greater resistance, and all Iranian people felt duty-bound to participate."

Also present at the rally was Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani. He warned that the excessive demands of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with Washington's refusal to comply with international regulations, are alarmingly reshaping the world order.

"What we pursued through our 1979 Islamic Revolution -- we under no circumstances accepted the global hegemonic system and we rejected it -- is being totally manifested today within a new frame in West Asia and North Africa and is completely evident and clear across the world," Zakani added.

The rally also evoked the painful memory of the Feb. 28 missile strike on a girls' elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, which killed at least 165 people and left dozens more injured, most of them schoolgirls. Increasing evidence has shown this tragedy was of the U.S. making.

"The schoolgirls of Minab, although you were innocent, the United States killed you. The United States solely bullies the weak," said a marcher, voice shaking with anger.

Beneath the gray sky, the demonstration pressed on, thousands of voices piercing through the hovering smoke from the nearby airstrike -- defiant, unified, and unwilling to be silenced by missile explosions.  ■