An explosion at Gaza’s al-Ahli hospital, which is believed to have killed hundreds of people, has become a flashpoint for resentment throughout the world, igniting protests throughout the Arab world as well as globally.
While the Israeli military claims the hospital was struck by a rocket barrage conducted by the Palestinian IJP group, Hamas has attributed the explosion to an Israeli attack. Islamic Jihad also disclaimed authority.
Lebanese Hezbollah group called for a “day of rage” in conjunction with US president’s visit to Israel.
Hundreds of protesters clashed with Lebanese police outside the US embassy in the neighborhood of Awkar, outside the capital, in response to a request from Hezbollah. According to Agence France-Presse, protesters threw stones and set fire to a neighboring structure.
While medics attended to those injured by the tear gas, police fired additional rounds of tear gas to scatter the protestors. According to AFP, the demonstrators screamed “death to America” and “death to Israel”. Along with erecting Hezbollah flags and throwing stones that piled up at the embassy’s main door, hundreds of people also gathered outside the French consulate in Beirut.
The US State Department upgraded its Lebanon travel advisory early tpday to “do not travel.” It approved the voluntary, short-term departure of US federal employees’ families.
Demonstrators tried to break into the Israeli embassy in Amman, the capital of Jordan. A large number of protesters screamed pro-Hamas chants, and police deployed tear gas to remove them. They urged the government to renounce the peace agreement with Israel and to shut down the embassy. In charge of US diplomatic operations on Tuesday was US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had been staying in the city.
Anger over Violence
In the very early hours of the day, large crowds of demonstrators gathered in front of the French and British embassies in Iran. Protesters yelled, “Death to France and England,” as they threw eggs at the walls of French embassy’s in Tehran.
In Libya, hundreds of protesters of all ages crisscrossed the streets of Tripoli before gathering in Martyrs’ Square while waving Palestinian flags and some while concealing their faces. They shouted encouragement for Gaza’s citizens. Protests were also captured on camera in the southwest city of Taz in Yemen. Hundreds of protestors filled the cities of Baghdad and Rabat in Iraq as well.
Protesters gathered in large numbers in front of the Israeli embassies in Ankara and Istanbul, two major Turkish cities. The explosion at the Gaza hospital, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was “the latest example of Israeli attacks devoid of the most basic human values.”
In an array of towns in the West Bank, skirmishes with Palestinian security personnel broke out late yesterday. To disperse rock-throwing and anti-PA president shouting protestors in Ramallah, Palestinian security officers used tear gas and stun grenades. After postponing a meeting with Biden in Jordan, Abbas was traveling back to the West Bank. the region is governed by the Palestinian Authority.
Hundreds of protesters marched in Ramallah’s main Manara Square, some of whom were in favor of the violent leaders of Hamas
The West Bank communities of Nablus, Tubas, and Jenin are all said to have seen confrontations with Palestinian security troops. Nablus is a northern city that served as the focal point of significant Israeli military operations earlier in 2023.
