Thousands across West Asia take stand against Gaza hospital massacre
The US embassy in Beirut was set ablaze by angry demonstrators protesting Washington’s support for Israeli war crimes
Thousands flooded the streets in several countries on 17 and 18 October in solidarity with Gaza after Israel killed at least 500 in an air strike on a crowded hospital on Tuesday evening.
In the Lebanese capital Beirut, scores of people marched through the streets on Wednesday holding Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and “We will sacrifice for you, Oh Aqsa.”
Students in the Iraqi city of Karbala held a large gathering in solidarity with Palestine on 18 October. The streets of the Jordanian capital Amman also witnessed massive rallies.
Protests also raged across several cities in the occupied West Bank, where 60 Palestinians have been killed in the ten days since Israel began its assault on Gaza.
Doctors, nurses, and medical staff marched through the streets of Tulkarem in solidarity with the victims of the massacre, many of whom were medical personnel.
Protests in the West Bank are being also directed against the Palestinian Authority (PA), which maintains deep security ties with Israel. PA forces attacked protesters marching in solidarity with Gaza.
Protestors flooded onto the streets the night before in Jordan, Egypt, Turkiye, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Morocco, and other countries.
Demonstrations were also seen in the US and Canada.
In a show of anger against Washington and its support for the brutal Israeli assault, massive crowds of Lebanese protestors descended on the US embassy compound in Awkar, Beirut. Parts of the compound’s entrance were set ablaze by protesters.
Lebanon’s government announced on the night of the massacre that the following day would be a day of mourning. Hezbollah also released a statement calling for a day of rage and for people across the Arab world to show their solidarity with Gaza.
“Statements of condemnation and denunciation are no longer enough … we call on the peoples of our Arab and Islamic nation to take immediate action in their streets and squares to express intense anger and put pressure on governments and states wherever they are,” Hezbollah’s statement read.
“Let tomorrow, Wednesday, be a day of unprecedented anger against the enemy and its crimes and against Biden’s visit to the Zionist entity to cover and protect this criminal entity,” it added.
The airstrike on Gaza’s Al-Ahli Arab Hospital killed hundreds in a matter of seconds. Video footage following the attack showed gruesome scenes of dead and wounded children and civilians, while medical staff desperately scrambled to attend to the victims.
The Israeli army attempted to pin the strike on a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian resistance. However, video evidence shows that it was unlikely a missile caused the explosion.