2023-10-19 04:48:24
The scepter of conflagration hovers over the Middle East. Thousands of people demonstrated across the Arab world on Wednesday after the deadly strike on a hospital in Gaza.
Large rallies took place in several capitals the day after the tragedy which left at least 471 dead, according to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip. According to a senior European intelligence official, the toll would however be much lower: “probably between 10 and 50”. Hamas accused Israel of being behind the strike. The Hebrew State, which says it has “evidence”, for its part blamed the explosion on a failed rocket attack by Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas. This version is supported by Joe Biden.
Around 10,000 demonstrators in Amman
On Wednesday, in front of the Israeli embassy in Amman, around 10,000 demonstrators gathered to demand the expulsion of the Israeli diplomatic mission. In Bahrain, which also normalized its relations with Israel in 2020, a handful of activists gathered in front of the Israeli embassy in Manama, a neighborhood patrolled by police.
In Morocco, hundreds of demonstrators gathered near the American consulate in Casablanca to denounce Washington’s support for Israel. Protesters held banners condemning “genocide,” “apartheid” and “occupation.”
In Tunisia, thousands of protesters gathered outside the French embassy, condemning Western support for Israel. Other protests took place in other cities across the country. Around thirty people also gathered near the American embassy in the northern suburbs of Tunis.
A demonstration at the call of Hezbollah in Lebanon
In Lebanon, hundreds of people took part in a demonstration called by pro-Iranian Hezbollah and an ally of Hamas in its stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut. A few hundred people also went to the area around the American embassy in Awkar.
In Baghdad, around 200 people demonstrated near an entrance to the Green Zone, a fortified sector of the Iraqi capital, where foreign embassies are located, including that of the United States. While chanting “No, no, to America” and “Death to Israel,” demonstrators waved flags of several Iraqi factions loyal to Iran, as well as portraits of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
In Damascus, Syria, hundreds of people waving Palestinian flags gathered near Parliament, many wearing t-shirts bearing the image of President Bashar al-Assad. Thousands of Egyptians also took to the streets in different cities across the country, where protesting is usually illegal.
Finally in Yemen, a massive demonstration of support for the Palestinians took place in the capital Sanaa, in the hands of the Houthi rebels, close to Iran. Rallies also took place in government-controlled areas.
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