Beirut [Lebanon], October 19: Thousands rallied across the Arab and Muslim world on Wednesday to protest the deaths of hundreds of people in a strike on a Gaza hospital that they blame on the Zionist entity, despite its denials. Condemnation was widespread across the region and angry crowds gathered after calls from Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and Palestinian factions for a "day of rage". "Death to America, death to (the Zionist entity)," hundreds of Hezbollah supporters chanted at a rally in Beirut's southern suburbs.
"The (Zionists) will try to target more hospitals, rescue workers, civil defense volunteers and Gaza's residents without flinching, in order to push Gaza's people out," senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine told the demonstrators. Protesters took to the streets of the West Bank city of Ramallah and Nablus, shouting "Free, free Palestine". The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which both established ties with the Zionist entity in the Abraham Accords of 2020, criticized the Zionist entity for being behind the strike, as it hits back at Hamas militants over a deadly attack on Oct 7.
"The United Arab Emirates strongly condemns the (Zionist) attack. resulting in the death and injury of hundreds of people," the UAE's official WAM news agency said early on Wednesday. Bahrain's foreign ministry "expressed the Kingdom of Bahrain's condemnation and strong denunciation of the (Zionist) bombing", the Bahrain News Agency said.
In Manama, a handful of activists gathered in front of the cordoned-off Zionist embassy to call for Bahrain to break off diplomatic ties with the Zionist entity. Saudi Arabia, which has halted talks on potential ties with the Zionist entity since violence flared, called the blast a "heinous crime committed by the (Zionist) occupation forces". Qatar, one of Hamas' main backers, slammed the "brutal massacre".
Morocco, another country that recognized the Zionist entity in 2020, also blamed it for the strike, as did Egypt, which became the first Arab country to normalize relations with the Zionist entity in 1979. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi condemned in the strongest terms "the (Zionist) bombing" of the Ahli Arab hospital, which led to "the deaths of hundreds of innocent victims" among the Palestinian citizens in Gaza. He called the "deliberate bombing" a "clear violation of international law".
In war-torn Yemen, demonstrators took part in a massive pro-Palestinian protest in the capital Sanaa, which is controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Algeria condemned the strike as a "barbaric act" carried out by "occupation forces" while in Tunisia, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied outside the French embassy, condemning Western support for the Zionist entity. Some waved Palestinian flags while others demanded the ambassador be expelled, accusing France of being among the Western "allies of the Zionists", AFP journalists reported. Libya's Tripoli-based internationally recognized government called the hospital strike a "despicable crime" as several hundred people protested in Tripoli and other Libyan cities.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan also called for region-wide protests on Friday and Saturday, demanding the "expulsion of the ambassadors of the Zionist entity in all Arab and Islamic capitals". Jordan said the Zionist entity "bears responsibility for this grave incident". Some 5,000 Jordanians gathered outside the Zionist embassy, demanding the expulsion of the Zionist entity's diplomatic mission. Security forces blocked off roads leading to the embassy but the size of the demonstration looked set to swell due to the anger in Jordan, which is home to many Palestinian refugees.
"No Zionist embassy on Jordanian land," protesters chanted, brandishing Palestinian flags. Arab League chief Ahmed AboulGheit called on Tuesday for leaders to "stop this tragedy immediately". "What diabolical mind intentionally bombards a hospital and its defenseless inhabitants?" he wrote on X, previously Twitter.
Iraq, which also blamed Zionist authorities, demanded an "immediate and urgent resolution" from the UN Security Council to stop the Zionist entity's Gaza onslaught, as hundreds protested in the capital Baghdad, brandishing Palestinian flags. In the Syrian capital Damascus, hundreds of people with Palestinian flags gathered near parliament, many wearing T-shirts bearing the image of President Bashar Al-Assad. "Martyrdom or victory," one banner read. - AFP
Source:Kuwait Times