Anti-Israel protests erupted across the Middle East and North Africa on Tuesday night, as Arab country leaders condemned Israel for a deadly explosion at a hospital in central Gaza City that killed more than 400 people. .
Palestinian authorities blamed Israel for the bombing of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital on Tuesday night. However, the Israel Defense Forces deny the allegation, and accused the radical group Palestinian Islamic Jihad of carrying out a “failed launch” that ended up hitting the hospital.
Islamic Jihad denies responsibility for the bombing and classifies the Israeli accusations as “false and unfounded” in a statement.
A CNN could not independently confirm the cause of the hospital explosion.
Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, have issued statements condemning Israel and blaming the Israeli military for the bombing.
Thousands of protesters shouting anti-Israel slogans gathered in Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Tunisia. Protests were also recorded in the occupied city of Ramallah, in the West Bank.
The hospital explosion fueled fury across the region over the bloodshed in Gaza, a coastal enclave home to 2.2 million people and which has been under siege by Israel for more than a week in retaliation for a terrorist attack by the group. Islamic radical Hamas against Israel on October 7th.
On Tuesday night, hundreds of protesters gathered near the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan. Jordanian security forces used tear gas to disperse protesters, according to two activists and videos posted on social media.
In Lebanon, hundreds of protesters gathered in the square leading to the US embassy north of Beirut on Tuesday and tried to break through security barriers, according to a team from the CNN on site.
Demonstrators also demonstrated against Israel in Baghdad, Iraq. Security officials in Baghdad told CNN that dozens of protesters tried to cross a bridge leading to the Green Zone – an area that houses Iraqi government offices and several embassies, including the US embassy – but security forces stopped them.
In Iran, demonstrations also took place in front of the French and British embassies in Tehran, the country’s capital. The protesters shouted “death to France, England, America and the Zionists”, according to a video published by RNA, an Iranian state portal, on Wednesday morning. Protests also took place in other cities, including Esfahan and Qom.
Hundreds of people demonstrated in several areas of Tunis, Tunisia, state news agency TAP reported. TAP said that “mass protests were held on Tuesday night” in several areas “in solidarity with the Palestinian people” and against the Israeli bombing of Gaza.
In Istanbul, Turkish security forces used water jets and pepper spray to disperse protesters who managed to force entry into a complex where the Israeli consulate is located.
On Tuesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on “all humanity to take measures to put an end to this unprecedented brutality in Gaza”, in a post on X, formerly Twitter. And he added that the attack on the hospital was “the latest example of Israel’s attacks devoid of the most basic human values.”
The explosion resulted in the cancellation of a meeting in Jordan, scheduled for this Wednesday, between US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, a government body with limited autonomy in the West Bank.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi posted on X: “How many innocent Palestinians must die before Israel stops its war in Gaza?”
Safadi called for peace and said that international law “cannot be selective” and that “the world must speak clearly and act promptly against this war.”
Although the Israel Defense Forces have stated that they are not targeting hospitals, the UN and Doctors Without Borders claim that Israeli airstrikes have hit medical facilities, including hospitals and ambulances.
Hospitals were already facing difficulties in treating the injured throughout the territory, operating with a shortage of electricity and water, due to the “total siege” imposed by Israel on the Palestinian enclave.
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which oversees and funds Al Ahli Baptist Hospital, condemned the explosion, according to a church statement released Tuesday.
“Gaza remains devoid of safe havens,” the diocese said, calling the explosion a crime against humanity. “Hospitals, according to the principles of international humanitarian law, are sanctuaries, but this attack transgressed these sacred boundaries.”
See more: UN wants to carry out its own investigation into hospital
Source: CNN Brasil
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