Published October 21, 2023
AMMAN/CAIRO, Oct 20 (Reuters) – Protesters from Jakarta to Tunis on Friday demanded an end to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza after nearly two weeks of intense air and artillery strikes that authorities there say have killed 4,100 people.
Israel is gearing up for a ground war in the tiny, crowded Palestinian enclave aimed at eradicating Hamas, the militant Islamist group that rampaged into Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people and seizing hostages.
While some Western governments have voiced support for Israel’s military campaign, many Muslim states have called for an immediate ceasefire, with many of their people angry at conditions in Gaza and expressing solidarity with Palestinians.
Protests suddenly erupted across much of the region late on Tuesday after Gaza authorities said hundreds of people had been killed in a blast at a hospital. Hamas said an Israeli airstrike was responsible. Israel blamed a failed rocket launch by a Palestinian group.
In Jordan, which made peace with Israel in 1994, but where much of the population has Palestinian heritage, more than 6,000 protesters marched in the centre of the capital while thousands more rallied near the Israeli embassy.
Protesters voiced support for Hamas, urging it to attack Israel with rocket strikes and suicide bombings, and addressing the Palestinian group with the chant: “We are your army.”
READ FULL STORY
SOURCE: https://www.reuters.com/world/muslims-protest-around-world-demand-end-israels-gaza-campaign-2023-10-20/
RELATED: Muslims protest around world to demand end to Israel’s Gaza campaign
Palestinian protesters hold posters and chant anti Israel slogans during a demonstration in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Published October 21, 2023
Thousands of people in Muslim countries and beyond held demonstrations Friday in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. They called for an end to Israel’s blockade and airstrikes following a brutal incursion into southern Israel by fighters from the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza.
Demonstrators headed to Israeli military checkpoints after Friday prayers in the West Bank and gathered in Iraq at the country’s border crossing with Jordan; in Jordan itself; in locations across Egypt; in Turkey’s capital Ankara and its most populous city of Istanbul; and in Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco and South Africa.
A Tuesday night explosion at a Gaza City hospital tending to wounded Palestinians and residents seeking shelter was a prominent theme in some of the demonstrations. The cause of the blast at al-Ahli Hospital has not been determined.
U.S. assessments said the explosion was not caused by an Israeli airstrike, as the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza initially reported. Israel has presented video, audio and other evidence it says proves the blast was caused by a rocket misfired by Palestinian militants, who denied responsibility.
The Associated Press has not independently verified any of the claims or evidence released by the parties.
The Israeli siege of the Palestinian territory and airstrikes on it were the focus earlier this week of demonstrations at Egyptian universities, inside a congressional office building in Washington, outside the Israeli Embassy in Bogota, Colombia and near the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.
Nearly two weeks after the Hamas attack in Israel, such protests continued as Israel prepared for an expected ground invasion of Gaza.
The Gaza Health Ministry has said more than 4,000 people have been killed and over 13,000 wounded in Gaza since the war began, most of them women, children and older adults. More than 1,000 people were believed buried under rubble, authorities said.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians slain during Hamas’ deadly incursion. Roughly 200 others were abducted.
Protests erupted in the main cities of the occupied West Bank on Friday following midday prayers. Palestinians streamed out of mosques and headed to Israeli military checkpoints in Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem, where they threw stones at troops and burned tires. Israeli security forces responded firing tear gas and live rounds.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank reported that 21 people were wounded by soldiers’ gunfire. Tensions were particularly high in Hebron, where Hamas activists called for big protests. Hebron residents shared copies of leaflets they said were dropped across the city by Israeli military drones warning that anyone “who demonstrates on behalf of Hamas will be pursued.” There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
In Tulkarem, militants carried rifles and shots rang out Friday during a funeral for 13 people killed in a battle with Israeli troops in the Nur Shams refugee camp.
The past 13 days since the eruption of the war have been the deadliest in decades in the West Bank, with more than 80 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers.
READ FULL STORY
SOURCE: https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/international/ap-protesters-march-to-us-embassy-in-indonesia-over-israeli-airstrikes/
RELATED: Arab protesters demand end to Israel’s assault on Gaza
Demonstrators gathered across the Arab and Muslim world protesting against Israel’s brutal war on Gaza, which has been ongoing for almost two weeks.
Protests were held across the Muslim and Arab world on Friday voicing anger over Israel’s war on Gaza [Getty]
Published October 20, 2023
Protesters from Jakarta to Tunis on Friday demanded an end to Israel’s brutal bombardment of Gaza after nearly two weeks of intense air and artillery strikes that have killed more than 4,100 people.
Israel appears gearing up for a ground offensive in the tiny, crowded Palestinian enclave aimed at eradicating Hamas, in retaliation for the unprecedented attack the group carried out on October 7.
Israel’s war has also gone on to injure over 13,000 people, and has displaced over 1 million residents of the densely-populated enclave.
While a number of Western governments have voiced support for Israel’s military campaign, many Muslim states have called for an immediate ceasefire, with people angry at the conditions in Gaza and expressing solidarity with Palestinians.
Protests suddenly erupted across much of the region late on Tuesday after close to 500 people were killed in a devastating strike on Gaza’s Baptist Hospital, largely blamed on Israel. Tel Aviv has gone on to deny responsibility and has placed blame on the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.
In Jordan, which signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994, but where much of the population has Palestinian heritage, more than 6,000 protesters marched in the centre of the capital while thousands more rallied near the Israeli embassy.
