The massacre in a Gaza hospital provokes a wave of indignation in the Arab world | International

Protest demonstrations have spread beyond Palestine in the late hours of Tuesday and early Wednesday after the attack on a Gaza hospital that has left at least 500 dead. The massacre has generated protests throughout the Arab world with improvised marches in countries in the region such as Lebanon and Jordan, but also in others such as Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia. In some of them there were violent outbreaks and riots in front of the US or Israeli embassies. All this in the midst of condemnations from different governments of a massacre that represents a qualitative leap in the war between Israel and Hamas, unleashed after the attacks by the Palestinian guerrilla in Israel that caused 1,400 deaths on October 7.

Palestinian security forces confronted a crowd of protesters with tear gas in Ramallah to disperse them while they threw stones and shouted against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. In addition to the Palestinian capital and Hebron (both in the West Bank), incidents were also reported in Amman (Jordan), where protesters surrounded the Israeli Embassy. King Abdullah, who was scheduled to meet on Wednesday with the president of the United States, Joe Biden, the president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al Sisi, and Abbas himself, did not hesitate to blame Israel for the deaths and canceled the meeting while his government assured that it would only be held when the parties “can agree to end the war and massacres against the Palestinians,” Reuters reports.

In Beirut (Lebanon), bricks have been thrown at the United States Embassy amid cries of “death to Israel” and “death to America,” while the Shiite Hezbollah movement, which has faced Israel since the beginning of the conflict, called on the population to “ “a day of anger.” Syria, Israel's archenemy, blamed "Western countries, especially the United States, for this massacre and others." “They are partners of the Zionist entity in all operations organized to kill Palestinians,” said sources from the Presidency. An image that was repeated in Palestine Square in the center of Tehran (Iran), where hundreds of people gathered to show their rejection. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has declared a day of mourning and accused Israel of the attack. “The flames of the American-Israeli bombs dropped this afternoon on the Palestinian victims will soon consume the Zionists,” Raisi said, according to the IRNA agency.

Thousands of people have also gathered in front of the Israeli consulate in Istanbul (Turkey) after the country's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemned the massacre. “Attacking a hospital with women, children and innocent civilians is the latest example that Israel's attacks are lacking in the most basic human values,” the president said on the social network X, formerly Twitter.

There has also been a spontaneous march in Rabat (Morocco), attended by hundreds of people, reports Efe. Many of them criticized the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Israel three years ago. “Zionists out”, “the people against normalization” [con el Gobierno israelí]” or “normalization is betrayal”, were some of the slogans that were heard. In Tunisia, the place chosen for the protests was the French Embassy, ​​a country that those gathered accused of being an “ally of the Zionists.”

The outrage also reached the United Nations, where the group of Arab ambassadors appeared jointly and urgently this Tuesday to ask the Security Council to “wake up and assume responsibilities” to stop the war in Gaza. “For decades, Israel and the perpetrators of these attacks, from the military and the political authority, have enjoyed impunity and have not once faced justice. This has to stop,” said the group's president, Jordanian Mahmud Faidallah, who blamed Israel for being solely responsible for the bombing.

The Security Council this week debated a resolution calling for a ceasefire, but it was rejected by three veto-wielding members — the United States, the United Kingdom and France — for not including an express condemnation of Hamas. Russia and the United Arab Emirates have requested a new urgent meeting for Wednesday, after learning of the attack on the Gaza hospital. The organization that has condemned the attack is the World Health Organization, although without pointing out either side as responsible.

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