In Libya:
Several hundred people protested in Tripoli and other Libyan cities late Tuesday over the deadly strike on a Gaza hospital, according to AFP journalists. In Tripoli, hundreds of demonstrators of all ages, brandishing Palestinian flags and some covering their faces with Palestinian keffiyehs, crisscrossed the streets of the city centre before converging on Martyrs’ Square. They chanted slogans of support for the residents of Gaza and denounced the strike by the “Zionist enemy”. “We give our blood and our souls for Gaza,” they chanted in Tripoli and similarly in Misrata, a city 200 kilometres (120 miles) west of the capital. At least 200 people were killed Tuesday in a strike at a Gaza hospital compound, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian territory’s health ministry, which blamed Israel. For its part, the Israeli army said the strike was a rocket misfired by the Gaza-based militant group Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas. Earlier, Abdulhamid Dbeibah, the prime minister of Libya’s Tripoli-based internationally-recognised government, condemned the hospital strike, calling it a “despicable crime”. “We denounce this crime which exceeded all limits, and I call on all countries of the world and the great powers in particular, to put an end to these crimes and to open corridors to bring humanitarian aid into the besieged sector,” he said on X, formerly Twitter, late Tuesday. “Targeting medical and civilian facilities is a war crime. This aggression must stop,” he said. (AFP)
In Tunisia:
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in Tunisia on Wednesday outside the French embassy, condemning Western support for Israel which they blamed for a deadly strike on a Gaza hospital. Some protesters were waving Palestinian flags while others demanded the ambassador be expelled, accusing France of being among the Western “allies of the Zionists”, AFP journalists reported. A second protest was due to be held outside the US embassy in Tunis at 1:00 pm (1200 GMT), with rallies also expected in provincial towns and cities, organisers said. Speaking at an overnight meeting of his National Security Council, Tunisian President Kais Saied condemned the “international silence” about the “genocide” he said was being perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian people. (AFP
In Algeria:
Political parties and civil society organizations in Algeria will organize a march on Thursday to protest the war in Gaza and in support of the Palestinian people. The nationwide march is scheduled for October 19, 2023. (NAJ)
Arab world blames Israel for hospital strike as thousands rally
A Gaza hospital strike that killed at least 200 people has unleashed a torrent of condemnation across the Arab world, with even allies blaming Israel for the attack, despite its denials. The denunciations coincided with angry rallies in Lebanon, Jordan, Libya, Yemen, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco, Iran and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with more planned on Wednesday following calls for a “day of rage” across the region. Israel and Palestinian militants have traded blame for the hospital strike on Tuesday night, with the Israeli army saying on Wednesday it had “evidence” that militants were responsible.
But the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which both established ties with Israel in the Abraham Accords of 2020, condemned the “Israeli” attack which came as Israel lays siege to Gaza. “The United Arab Emirates strongly condemns the Israeli 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 Israeli bombing”, the Bahrain News Agency said.
Morocco, another country that recognised Israel in 2020, also blamed it for the strike, as did Egypt, which became the first Arab country to normalise relations in 1979. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi condemned in the strongest terms “the Israeli 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”. Saudi Arabia, which has ended talks on potential ties with Israel since the Israel-Hamas war flared, called the blast a “heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces”.
– ‘War crime’ –
Jordan said Israel “bears responsibility for this grave incident” while Qatar, which has close ties to Hamas, slammed the “brutal massacre”. The Organisation of the Islamic Conference, also blaming Israel, called it “a war crime, a crime against humanity, and organised state terrorism”. Gulf Cooperation Council secretary general Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said it was “glaring evidence of the serious violations by the Israeli occupation forces”.
The Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit called on Tuesday for leaders to “stop this tragedy immediately”. “What diabolical mind intentionally bombards a hospital and its defenceless inhabitants?” he wrote on X, previously Twitter.The strike came during a wave of deadly Israeli air strikes on Gaza following an attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that killed 1,400 people.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement called for a “day of rage” against Israel following the attack as hundreds rallied at the US and French embassies overnight, where they scuffled with security forces. More protests are planned for Wednesday, with Lebanon joining other Arab states in declaring a day of national mourning. Iraq, which also blamed Israeli authorities, demanded an “immediate and urgent resolution” from the UN Security Council to stop Israel’s Gaza onslaught, as hundreds protested in the capital Baghdad, brandishing Palestinian flags.
Algeria condemned the strike as a “barbaric act” carried out by “occupation forces.” Libya’s Tripoli-based internationally recognised government called the hospital strike a “despicable crime” as several hundred people protested in Tripoli and other Libyan cities. (AFP)
