Protesters lift Palestinian flags during a demonstration called for by the Islamic Group in Lebanon and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in Beirut on October 29, 2023, in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.(Photo by AFP)
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in the Lebanese capital Beirut to show solidarity with Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and to condemn Israel’s deadly bombing of the besieged enclave.
Protesters gathered in central Beirut near Martyrs Square on Sunday, as they waved Palestinians flags, chanted slogans such “God is our aim jihad is our way” and held banners reading “Stop the Gaza Genocide.”
They also waved the flags of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and the Lebanese Jama’a Islamiya (The Islamic Group in Lebanon), which jointly organized the rally.
“We are here to support the right to resistance of our loved ones in Gaza. We are also here to recall the unity between Lebanon and Palestine. We are the same people and share the same cause,” said a protester.
Another protester noted that Israel has committed “a crime against humanity,” by relentlessly bombing Gaza for the past weeks, adding that “The whole world can see and hear what is happening in Gaza.”
“The Israelis have killed children, they are bombing hospitals, schools, mosques and churches. The Zionist enemy is killing innocent people,” the protester said.
Addressing the crowd, Omar Haymour, who serves as vice secretary general of the Jamaa Islamiya, urged Arab countries that have signed peace deals with Israel to expel Israel’s ambassadors.
He also called on Egypt to open its Rafah border crossing with Gaza to allow in humanitarian aid, while stressing that now Cairo has the best possible opportunity “to reclaim the leadership of the Arab, Islamic world in taking a clear and bold stance.”
On October 7, Hamas launched its biggest operation against Israel in years in a surprise offensive, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, in response to the occupying regime’s intensified crimes against Palestinian people.
Since then, Israel has pressed ahead with an unrelenting bombardment of Gaza. The death toll from the aggression has reached over 8,000 with more than 20,500 wounded.
Several demonstrations have been held in recent weeks in Lebanon to show solidarity with the Palestinian people and to voice support for the resistance movements in Lebanon and Palestine.
That comes as the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah and the Israeli regime have been exchanging fire across Lebanon’s border with occupied territories since October 8, a day after the regime launched its aggression against Gaza.
Sunday’s rally in Beirut comes as people have taken to the streets worldwide to show support for the Palestinians amid Israel’s brutal aggression.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied in cities across Europe, in the Middle East, in the United States and in Asia on Saturday, calling for a an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
In Malaysia, a large crowd of demonstrators chanted slogans outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
In the southern Indian state of Kerala, an estimated 100,000 people rallied in solidarity with Palestine.
Protests were also held in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the Turkish city of Istanbul while people rallied in support of Palestine in a number of European cities, including in London, Copenhagen, Rome and Stockholm.
