Gaza protests from Mideast to European capitals
Published: Tuesday | December 30, 2008
Palestinian mourners carry members of the Balosha family, including three children and two teenagers, who were killed in an Israeli missile strike, during their funeral in the Jebaliya refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, yesterday. Israel's overwhelming air campaign against the Gaza Strip entered its third day on Monday, as missiles struck targets and wreaked unprecedented destruction in Gaza, reducing buildings to rubble.
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP):
From Mideast countries to European capitals, protesters took to the streets yesterday to condemn Israel's assault on Gaza that has so far left at least 364 people dead, wounded hundreds more and reduced dozens of buildings to rubble.
By far the largest protest in the Arab world, where outrage over Israel's air strikes continued into a third day, took place in Lebanon, with tens of thousands of Lebanese Hezbollah supporters standing under pouring rain.
The protesters thronged a huge square and nearby streets in the militant group's stronghold south of Beirut, carrying Palestinian, Lebanese and yellow Hezbollah flags and banners supporting the Palestinian people.
Rise up and support Gaza
The massive rally was called for by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nas-rallah who, in a speech on Sunday, urged crowds in the Arab and Islamic world to rise up in support of Gaza and declared yesterday a day of mourning and solidarity with Gaza.
Addressing the crowds yesterday using a large screen from an unknown location, Nasrallah urged Palestinians to unite and sought to boost morale.
"Israel's air force will fail to destroy the will of the (Palestinian) fighters firing rockets ... and the residents of (Israeli) settlements 20 and 40 kilometres away from Gaza will remain either outside their settlements or in shelters," he said.
"Death to Israel," and "At your service, Gaza!" many in the crowd shouted.
Many losses
Nasrallah warned Israel that any ground offensive will result in many losses for the Israelis and said Israel will fail as it did when it fought Hezbollah guerrillas in a month-long air and ground offensive in 2006.
The overwhelming Israeli bombing campaign, the deadliest against Palestinians in decades, had killed 315 people by yesterday morning.
In the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon, around 3,000 people also staged a demonstration, many of them chanting slogans in which they insulted the rulers of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia for perceived complicity with Israel.
In Egypt, which has been particularly criticised for joining Israel in closing its borders with Gaza, thousands of people rallied, calling for the active intervention of Arab armies to protect the Palestinians.