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Published October 17, 2023, 10:07 PM ET
Hundreds of Lebanese protesters, including some waving Palestinian flags, flocked to the US Embassy in Beirut on Tuesday evening in response to the massive explosion at a hospital in Gaza City that reportedly killed hundreds of people.
Police had to use tear gas to disperse protesters who had gathered outside the embassy to show their support for the Jewish state in its conflict with the terror group Hamas just hours before President Biden’s arrival in neighboring Israel.
One protester could be seen in a video posted on social media climb a barbed wire fence He surrounded the building to raise a Palestinian flag on the embassy flagpole as other protesters cheered him on from below.
Elsewhere in Beirut, demonstrators stormed the French embassy.
The twin demonstrations came just hours after Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah called for a “day of unprecedented rage” in Beirut following the deadly explosion at the medical center in Gaza.
A Lebanese protester sits outside the U.S. Embassy as a fire rages behind its gates after clashes with Lebanese security forces on October 18, 2023. The U.S. Embassy after clashes with security forces during a solidarity demonstration with the people of Gaza in Awkar, east of Beirut, on October 17, 2023. AFP via Getty Images Lebanese protesters hang the Palestinian flag and signs on the fence of the US embassy fence.Portal
The Hamas-run Health Ministry claimed Israel was responsible for the hospital explosion, while the Israel Defense Forces blamed a crashed Hamas rocket for the carnage that killed 500 people, according to Gaza authorities.
The attack represents the deadliest single incident during Israel’s war against Hamas, which erupted after the terror group invaded the Jewish state on October 7 and slaughtered at least 1,400 people.
Meanwhile, Biden’s trip to Tel Aviv originally included a stop in Amman, Jordan, until the country’s government canceled the trip in light of the attack in Gaza City.
“After consultation with King Abdullah II of Jordan and in light of the days of mourning announced by President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, President Biden will postpone his trip to Jordan and the planned meeting with these two leaders and President Sisi of Egypt,” the Das said White House in a statement.
People stand in front of a fire that broke out outside the security gate during clashes between protesters and security forces outside the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 18, 2023. ABBAS SALMAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Demonstrators were hit with tear gas after the embassy was flooded.AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators were protesting the explosion at a hospital in Gaza City that killed more than 500 people.AFP via Getty Images
“The President expressed his deepest condolences to the innocent people who lost their lives in the hospital explosion in Gaza and wished a speedy recovery to those wounded. He looks forward to consulting personally with these leaders soon and agreed to remain in regular and direct contact with each of them in the coming days.”
Earlier on Monday, the IDF ordered the evacuation of people living in 28 communities near the Lebanese border.
Hezbollah has not said whether it would go to war with Israel, although the two countries have carried out several attacks on each other since the Israel-Hamas conflict began last week.
The World Health Organization said Monday it had sent two shipments of medical supplies to Beirut to prepare for a possible escalation along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Citing the “unpredictable security situation” in Lebanon due to repeated rocket attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, the US State Department warned Americans on Tuesday not to travel to the country.
Members of U.S. government personnel and some non-emergency personnel at the embassy in Beirut have also been permitted to leave Lebanon by the State Department, according to the travel advisory.
With post wires
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