In a wave of fury, hundreds of demonstrators brandishing Palestinian flags launched an assault on the US embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday.
The attack was triggered by reports of a devastating explosion at a hospital in Gaza, allegedly resulting in hundreds of casualties.
The New York Post reported that tear gas was utilized in an effort to disperse the crowd, which had assembled hours before the anticipated arrival of US President Joe Biden in neighboring Israel. A particularly striking image from the scene showed a man scaling a fence outside the embassy, triumphantly waving a Palestinian flag above the throng, which also displayed Hamas flags. The protestors further vented their rage by setting a building behind the embassy gates ablaze.
The march on the embassy buildings was instigated by a statement from Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist organization based in Lebanon. Hezbollah called on the Arab world to stage protests in front of Israeli embassies, holding Israel accountable for the hospital explosion. The crowd of protestors was a blend of Pro-Palestinian and Hezbollah supporters. However, the UN has refuted these claims, stating that Israel was not responsible for the blast.
The protestors also targeted the US and French embassies, accusing President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron of complicity in the Gaza airstrikes by providing military aid to Israel. Notably, Israel does not maintain an embassy in Lebanon.
In response to the escalating tensions, the State Department offered US embassy staff in Beirut the option to evacuate the country and cautioned US citizens against traveling to Lebanon. A State Department advisory warned of an "unpredictable security situation related to rocket, missile, and artillery exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah or other armed militant factions." It also advised reconsideration of travel to Lebanon due to potential threats of terrorism, civil unrest, armed conflict, crime, kidnapping, and the limited capacity of Embassy Beirut to assist US citizens.
The unrest was sparked by reports of an explosion at Gazas Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. Hamas attributed the explosion to an Israeli air strike, while Israel countered that the explosion was the result of a rocket misfired by terrorists. Hamas claimed that the explosion resulted in at least 500 fatalities.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement, stating, "An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit." The statement further implicated Islamic Jihad, another terrorist group frequently allied with Hamas, in the failed rocket launch that struck the hospital.
A UN spokesperson stated, "While we continue to collect information, our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday."
In addition to the Beirut protests, videos have emerged online showing protests erupting at the US Embassy in Jordan, Iran, and Iraq, as well as a US military base in Turkey. There have also been reports of clashes between rioters and Palestinian Authority security forces in Jenin, Nablus, Bethlehem, and Ramallah.
President Biden was scheduled to attend a summit in Amman, Jordan, which was to include leaders King Abdullah II of Jordan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. However, the summit was canceled.
The White House released a statement on Tuesday afternoon, stating, "After consulting 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 travel to Jordan and the planned meeting with these two leaders and President Sisi of Egypt."
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