HUNDREDS of protesters set fire to the guard tower at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, amid growing concerns about President Biden’s visit to Israel as brutal conflict continues to grip the Middle East.
The protest came after a Hamas-run hospital in the Gaza Strip was hit by a rocket on Tuesday, resulting in at least 200 deaths.
Avalon.redA Lebanese protestor hurls stones at a burning building just outside the US Embassy[/caption]
AFPThe protest came after a Hamas-run hospital in the Gaza Strip was hit by a rocket, killing almost 200[/caption]
GettyPresident Joe Biden is set to arrive in Tel Aviv today in his most public display of support for Israel since the October 7 attacks[/caption]
More than 100 protesters were near the embassy carrying Palestinean flags, according to Reuters.
The protest was driven by a Hezbollah statement for people around the Arab world to start protests in front of Israeli embassies.
Israel has denied responsibility for the blast at the al-Ahli Hospital and blamed Hamas for the rocket attack that sent hundreds fleeing.
The Israeli military said it had evidence that proves it wasn’t behind the airstrike on Gaza hospital before releasing aerial footage before and after the explosion.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said: “We are running on it because someone is doing a fake on us, on Israel.”
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Biden will “hear from Israel what it needs to defend its people”.
Blinken added that the President will learn how Israel will operate in a way that minimises civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance in Gaza – without providing any benefit to the Hamas terrorist organisation.
Meanwhile, the American military is increasing its firepower in the region, looking to prevent Iran and other Iran-backed groups from getting involved in the conflict.
The US empire of steel includes a network of bases in the Middle East with 2,000 troops, 2,400 Marines, and 13 warships now on alert.
The United States has also told some 2,000 troops to be ready to deploy within 24 hours if notified – instead of the usual 96 hours – and could include units that provide assistance like medical aid if needed, a US official said on Monday.
The United States authorized non-essential personnel and their families to leave their embassy near Beirut on Tuesday, citing the unpredictable security situation in Lebanon due to the Israel-Hamas war.
The State Department also raised its travel advisory for Lebanon from level three, issued in July, to the highest available level four, as it told Americans to avoid the country.
“Do not travel to Lebanon due to the unpredictable security situation related to rocket, missile, and artillery exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah or other armed militant factions,” the State Department said in a statement Tuesday.
Hamas launched a massive assault against Israel on October 7, shooting, stabbing and burning to death more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians.
Reeling from the worst attack in its history, Israel launched a wave of retaliatory air strikes against the Gaza Strip, killing about 3,000 people, mostly civilians.
Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran, has since been involved in a series of tit-for-tat incidents along the south Lebanese border with Israel.
After a blast ripped through a Gaza hospital on Tuesday, killing hundreds, Hezbollah called for a “day of rage.”
Israel and Palestinians have traded blame for the blast, though neither’s claim could be independently verified.
Following Hezbollah’s call, hundreds of demonstrators scuffled Tuesday night with Lebanese security forces outside the US embassy in the Beirut suburb of Awkar, where protesters hurled stones and set a building on fire, according to AFP correspondents.
Hundreds also gathered at the French embassy in Beirut, raising Hezbollah flags and also hurling stones which piled up at the embassy’s main entrance.
Palestinian refugee camps in the southern cities of Sidon and Tyre erupted in anger as Palestinian factions in Lebanon called for mass rallies on Wednesday to condemn the hospital strike.
Since October 7, fire along the Israel-Lebanon border has killed at least 18 people on the Lebanese side — mostly fighters, but also a Reuters journalist and two civilians.
At least three people have been killed on the Israeli side.
France has also urged its citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon, while several Western airlines have suspended flights.
Britain’s foreign office has told its nationals in Lebanon to “consider whether you need to remain and, if not, leave by commercial means while they are still available.”
Canada, Spain, Germany and Australia have also issued travel warnings.
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