Thousands of people around the world showed their support for the Palestinians in the midst of the protests some of the worst fights between Israelis and Palestinians since the 2014 Gaza war, with protesters from Canada in Japan waving flags and singing “Free Palestine” on Saturday.
Protests occur as tension and violence in the region grow, at least 145 Palestinians and 10 Israelis killed, including children.
The violence began when Israeli security forces attacked the Al-Aqsa mosque during Ramadan last week, injuring dozens of worshipers and causing Hamas to retaliate with rockets. Israeli police too violently repressed the protesters protesting against the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah’s neighborhood.
Videos were also shown Defense system of the Iron Dome of Israel illuminating the night sky while intercepting a rain of rockets.
On Saturday, an Israeli air strike hit a refugee camp in Gaza, killing eight children and two women. Hours later, further airstrikes destroyed a 12-story residential building in Gaza that housed international news organizations, including the Associated Press and Al Jazeera, in a move widely condemned as a threat to the region’s free press.
The Israeli military said the strike in the building, which came so quickly that journalists had to leave the team, was necessary because it contained “Hamas military intelligence assets.“The Associated Press, however, dit there was “no indication that Hamas was in the building or active in the building.”
“This is something we are actively checking to the best of our ability,” a news organization statement said. “We would never put our knowledgeable journalists at risk.”
President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday. expressing “serious concern” on the situation but without directly mentioning the Israeli airstrikes, according to a reading of the call.
The latest round of violence has caused people from all over the world to gather in solidarity, and some protesters to face police violence.
