Demonstrations, rallies and vigils have been staged around the world after Hamas militants launched a series of brutal attacks on Israel over the weekend, moving the long-running conflict into uncharted and dangerous new territory.
The death toll has climbed in the days since, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) saying at least 1,200 have died in the country, while Israeli authorities believe up to 150 civilians have been seized and taken over the border to Gaza. Israel’s subsequent retaliation on the Palestinian militant movement that controls the Gaza Strip has been ferocious.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Iraq on Friday. Imams leading prayers in Lebanon denounced the state of Israel. And in the island nation of Bahrain, videos shared by activists showed protesters walking on Israeli and American flags.
“They were subjected to various types of injustice, and now they are being subjected to starvation, siege and killing,” said Ali Hassan, 60, who participated in demonstrations in Bahrain on Friday. “Every free person, every Muslim human being, and every honorable person stands with the Palestinians and with Gaza.”
As two million Palestinians hunkered down in fear in Gaza with water and electricity cut off and nowhere to flee — the Israeli military demanded on Friday that more than a million of them evacuate to the south of the blockaded territory.
