Furious protesters set fire to US Embassy in Lebanon as rage grips Middle East after 500 die in Gaza hospital blast
HUNDREDS of protesters set fire to a guard tower at the US Embassy in Beirut 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 huge explosion on Tuesday, feared to have killed over 500.
More than 100 protesters were surrounding the US embassy carrying Palestinian flags, according to Reuters.
It was driven by a Hezbollah call for people around the Arab world to start protests at Israeli embassies, in what they called a “day of rage”.
Following Hezbollah’s call, hundreds of demonstrators scuffled with Lebanese security forces outside the US embassy in the Beirut suburb of Awkar, where protesters hurled stones and set a building on fire.
Protesters also threw rocks and Molotov cocktails, setting the guard tower ablaze.
Tear gas was deployed near the embassy, reported .
Distressing footage has also shown a group of protestors that attempted to storm the Israeli embassy in Jordan last night.
But cops fired teargas into the crowd to disperse the protestors while barricading the route to the embassy.
It came hours after an explosion at the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza is said to have killed at least 500 people including child patients.
Doctors were pictured cradling dead babies amid the rubble of what Hamas claimed was an Israeli air strike.
Israel has denied responsibility for the deadly attack and pinned the blame on a failed rocket launch by Palestinian terrorists.
The Israeli military insists it has evidence proving it was not behind the explosion in Gaza City, and released aerial footage before and after.
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.”
The army said intelligence reports reveal an Islamic Jihad rocket misfired and hit the hospital.
But a spokesman for Islamic Jihad – a group that claims to be fighting Israel alongside Hamas – said this is “completely incorrect” and accused the IDF of “trying to cover for the horrifying crime and massacre they committed”.
Following the devastating hospital blast, hundreds also gathered at the French embassy in Beirut, raising Hezbollah flags and hurling stones that piled up at the embassy’s main entrance.
It comes as US President Joe Biden flew into Tel Aviv today in his most forceful public display of support for Israel since Hamas unleashed its bloodbath in southern Israel on October 7.
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 has been increasing its firepower in the region, looking to prevent Iran and other Iran-backed groups from becoming 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.
It comes as several other world leaders are primed to head to Israel – including UK PM Rishi Sunak who could visit on Thursday as part of a wider tour of the region, which could include stops in Egypt and Jordan.
The United States authorised 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 bloody massacre in Israel on October 7 where terrorists shot, stabbed, and burned 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.
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.
