Beirut, Lebanon – Hundreds of demonstrators chanted and waved flags in front of the French embassy in Beirut on Tuesday, denouncing Western support for ongoing Israeli military bombardments on Gaza.
“How do foreign governments behave towards Israel? said Hassan Badr, 60, who lives in the Burj el-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. “They are killing children in front of the whole world. They should support the Palestinians, not Israel. »
More than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, amid a bombing campaign that United Nations experts say has resulted in crimes against humanity.
In the Arab world, media and social networks have broadcast horrific images of death and destruction, including photos of dead children. The non-governmental organization Save the Children estimates that 3,324 people have been killed since the bombing began.
Tuesday’s crowd, significantly smaller than a similar demonstration Sunday in downtown Beirut, included Palestinian and Lebanese demonstrators who expressed frustration with the international community’s support for Israel.
“The French people stand with the Palestinian people and protest with us,” said Youssef, a member of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, who asked to be mentioned only by his first name. “But the French president is 100% with Israel. »
Many demonstrators carried flags of Lebanese or Palestinian parties and factions, although some said they were not aligned with a particular ideology.
“We are here to raise our voice to the rest of the world,” Samar al-Ashi, 36, told Al Jazeera. “Everyone is with us.”
The protest is just the latest to erupt in Lebanon, which has seen demonstrations in most major cities as well as outside the U.S. and German embassies.
One of the rallying cries is for Israel to announce a ceasefire. But on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected international pressure to suspend hostilities, despite the growing number of civilian deaths in Gaza.
“It is time for war,” he declared in a televised speech.
Meanwhile, in southern Lebanon, fighting continued along the border region, as Israel exchanged fire with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, as well as Palestinian groups based in the area.
Israeli air raids hit a house in the village of Alma Shaab, in the south of the country, on Monday, according to the Lebanese daily L’Orient Today. And Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters, its 49th victim since October 7.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is due to give a televised speech on Friday, his first speech since the start of hostilities. On October 25, Hezbollah released a handwritten letter signed by Nasrallah, calling for all members killed in the conflict to be called “martyrs on the road to Jerusalem.”
Many in Lebanon hope the conflict will not spread beyond the southern border region. Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati told Sky News Arabia on Monday that he demanded an end to “Israeli provocations” that could escalate into a regional war.
“The Lebanese people do not want war,” Mikati said. However, he added that he had “coordinated with international organizations to put in place a (contingency) plan in case war breaks out.”
The last time hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalated into a broader confrontation was in 2006.
A Lebanese minister, speaking anonymously, told Al Jazeera that the 2006 conflict gave rise to a popular movement to help those displaced by the fighting. He predicted, however, that no such aid would be offered this time.
Lebanon has been plunged into an economic crisis since 2019, he explained, meaning most residents are unable to offer shelter or aid as they did in 2006.
Back at the French embassy, many demonstrators called for greater international solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
Abu Mohammad, a Beirut resident, said he came to the embassy to support the Palestinian people and oppose Israel’s killing of Gaza children.
“I am not Palestinian, but I live among them and I know what they feel and what they think,” he said. “Their future is there (in Gaza). I hope they can return home. Many of them still have the keys in their hands.”
The protesters hoped that by standing in front of the French embassy, their voices would reach President Emmanuel Macron.
Last Thursday, France voted in favor of a humanitarian truce at the UN General Assembly, although it voted against the failure of a Russian-backed ceasefire proposal at the Council two weeks ago.
He did, however, vote in favor of Security Council resolutions proposed by the United States and Brazil, calling for a “humanitarian pause.” These resolutions were also not adopted.
Macron visited Israel last week and proposed building a coalition to fight Hamas. He also reiterated his government’s call for “a humanitarian truce to protect the population of Gaza.”
But protesters like Badr, 60 from the Burj el-Barajneh refugee camp, still hoped Macron could take a stronger stance in favor of protecting Palestinian rights.
“I am with the French people and the French resistance,” Badr said, recalling the French underground movement that opposed the Nazis and the Vichy government during World War II. “And Macron, he should be with us too!
