Thousands of individuals converged in Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburb of Dahieh, answering the group’s call for a “day of rage” following the tragic hospital blast in Gaza on Tuesday evening. While U.S. President Joe Biden expressed solidarity with Israel during his visit to the region, demonstrators in Dahieh chanted pro-Hezbollah slogans and decried the U.S. and Israel. Some waved Hezbollah and Palestinian flags, carrying images of the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Hezbollah, an Islamist movement with Iranian backing, wields substantial political influence in Lebanon and possesses a potent military wing, akin to Hamas.
From a platform at the square’s far end, Hashem Safieddine, a senior Hezbollah official, criticized “the arrogance of the Zionists” for attributing blame to Palestinian factions for the hospital blast. He vehemently asserted that Hezbollah was now “thousands of times stronger” and cautioned the U.S., Israel, and “malicious Europeans” to be cautious.
Elsewhere in Beirut, hundreds of young demonstrators gathered near a roadblock leading to the U.S. embassy. Confronted by the Lebanese army and riot police, the protesters were met with tear gas and rubber bullets, resulting in their dispersion onto a neighboring highway.
As the hospital explosion in Gaza drew international attention, President Biden affirmed Israel’s view that the devastating blast at al-Ahli Arab hospital resulted from “an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza” rather than an Israeli airstrike.
This incident, which provoked widespread protests across the Arab world following Hamas’s immediate attribution of blame to Israel, transpired alongside heightened tensions along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. Recent border skirmishes between Hezbollah and Israel, though localized, have escalated. Hezbollah reported another fatality among its ranks on Wednesday, marking the 11th since the outbreak of the conflict.
Videos released by Hezbollah’s Telegram channel depicted guided anti-tank missiles destroying an Israeli tank targeting a group of soldiers, while snipers targeted and destroyed surveillance cameras along the border.
Amid the ongoing clashes, Saudi Arabia urged its citizens to leave Lebanon due to “current events” in the southern region. The U.S. State Department advised its citizens against traveling to Lebanon and urged those already in the country to make arrangements to depart. The French Foreign Ministry also cautioned its citizens against traveling to Lebanon, particularly in areas near the Israeli border, citing security concerns.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese Red Cross retrieved the bodies and remains of four Hezbollah militants killed in the recent conflict. Hezbollah had announced the deaths of five of its fighters on Tuesday. The spokesperson for Hezbollah commented on the condition of anonymity, following regulations.
The situation underscores the volatile dynamics and far-reaching consequences of the conflict in the Middle East, heightening regional tensions and sparking international concerns.
