Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Protesters in US, South Korea, Iraq and Indonesia Demonstrate Over Israeli Airstrikes
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 9 months ago on
October 20, 2023

Share

Protesters gathered at Iraq’s border crossing with Jordan on Friday to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and call for an end to Israel’s blockade, while in Indonesia’s capital, demonstrators marched from several mosques to the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy in Jakarta to denounce American support for Israel and demand an end to Israeli airstrikes.

Authorities estimated that about 1,000 people participated in the rallies across Jakarta following Friday prayers in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

A smaller protest was also held at the San Francisco Federal Building where demonstrators chained themselves to the doors.

A brutal incursion into southern Israel by Hamas fighters on Oct. 7 provoked Israel to declare war against the militant group that rules Gaza. The Israeli siege of the Palestinian territory and airstrikes on it were the focus earlier this week of demonstrations at Egyptian universities, inside a congressional office building in Washington, outside the Israeli Embassy in Bogota and near the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

Nearly two weeks after the Hamas attack in Israel, such protests continued as Israel prepared for an expected ground invasion of Gaza.

The Gaza Health Ministry has said more than 4,000 people have been killed and over 13,000 have been wounded in Gaza since the war began, most of them women, children and older adults. More than 1,000 people were believed buried under rubble, authorities said.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians slain during Hamas’ deadly incursion. Roughly 200 others were abducted. The Israeli military said Thursday it had notified the families of 203 captives.

IRAQ

Hundreds of Iraqi protesters gathered at the western Trebil border crossing near Jordan in a demonstration organized by the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Iran-backed Shia political groups and militias in Iraq.

The pro-Iran coalition also called for a protest in Baghdad near the main gate of the highly fortified international zone, where the U.S. Embassy is located, to condemn its endorsement of Israel in the ongoing war with Hamas.

Their rival, Iraq’s firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the most influential in the country, issued a call Thursday for Arab nations bordering Israel, notably Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Jordan, to engage in what he called peaceful demonstrations at their borders.

The protesters waved Palestinian flags and chanted “No to Israel” before praying in the presence of religious clerics.

In recent days, Iran-backed militias attacked United States military bases in Iraq. Iran has warned that an Israeli ground incursion into Gaza could spark an escalation from allied armed groups and a possible regional war.

INDONESIA

Protesters who marched to the U.S. Embassy halted traffic along the way as they chanted “God is great,” and “Save Palestinians.”

Waving Indonesian and Palestinian flags and signs reading “We are proud to support Palestine,” more than 100 noisy demonstrators gathered along a major street in Jakarta that runs outside the embassy.

Some protesters burned portraits of U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

About 1,000 police were deployed around the embassy, the nearby presidential palace and the U.N. mission.

Indonesia does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, and there is no Israeli embassy in the country. It has long been a strong supporter of the Palestinians.

President Joko Widodo strongly condemned a Tuesday night explosion at a Gaza City hospital filled with wounded Palestinians and residents seeking shelter. Widodo described it as an attack that violated international humanitarian law, although the cause of the blast at al-Ahli Hospital has not been determined.

U.S. assessments said the explosion was not caused by an Israeli airstrike, as the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza initially reported. Israel has presented video, audio and other evidence it says proves the blast was caused by a rocket misfired by Palestinian militants, who denied responsibility.

The AP has not independently verified any of the claims or evidence released by the parties.

“Now is the time for the world to stand together to build global solidarity to resolve the Palestinian issue fairly,” Widodo said in a televised statement from Saudi Arabia, where he was attending the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council summit.

SOUTH KOREA

In South Korea’s capital, dozens of protesters chanted slogans, waved Palestinian flags and raised anti-Israel banners.

“Free, Free Palestinians!” the protesters shouted, while holding banners that read “We stand with Gaza” and “Stop the massacre by Israel!”

“Please care about human lives. That’s all I am thinking about,” said Elshafei Mohamed, an Egyptian student in Seoul. “If we want to really help, we need to supply Gaza with humanitarian aid at once.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

DON'T MISS

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

DON'T MISS

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

DON'T MISS

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

DON'T MISS

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

DON'T MISS

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

DON'T MISS

Stay Cool, Fresno!

UP NEXT

Uvalde, Texas, School Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Failing to Protect Kids During Attack

UP NEXT

95 Libyan Nationals Arrested in South Africa at Suspected Secret Military Training Camp

UP NEXT

Arson Attacks Cause Travel Chaos Before Start of Olympics in Paris, Thwarting Athletes’ Travel

UP NEXT

Mexican Drug Kingpin Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada in US Custody

UP NEXT

Harris Tells Netanyahu ‘It Is Time’ to Get Hostage Deal Done and End Gaza War

UP NEXT

Biden and Netanyahu Meet With a Show of Amiable Relations Despite Tensions

UP NEXT

Palestinian Olympic Team Greeted With Cheers and Gifts in Paris

UP NEXT

Netanyahu: A Small Man in a Big Time?

UP NEXT

FACT FOCUS: A Look at Netanyahu’s Claims About Israel, Hamas and Iran During His Speech to Congress

UP NEXT

Netanyahu Defends War in Gaza and Denounces Protesters In Fiery Speech to Congress

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

8 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

9 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

10 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

10 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

10 hours ago

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

10 hours ago

Stay Cool, Fresno!

11 hours ago

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

11 hours ago

Tanker Plane Crash Kills Firefighting Pilot in Oregon as Western Wildfires Spread

11 hours ago

Will Bonta Election Lawsuit Reverse the Will of Fresno County Voters?

11 hours ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

The arch of colorful balloons over the doorway of a storefront on Shaw Avenue in Clovis was a clue that something exciting was happening on ...

7 hours ago

7 hours ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

8 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

8 hours ago

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

8 hours ago

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

9 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

10 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

10 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

10 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend