A world split by Middle East massacre: Western nations show support for Israel – while others desecrate its flag and applaud onslaught in solidarity with Hamas
The world has once again been torn apart by a bloody and brutal conflict, this time in the Middle East, as Palestine and Israel have been embroiled in a war that has claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians in just one weekend.
Nations around the world are watching the violence in the region and appear to have already chosen sides in the conflict, which has so far been the region’s bloodiest weekend in 50 years.
Local media reports that the death toll in Israel has exceeded 600, while Gaza has so far reported at least 370 deaths at press time.
The attack began on Saturday morning after Hamas fighters entered Israel on motorized paragliders in a lightning offensive as thousands of rockets rained across the country’s south.
Footage showed teams of Palestinians on suicide missions flying over the border in planes, spreading fear and chaos among huddled families before landing and opening fire on Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Western countries, including the US, Germany and the UK, have shown signs of solidarity with Israel, while much of the Arab world has stood behind Palestine.
In Berlin, Germany, hundreds of supporters gathered near the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of the city on Sunday, many waving Israeli flags in solidarity.
US and Israeli flags have been burning around the world in recent hours
The US has stood in solidarity with Israel, as one of its oldest and staunchest allies
But few in the Arab world agree with the Western stance of solidarity with Israel
Hundreds of Germans stood in support of Israel at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany (photo)
The wall was also lit up with the Israeli flag at night, shortly after news of the Hamas attack broke.
The gate, once used as a prominent symbol for the Nazi party, now represents freedom in the eyes of Berliners and has played host to several world leaders, including four US presidents.
Elsewhere in Berlin, the government flew the Israeli flag alongside its own flag, as well as the flag of the European Union, near the Reichstag building, the heart of the country’s federal government.
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz said in a statement earlier today: “We are deeply shocked by the rockets from Gaza and the escalating violence. Germany condemns these attacks and stands by Israel.’
Elsewhere in Europe, the European Commission building was lit up with the Israeli flag overnight, while in the UK, Home Secretary Suella Braverman warned that the ‘full force of the law’ would be used against Hamas supporters and people ‘intimidating’ British Jews. . .
The US also showed signs of solidarity with Israel, one of its oldest and staunchest allies.
The Moynihan Train Hall in New York was lit up last night in the colors of the Israeli flag
The Brandenburg Gate was illuminated with the Israeli flag at night
Activists in Pakistan burned the flag of Israel and the US in a bold statement against both countries
Young boys were seen in two flags
In Yemen, anti-US sentiments flared and several red, white and blue flags were lit
Protesters were also seen tearing up Israeli and American flags
Flags were then set on fire by angry protesters
The governor of New York ordered several landmarks in New York City, including the Empire State Building and Moynihan Train Hall, to be lit up in blue and the colors of the Israeli flag.
“There is no justification for terrorism. We stand in solidarity with the government and people of Israel and express our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement released by the State Department.
But many around the world have condemned Israel for its treatment of Palestine over the past decades, and the US for its continued support of the state.
In Pakistan, supporters of Palestine were seen cheering at a demonstration as protesters burned US and Israeli flags.
Several young men were also seen standing on top of the flag before it was set on fire, waving their Palestinian flags.
A man in Beirut was seen holding a placard that read: ‘Your identity will disappear. Your fortifications are made of cardboard. Your army is humiliated and defeated’
In Yemen, Houthi rebels who control the capital voiced their support for the ‘heroic jihadist operation’
Meanwhile, Yemeni supporters of Palestine were seen tearing up US and Israeli flags in a large protest in Sana’a, the country’s capital.
Jalil Abbas Jilani, Pakistan’s foreign minister, said in a post on X, sometime on Twitter: “Pakistan is deeply concerned by the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East and the loss of innocent lives.
“We stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and call for an immediate end to the violence and oppression by the Israeli occupation forces.”
In Yemen, Houthi rebels who control the capital voiced their support for the ‘heroic jihadist operation’.
In a statement published on the website of the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency, the Iran-linked militant group said the attack “revealed the weakness, fragility and impotence” of Israel.
Iraq also stood by Palestine, as some people were seen burning Israeli and US flags in Baghdad
The Iraqi government expressed its support for Gaza and the Palestinian people
Several other pro-Palestinian protests were seen in Muslim-majority countries, including Turkey and Iran.
Palestine supporters were seen waving flags in Tehran
Neighboring Lebanon has shown its support for Hamas, the force behind Saturday’s deadly attack, with hundreds of its citizens in Beirut taking to the streets in solidarity marches.
A man was seen holding a placard that read: ‘Your identity will disappear. Your fortifications are made of cardboard. Your army is humiliated and defeated’
The Israeli military responded to Hezbollah mortars fired from Lebanon with its own rocket and mortar attacks from the north of the country.
Iraq also stood by Palestine, as some people were seen burning Israeli and American flags in Baghdad, the country’s capital.
The Iraqi government expressed its support for Gaza and the Palestinian people and called the rocket attack on Israel a ‘natural result of systematic oppression… at the hands of the Zionist occupation authority.’
Palestinian solidarity marches were also held in Tehran, Iran, and Istanbul, Turkey, overnight, as citizens of both Muslim-majority countries lit flags and waved flags in support of Palestine.
Flames were lit in support of Palestine overnight across Tehran
Hamas fighters fired around 2,500 rockets into Israel from 7am UK time. As rain fell on major cities, even as far as Tel Aviv, nearly 50 miles away, fighters used explosives to breach the border fence.
Israel has begun retaliating, striking Gaza and leveling residential buildings in massive explosions, including a 14-story tower block that was home to dozens of families.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned today that Israel faces a ‘long and difficult war’ with Palestine, telling reporters after a meeting of the country’s security cabinet early Sunday that it had now begun its ‘offensive phase’.
Netanyahu, 73, claimed that Israel has already destroyed “the vast majority of enemy forces that penetrated our territory”.
Israel’s ambassador to the UK has said the country’s reality has ‘become a nightmare’ and said his army must protect its people.
Tzipi Hotovely told BBC Breakfast: “Israel is in a war that Hamas started yesterday. Calculated. Planned. Targeting Israelis, targeting civilians, targeting innocent children.
“We saw Prime Minister Sunak, we saw President Biden yesterday, they are supporting Israel’s right to self-defense, because we are in a reality that has turned into a nightmare.
“There is nothing else we can do… we have to protect our people.
“This is a necessary war. (Israel) did not expect this to happen (but) we have to make sure that the infrastructure of terrorism is 100 percent destroyed.’
(tagsTranslate) daily mail(s) news(s) Palestine(s) Berlin(s) Germany(s) Israel