Shortly after thousands of demonstrators with pro-Palestinian sentiments converged on the US embassy in Lebanon and set parts of it on fire, security forces used gas and smoke to disperse the crowd.
These protests in the Middle East were triggered by a devastating explosion at a hospital in Gaza, which Hamas claims resulted in the deaths of at least 500 people, causing widespread outrage.
Hezbollah, a group backed by Iran and known for its 2006 conflict with Israel, called for a day of protest in Beirut in response to the hospital attack. Thousands of Lebanese protesters, some of whom were waving Palestinian flags, gathered outside the US embassy late into the night to express their anger at the incident.
Video footage captured a protester climbing a fence topped with barbed wire to replace the US flag with a Palestinian flag, while another fire broke out near the embassy complex. Subsequently, the security forces used gas to disperse the demonstrators.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the State Department for a statement regarding the situation. It remains uncertain if any of the protesters breached the embassy’s perimeter fence or if any embassy staff were harmed. Additionally, it’s unclear if the demonstrators are targeting the old embassy in Lebanon or the new one, construction of which commenced in April 2017. The latter is a 43-acre compound that has been a subject of controversy in the country, initially described as a $1 billion project.
Dorothy Shea, the United States’ Ambassador to Lebanon, had previously served as the political officer at the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, where she had been involved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. She was appointed to her current role in 2020 by then-President Donald Trump.
The embassy, now under siege following the Gaza hospital explosion, is a focal point of contention. Israel’s military has denied responsibility for the incident, suggesting that the hospital was hit by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad military group in the enclave.
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Islamic Jihad, however, has denied any involvement in the hospital explosion. In condemning what it perceived as an Israeli strike, Hezbollah stated, “The attack reveals the true criminal face of this entity and its sponsor … the United States, which bears direct and complete responsibility for this massacre.”
Videos from the scene at the hospital depicted a raging fire consuming the building and the surrounding area filled with casualties, including many young children. Reports indicated that approximately 6,000 Palestinians had sought shelter at the hospital, which is said to be funded by the Anglican Church. Hamas characterized the event as a “horrific massacre” and a “crime of genocide.”
