Hundreds of Lebanese demonstrators waving Palestinian and Hamas flags surrounded the U.S. embassy in Beirut Tuesday night after Hamas falsely accused Israel of hitting a Gaza hospital in an airstrike.
The protesters gathered at the U.S. embassy hours before President Joe Biden was scheduled to arrive in neighboring Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a show of solidarity with Israel as it responds to the devastating Hams terrorist attack on October 7. The demonstration also came after the terrorist group Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, called for “a day of unprecedented anger” at Israel and the U.S.
BREAKING: Protester place Palestine flag at US embassy in Lebanon, reports of tear gas fired at protesters pic.twitter.com/5BO5eoRqS4
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) October 17, 2023
The demonstrators scaled a fence to plant a Palestinian flag at the U.S. embassy and set a building on fire just outside the security gate, forcing U.S. military personnel to use tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, The Daily Mail reported. Hours later, the U.S. State Department authorized a “voluntary, temporary departure” of the family of government personnel and non-emergency personnel from the embassy. The State Department also raised its travel advisory for Lebanon to a “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” citing the “unpredictable security situation” in the country.
“Reconsider travel to Lebanon due to terrorism, civil unrest, armed conflict, crime, kidnapping, and Embassy Beirut’s limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens,” the travel advisory stated.
On Tuesday, legacy media outlets and leftist politicians ran with a story pushed by Palestinian officials claiming that Israel targeted a hospital in the Gaza Strip in an airstrike and killed 500 civilians. However, video footage of the explosion shows the area near the hospital lit up with fire moments after a barrage of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, meaning one of Hamas’ rockets likely malfunctioned and landed on the hospital. Footage of the aftermath of the explosion also shows that the rocket hit the hospital parking lot and caused minimal damage to the surrounding structures.
Israel later confirmed that the explosion at the hospital came from a misfired Hamas rocket. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also revealed an audio recording of Hamas terrorists realizing one of their rockets hit the hospital.
“Islamic Jihad struck a Hospital in Gaza — the IDF did not,” the IDF posted on social media. “Listen to the terrorists as they realize this themselves:”
Islamic Jihad struck a Hospital in Gaza—the IDF did not.
Listen to the terrorists as they realize this themselves: pic.twitter.com/u7WyU8Rxwz
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 18, 2023
Following the explosion in the hospital parking lot, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi canceled a meeting scheduled with Biden for later this week. The meeting was canceled as Biden was leaving the U.S. on his trip to Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Abbas in Jordan for a second time on Tuesday after the two met last Friday to discuss Hamas’ attack on Israel.
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During the meeting last week, Blinken “thanked President Abbas and his team for their work to further calm the situation for the benefit of Palestinians, Israelis, and the tens of thousands of Americans who also call the West Bank home,” according to the State Department, which added, “Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to cooperation with the Palestinian leadership and people on efforts to ensure security for all.”
Ryan Saavedra contributed to this report.