France advised its citizens on Wednesday not to travel to Lebanon, citing "security tensions," as protesters across the region expressed their outrage over the bombing of the Baptist Hospital, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians in the deadliest incident in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas. The bloodshed has ignited fury in a region already in crisis since Hamas, which controls Gaza, launched a surprise attack across the border on residential areas in southern Israel on October 7, an attack that killed 1,400 and resulted in dozens being taken hostage.
Protesters in Tunisia burned Israeli and U.S. flags and demanded the expulsion of the American and French ambassadors due to what they described as their unconditional support for Israel. Protester Inas Al-Aswad stated, "They (the Palestinians) have no food or water, and they are being bombed. This is genocide, not war. These are war crimes... We need to find a solution." Student Nadia Suwaylim went further by saying, "The death of hundreds of innocents proves that we have no choice but resistance. It's either them or us."
The death toll from the hospital bombing is currently the highest in a single incident in Gaza during the ongoing wave of violence, which sparked protests on Tuesday evening and Wednesday in the West Bank and the region, including Jordan, Iran, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Turkey. Riot police in Amman confronted thousands of Jordanian protesters who intended to stage a march in front of the heavily fortified Israeli embassy. Protesters in the Rabiah area of the Jordanian capital chanted after noon prayers, "No Zionist embassy on Arab land."
Chants supportive of Hamas echoed among the protesters, including "Revenge... Revenge... Oh Hamas, strike Tel Aviv." A video broadcast by the Lebanese channel Al-Jadeed showed security forces in Lebanon firing tear gas and water cannons at protesters, who responded by throwing projectiles at the security forces after violence erupted during a protest near the American embassy in northern Beirut.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the southern Beirut suburb controlled by the Lebanese group Hezbollah, waving Hezbollah, Palestinian, and Lebanese flags, chanting "Death to America." Senior Hezbollah official Hicham Safi Al-Din stated during the march, "This entity (Israel), as we well know, is fundamentally based on massacres."
The French Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that it advises its citizens against traveling to Lebanon unless absolutely necessary, given "the security tensions in the region," particularly along Lebanon's southern border with Israel. This French action comes amid growing security concerns across much of Europe due to the Israel-Hamas conflict and attacks from other militant groups such as ISIS. France reports that 24 of its nationals have died among the 1,400 fatalities from the Hamas attack.
Security alerts were issued for eight French airports on Wednesday, and several others were evacuated for inspection and screening. The Palace of Versailles was closed again due to a third security warning in five days. Security alert levels in France are at their highest following the killing of a teacher on October 13 in what is suspected to be a militant attack.
The public prosecutor's office in Milan stated that Italy arrested an Egyptian citizen and an Italian of Egyptian descent on Tuesday, suspected of committing terrorist crimes and being members of ISIS. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi reported that Rome has also intensified monitoring, particularly in crowded areas, and increased protection levels at locations that may be targets for attacks amid the war between Hamas and Israel.
