Politics
2023-November-18 15:21Iranians Hold Nationwide Rallies in Support of Gaza, Burn Israeli, American Flags

TEHRAN (FNA)- Tens of thousands of Iranians from all walks of life took to the streets in many cities to express their support for the Palestinian people and condemned Israel’s bombing campaign against the besieged Gaza Strip.
Huge crowds of people hit the streets of different Iranian provinces on Saturday to express their outrage at the ongoing Israeli bloodshed in Gaza which has been under relentless Israeli attacks for weeks now.
They waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans against Israel and its western backers, the United States in particular, setting the Israeli and American flags on fire.
The protesters also condemned Israeli massacring of civilians and called for the Zionist regime to be taken to task for its crimes.
Iranian demonstrators have held several rallies since Israel launched its war on the impoverished Palestinian territory nearly one and a half months ago.
In early October, Hamas launched a multi-pronged surprise military operation via land, sea and air against Israel. The group announced it was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians. The attacks have so far killed more than 1,200 and injured over 5,500, according to Israeli officials. Hamas also announced it is holding between at least 200 and 250 hostages.
Following the multi-front attack by Hamas, Israel carried out heavy bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing more than 12,000 Palestinians, including at least 5,000 children and over 3,500 women, and wounding over 30,000 others, and levelling entire neighbourhoods. The bombing, as well as enforced displacement orders by the Israeli Army, has also pushed 1.6 million people out of their homes.
Tel Aviv has also imposed a "complete siege" on Gaza, cutting off food, electricity, fuel and water supplies. The move has plunged the blockaded territory into a humanitarian crisis.
The Gaza Health Ministry has confirmed that the healthcare system in the besieged territory has “totally collapsed due to the Israeli war”. Dozens of hospitals and tens of medical centers are out of service due to Israeli raids, according to the enclave's health ministry. The UN agencies have also warned that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is "catastrophic", calling for more international help as conditions deteriorate in the densely populated besieged enclave.
Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on Earth, where some 2 million people live in an area of 140 square miles. It has been almost completely cut off from the rest of the world for nearly 17 years. More than half of its population lives in poverty and is food insecure, with nearly 80% of its population relying on humanitarian assistance.
Tehran says the history of Israel is full of assassinations, massacre, torture and killing of Palestinian kids, and described Tel Aviv regime's atrocities and massacre of Palestinian women and children as indicative of the destitute of Zionists. Iranian officials say Tel Aviv has been struggling for more than 70 years to exit its identity crisis which has been mixed with genocide, plunder, forced displacement and scores of other inhumane moves.