Muslims protest around world to demand end to Israel's Gaza campaign
Israel's bombardment of Gaza after nearly two weeks of intense air and artillery strikes that authorities there say have killed 4,100 people.
Israel is gearing up for a ground war in the tiny, crowded Palestinian enclave aimed at eradicating Hamas, the militant Islamist group that rampaged into Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people and seizing hostages.
While some Western governments have voiced support for Israel's military campaign, many Muslim states have called for an immediate ceasefire, with many of their people angry at conditions in Gaza and expressing solidarity with Palestinians.
Protests suddenly erupted across much of the region late on Tuesday after Gaza authorities said hundreds of people had been killed in a blast at a hospital. Hamas said an Israeli airstrike was responsible.
Israel blamed a failed rocket launch by a Palestinian group.
In Jordan, which made peace with Israel in 1994, but where much of the population has Palestinian heritage, more than 6,000 protesters marched in the centre of the capital while thousands more rallied near the Israeli embassy.
Protesters voiced support for Hamas, urging it to attack Israel with rocket strikes and suicide bombings, and addressing the Palestinian group with the chant: «We are your army.»
Thousands of demonstrators also gathered in each of Turkey and Egypt, two other countries that have long had full diplomatic relations with Israel, demanding an end to the bombing.
