Protesters gather outside the Emirati embassy in Beirut on Monday, Aug. 8, 2022. (L'Orient Today/Richard Salame)
BEIRUT — Several dozen protesters gathered outside the Egyptian and Emirati embassies in Beirut on Monday to demonstrate in solidarity with Gaza, which in the past several days has suffered the most serious bombardment in more than a year by Israeli forces.
Here’s what we know:
• The protesters chanted in support of Palestine and against Israel and Arab states that have normalized relations with Israel. “The Emirates is Zionist, it is not an Arab state,” they shouted on Monday afternoon in front of a heavily guarded Emirati embassy, under the watchful eyes of uniformed and plain-clothed security forces.
• The protesters directed their ire at Emirati leader Bin Zayed and Egyptian leader Sisi in particular, labeling them both “agents.”
• Egypt mediated a ceasefire on Sunday that has brought a temporary halt to the Israeli assault on the occupied Gaza Strip. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 44 Palestinians — nearly half of them civilians, including children — had so far been killed, with more than 360 wounded.