Several regions of Lebanon hold general strike to 'denounce Gaza massacres'

A relative mobilization is taking place Monday in several regions of Lebanon, where a general strike is being observed on the occasion of a 'day of anger' launched from the Gaza Strip by Palestinian factions.

This strike is notably being followed in Sidon, Sour (in south Lebanon), and in the Palestinian camps in the region, where classes have been suspended in several schools, while many businesses and official or private institutions have closed their doors, according to our correspondent in south Lebanon.

In Sidon, the souks were deserted Monday morning and the shutters were down over the shop fronts.

Sit-ins in Bekaa, Sidon, and Tripoli

The staff of the Bekaa government hospital, among others, staged a sit-in and 'condemned the massacres committed against innocents and the shameful silence of the international community.

Also, in Bekaa women from Baalbeck and the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Jalil held a sit-in at the southern entrance of the city, reported the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

In Sidon, employees of Rahi Hospital, some wearing kuffiyehs and waving the Palestinian flag, also protested 'the genocide' against the Palestinian people,' as well as the 'ongoing aggressions against Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.'

A demonstration was organized in front of the municipal Serail in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, attended by Mayor Riad Yamak and representatives of Palestinian factions.

Other demonstrations took place later in the day, in Sidon the march began at 5 p.m., starting at the Elia roundabout to the Place de l'Etoile in the city center. The protest was organized by several unions of the Nasserite Popular Organization.

The march brought together participants from the Palestinian refugee camps in Sidon and Sour, reported our correspondent in the south Lebanon. Families joined the march to express their anger, fathers carrying their children and wearing kuffiyehs, while women were dressed in traditional Palestinian dresses. Flags and portraits of martyrs in hand, the protesters chanted slogans such as 'we sacrifice for you, Palestine' and 'death to Israel and America,' calling for an end to the massacres in Gaza.

A similar march brought together several hundred people at 5 p.m. in Ain al-Mreisseh. Yasmine el-Islamiye, a resident of Beirut, came with her three children to demonstrate for the first time since October 7.

'Because they are going crazy. To show that in Lebanon, public opinion is against what is happening in Gaza, where they want to forcibly move two million inhabitants,' she told our on-site journalist, Emmanuel Haddad. Ziad el-Saheb, a member of the Higher Islamic Council of Dar al-Fatwa, denounced the crimes committed by Israel in Gaza as well as its Western supporters: 'Where are the human rights, of women, of children, while thousands are killed in silence?' he asked.

Another sit-in is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m., in front of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) headquarters. This gathering was organized by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Lebanon.

The Islamic charitable association of the Makassed in Lebanon had previously published a statement calling to denounce the 'genocidal war' waged by Israel against the Palestinians in Gaza. 'The savage massacres and crimes against humanity targeting children, women, and rescue teams'.

1,300 people have been killed since the Israeli army resumed its offensive against the enclave on March 18.

Pedagogical time on international conventions

In northern Lebanon, the order of doctors has called for a solidarity sit-in at 4 p.m., in front of the organization's headquarters.

Meanwhile, the minister of education, Rima Karameh, has invited public and private schools to dedicate time during the day to raise students' awareness of 'international conventions that prohibit the killing of civilians and children in wartime.'

The Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip has caused the deaths of at least 50,695 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including more than 15,000 children, according to figures from the Hamas Health Ministry. This toll does not include the approximately 11,200 missing whose bodies are likely buried under the rubble.