Hundreds rally in Belgium in support of Palestinians

By Selen Valente Rasquinho

BRUSSELS (AA) - Hundreds of people gathered in the Belgian city of Liege on Sunday in a show of solidarity with Palestine.

They held a demonstration in St. Leonard’s Square, carrying Palestinian flags and banners with images of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. They also chanted slogans supporting Palestine and criticizing Israel.

The crowd called for an end to the blockade on Gaza.

In a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions, Israeli forces launched a sustained military push against the Gaza Strip last weekend in response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air.

Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers' growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended to cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening living conditions in an area that has endured a crippling siege since 2007, as well as ordering more than 1 million Gazans in the northern Strip to evacuate to the southern region.

The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza has risen to 2,670, the local Health Ministry said Sunday.

In a statement, the ministry said that 750 children were among the dead. The number of wounded has risen to 9,600, it said.

Meanwhile, Israel’s general death toll so far stands at 1,300, while the number of confirmed injured Israelis exceeds 3,400.