October 7 Restaurant in Jordan angers Israel

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - A newly-opened restaurant in Jordan has angered Israel because of its name: October 7 Restaurant.

Israel said the name is a sign of support for the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, which conducted a cross-border attack against Israeli sites on Oct. 7.

The head of Israel’s opposition party, Yair Lapid, said he considered the October 7 name as an "incitement and hatred against Israel."

"We expect the Jordanian government to condemn this publicly and unequivocally," Lapid wrote on X

Israeli Channel 12 said a restaurant was renewed in Al-Karak and chose a name that glorifies the Hamas deadly attack on Israel.

The Israeli Ynet news website said Israeli-Jordanian relations have been increasingly strained after the breakout of the conflict, as bilateral meetings have been suspended.

Jordanian authorities have yet to comment.

Wide rallies have been seen across Jordan against the devastating Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip, with Jordan declaring a withdrawal of its ambassador from Tel Aviv.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 25,900 Palestinians and injuring 64,110. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar