Protesters Near US Embassy in Beirut Sprayed with Water Cannon, Teargas

Protesters take cover from teargas fired by riot police during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, near the US embassy in Aukar, a northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (AP)
Protesters take cover from teargas fired by riot police during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, near the US embassy in Aukar, a northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (AP)
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Protesters Near US Embassy in Beirut Sprayed with Water Cannon, Teargas

Protesters take cover from teargas fired by riot police during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, near the US embassy in Aukar, a northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (AP)
Protesters take cover from teargas fired by riot police during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, near the US embassy in Aukar, a northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (AP)

Lebanese security forces used teargas and water cannon to repel scores of protesters demonstrating on Wednesday near the US embassy in Beirut against what they said was Israel's attack on a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of Palestinians.

The United States has been targeted for criticism across the region for pledging ironclad support for Israel in its war in Gaza after Palestinian group Hamas carried out a deadly cross-border attack into Israel on Oct. 7.

Demonstrators, who blame Israel for Tuesday's blast at the Gaza hospital although Israeli officials say it was a misfired rocket from a Palestinian group, were prevented from reaching the embassy's boundary by barricades blocking roads hundreds of meters (yards) from the mission in a north Beirut suburb.

Some protesters waved Palestinian flags while others hurled stones at the security forces, who pushed them back with water cannon and volleys of teargas. Television footage from the scene showed flames licking up from a building near the barricades.

Elsewhere in Beirut, thousands of protesters gathered in south Beirut at a demonstration called by Iran-backed Hezbollah, which fought a war with Israel in 2006. Hezbollah officials denounced Israel and the United States for the hospital blast.



5 Israeli Soldiers Killed Overnight in Northern Gaza

FILE PHOTO: Israeli military vehicles stand near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Israeli military vehicles stand near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
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5 Israeli Soldiers Killed Overnight in Northern Gaza

FILE PHOTO: Israeli military vehicles stand near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Israeli military vehicles stand near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

Five Israeli soldiers were killed overnight in northern Gaza, the Israeli military said Tuesday.

The military said two other soldiers were seriously wounded.

Israeli media said the infantry soldiers were on patrol when explosive devices were detonated against them. Media said militants also opened fire on the reinforcements sent to evacuate the dead and wounded.

The deaths came roughly two weeks after Israel reported once of its deadliest days in months in Gaza, when seven soldiers were killed when a Palestinian attacker attached a bomb to their armored vehicle.