Street rallies throughout Middle East celebrate Hamas attack in West Bank

Palestinians throughout the West Bank took to the streets on the evening of Saturday, 7 October, to celebrate Hamas’s major coordinated attack on Israel, which caused the death of at least 500 Israelis as well as dozens taken hostage by the Iran-backed terror group, the media reported.

Video clips of people, including children, waving Palestinian and Hamas flags, dancing and singing in the streets were shared from major Palestinian cities, including Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus and Jenin, Times of Israel reported.

Palestinian press sources indicated on Saturday night that Palestinian Authority security forces had halted a march organized by the terror group Lion's Den in Nablus.

Further footage showed a girl handing out sweets in the Kafr Aqab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, located inside the municipal boundaries of Israel’s capital but outside the security barrier. Earlier in the day, similar scenes took place in Nablus, with members of the Lion’s Den distributing candy in celebration of Hamas' assault, Times of Israel reported.

Scenes of celebration were shared on social media from throughout the Middle East. In Lebanon, bikers rode around Beirut waving Hamas flags.

In the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, people waving Palestinian flags prevented a UNIFIL convoy from advancing south to the border to fulfill its task of preventing the violence from escalating into Lebanon and northern Israel, according to the Abu Ali Telegram channel, Times of Israel reported.

In Iran, hundreds of people rallied in Felestin (Palestine) square in Tehran, while fireworks lit up the night sky.

In Azadi Square, another major plaza in the Iranian capital, a monument was lit up with the colors of the Palestinian flag and the words "We take revenge on criminals".

A major Baghdad mall was lit up with the colors of the Palestinian flag and the words "Al-Aqsa Deluge", the name given by Hamas to its operation. Rallies in support of Hamas also took place in the Iraqi city of Basra, with people driving in their cars and waving flags of local jihadist groups next to Palestinian flags, Times of Israel reported.

Hundreds of demonstrators also gathered in front of the Fatih mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Social media users were quick to point out that the vast majority of those present were Arab refugees, not locals.

Pro-Hamas rallies were also documented in the city of Taizz in southwestern Yemen, a city under the control of Houthi rebels, who are also supported by Iran, Times of Israel reported.