The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has strongly condemned Zionist Israel’s attacks and aggression on Lebanon carried out on September 17, 18, 23 and 24. The September 17 and 18 attacks killed more than 20 individuals, mostly civilians, including children, and injuring more than 2,800 people. The attacks involved booby-trapping thousands of pagers and walkie-talkie devices by embedding them with explosive material and remotely detonating them simultaneously.
On September 23 and 24, Zionist Israel bombed southern and other areas of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon killing 558 people, including 50 children, and more than 1,835 injured. At least 110,000 civilians were forced to evacuate. Israel targeted residential buildings and civilian communities. Even the vehicles helping injured civilians were bombed.
In a statement, the CPP said “These attacks are brazen violations of international humanitarian law, which prohibits indiscriminate attacks that do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The Zionist leaders of Israel must be held accountable and punished for their war crimes.” These attacks, the CPP explained, aim to punish the people of Lebanon and their anti-Zionist and anti-imperialist resistance forces for supporting the struggle of the Palestinian people for liberation and self-determination.
“These form part of the US-sanctioned Zionist plan to spread the war in the Middle East after almost one year of constant aerial bombing and shelling of Gaza, which has killed more than 40,000 people, including more than 10,600 children,” the CPP added.
With full US support, Israel has repeatedly provoked Iran, Syria and Yemen all of whom opposed the genocide against the Palestinian peoplpe. Israel also recently attacked Yemen with a wave of missile strikes against more than 400 targets across Southern Lebanon.
The CPP extended its solidarity with the people of Lebanon and stressed that it supports their just resistance against Zionist Israel’s continuing aggression and attacks. “The people of Lebanon and their resistance forces have every right to retaliate, fight back and defend their land,” the CPP stressed.
“The Party joins the broad democratic forces around the world in condemning the US imperialists for funding and arming the genocidal war of Zionist Israel against the Palestinian people, for supporting its strikes against Lebanon and for its plan to spread the war across the Middle East. The US strategy has always been to use Israel to exercise control over the vast oil and mineral resources of the region,” the CPP emphasized.
Immediately on September 24 after the attack on Beirut, thousands marched in New York in the US to once again call on the US government to withdraw its military support to the Zionist regime of Israel. The rallyists carried placards that read “Hands off Lebanon now!” and “No to US-Israel War on Lebanon.” The ANSWER Coalition group or Act Now to Stop War and End Racism led the action.
They condemned US president Joseph Biden, his vice president Kamala Harris, and her presidential election rival Donald Trump, for their continued support of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its aggression in Lebanon. They also denounced fascist Zionist Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US last September 26. Similar protests were held in San Francisco, Seattle, San Antonio and Phoenix. In Chicago, the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine led the protests. There were also protests in support of the people of Lebanon and Palestine in Tunisia and Morocco.
The world community led by the United Nations and countries in the Middle East – Iran, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Turkey, some European countries, Russia and Asia, including China, and Latin America’s largest countries, condemned Israel’s brazen bombing of southern and other areas of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on September 23-24.