Businesses in Tripoli were shut while school children gathered in the city centre Thursday as protests continued across Libya against the Israeli ground, air and sea attacks on Gaza, which have left over 700 dead and thousands injured. Libyans have been staging daily demonstrations across the country since the attacks started with an air bombardment 13 days ago, an action which Israel said was aimed at stopping Hamas from firing rockets into the southern part of the Jewish state. The school children brandished pictures of children with disfigured faces, as they were being ferried out of the rubble of collapsed buildings. The pupils also issued a statement condemning the ‘impotence’ of the official Arab governments and asking those who have diplomatic relations with Israel to break them off. They also called for the opening of the Gaza border posts, slammed shut by Israel, and for the continuation of the aid being ferried to Gaza by the Libyan government through the Egyptian region of Al-Arrich since the attacks started 27 December.
