Tel Aviv - Ma'an - Some 2,000 demonstrators gathered outside Israel's Ministry of Defense late Monday to protest the military's violent raid on an aid flotilla that attempted to break the country's years-long siege on the Gaza Strip.
Approximately 100 Tel Aviv and border police officers were present and one left-wing activist, Matan Cohen, was arrested. A few dozen right-wing Israelis staged a counter-protest, but police generally kept them from interfering with the leftists' demonstration.
Until now, the besieged Gaza Strip has stayed free of the novel coronavirus spreading across the world. As the Gaza Strip has been under a stringent Israeli-led blockade for nearly 13 years, the spread of the coronavirus - officially known as COVID-19 - has become the topic of discussion for many Palestinians, with some joking that the blockade was preventing them from being exposed.But as authorities in the coastal Palestinian enclave gear up to contain any potential outbreak, serious questions have arisen about the risks and implications of such a scenario. But given its already difficult humanitarian situation and high population density, an outbreak in the Gaza Strip could prove to be catastrophic, health officials have warned. "If the virus enters Gaza and spreads, it will get out of hand," Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Majdi Thuhair told Middle East Eye, as he explained that a severe shortage of resources and personnel would make it near impossible
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