Bahrainis protest in solidarity with Palestinians

MANAMA — Dozens of Bahrainis demonstrated on Thursday in solidarity with Palestinians in a move approved by the authorities of the kingdom, which last year normalised ties with Israel.

"Down, down with Israel... down, down with normalisation," some protesters cried, many waving Palestinian flags.

Israeli air strikes continued on Thursday to hit the Gaza Strip, while rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel.

"Stop the aggression on Gaza," signs held by protesters in the capital Manama read.

Last year, shortly after the United Arab Emirates normalised relations with Israel in a US-brokered accord, Bahrain followed suit.

The deal made the UAE and Bahrain the third and fourth Arab states to establish relations with Israel, following Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

The escalation in violence has embarrassed the Gulf states, prompting Bahrain to condemn Israel's "attacks" on the Gaza Strip.

Abdulrasool Ashoor, from the Bahraini Society Against Normalisation with the Zionist Enemy, a group established long before the normalisation deal, said Palestinians were suffering "under a crushing aggressive war, that did not spare children and the elderly".

Police monitored the protest, intervening to ensure people stuck to Covid-19 social distancing rules.

Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, since conflict escalated on May 10.

In Israel, 12 people, including one child, have been killed by rocket fire launched by armed groups in Gaza.