Pro-Palestinian demo in Germany after Gaza hospital blast

Palestinian supporters in Germany gathered to protest in several parts of the country on Tuesday night following the devastating blast at a hospital in Gaza, despite efforts by German police to ban many pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the country, reported dpa.

Clashes with police occurred in several places, particularly in Berlin, as authorities moved to break up the gatherings.

The rallies, some of them spontaneous and quickly broken up by police, took place after an explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday left hundreds dead. It remains unclear what caused the blast.

Palestinian groups and several Arab countries have blamed the Israeli military for the blast. Israel, however, has insisted that the explosion was caused by a failed rocket launched by the Islamic Jihad militant group in Gaza.

In the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in several cities, including Aachen, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Essen and Cologne.

According to the police, the demonstrations were peaceful. Some demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and candles.

In the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, there were rallies in Stuttgart and Mannheim with 40 to 60 participants, police said. Some Palestinian flags were displayed. According to the police, the gatherings were peaceful.

In Berlin on Tuesday evening, after a pro-Palestine vigil at the Brandenburg Gate, police reported clashes with protesters as authorities moved to break up the unauthorized gathering. Police said more than 300 people had gathered there, while a dpa photographer estimated the number at around 1,000.

In the Berlin district of Neukölln, there were incidents of vandalism and clashes with police following a call for a pro-Palestinian demonstration that was not registered with authorities.

Barricades, e-scooters and a children's playground were set on fire, the fire brigade announced. Fireworks were set off in the direction of firefighters responding to the blazes, they said.

The police, meanwhile, said officers were attacked with stones, and two officers were treated for injuries by emergency services.