Eighteen Mexico City Police officers were wounded by Molotov cocktails and objects thrown by anti-Israel activists in a riot outside the Israeli embassy on Tuesday, law enforcement said, in protests organized in response to ongoing IDF military operations in the Hamas stronghold of Rafah.
Sixteen officers were reportedly taken to the hospital for burns and other injuries, and two more were treated on the scene.
Multiple fires were set in the area of the embassy, and five bus stations, several businesses, a police vehicle, and park benches were damaged.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that "there were no casualties but minor damage was caused in the vicinity of the embassy."
Mexican Police said that protesters, some of them masked, clashed with the police who established a cordon.
Accusing police of brutality
BDS Mexico, which called for the protest on Monday as a response to the death of Gazans in Rafah in disputed circumstances, accused the police of brutality.
The anti-Israel activists claimed that the police used tear gas, operated fire extinguishers and threw stones at the protesters, who they said included children, seniors, and disabled people.
"We reiterate our solidarity with the Palestinian people and all the people who demonstrated in support of their cause," Comité de Solidaridad con Palestina GDL said on Instagram on Wednesday. "We will not stop speaking out against injustice and oppression, both here and anywhere in the world."