Paris was burning Saturday — with hatred of Israel.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters hurled rocks, burned an Israeli flag and set at least one car on fire in the northern part of the city in a raucous demonstration against violence in the Gaza Strip.
French police tried to disperse the protesters with teargas canisters and stun grenades.
The protest was in defiance of a ban on rallies that had been imposed after demonstrators clashed with police while marching on two Paris synagogues last weekend.
Rallies were also held in more than a dozen other French cities, from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south.
Thousands more demonstrated against Israel in London Saturday, joining the Parisians in calling for an end to Israeli military action.
In Paris, a police spokesman said 38 demonstrators had been arrested by early evening and clashes were dying down.
French President François Hollande said he understood citizens’ emotional responses to the conflict, but would not allow violence to spill over into France.
The country has the largest population of both Muslims and Jews of any European nation.
Saturday marked the Israeli military’s second day of its ground operation in Gaza, pounding Palestinian sites with airstrikes and demolishing more than a dozen tunnels it said could be used by militants to carry out attacks.
Palestinian commandos disguised as Israeli troops still managed to infiltrate a tunnel, killing two Israeli soldiers and injuring several others. Hamas said 12 of its own fighters joined the fight and that at least one of them was killed.
Militants jumped out of tunnels and fired at soldiers in two other clashes. Two of the gunmen were killed. The Israeli army said tranquilizer guns and cuffs were found in one clash, indicating the gunmen “intended to abduct Israelis.”
Meanwhile, an Israeli Bedouin was killed when a Hamas rocket hit his encampment in southern Israel.
Four of his family members, including two children, were wounded.
Israel’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, warned of more “moments of hardship,” suggesting Israeli deaths could mount.
As diplomats struggle to broker a cease-fire, international advocates are condemning the number of children killed in the conflict.
Two 6-year-olds and a toddler died in airstrikes and shellings Saturday, Palestinians reported.