BERLIN (Reuters) – Several thousand people in Berlin protested against Israel’s bombing campaign in Lebanon on Friday, joining angry protests across the Middle East this week.

The heavily shelled districts of southern Beirut resemble a ghost town. Most of the residents of Hizbollah’s heartland have fled the Israeli air strikes. Those that have stayed either lack the means to escape or remain as an act of defiance.

The Israeli offensive has not yet succeeded in stopping Hizbollah rocket attacks. There have been several more barrages fired into the country during the day wounding at least 19 people.

Campaigners for reform, who had packed the public gallery, broke into applause and sang the national anthem as MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour.

Thousands of Palestinians stranded in Egypt rushed to the border on Tuesday which EU monitors said would be open for up to 11 hours.

About 220 soldiers arrived in Kuwait on military transport planes.

Prices rebounded slightly having fallen back from near record highs on Monday amid hopes Israel may scale back its fighting against Lebanese guerrillas.

Nabil Tammous, a member of a security force loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, was not there at the time.

Iran’s government has denied Israeli accusations that it played a role in Hezbollah’s seizure of two Israeli soldiers last week – a move that sparked Israeli strikes on Lebanon.

The ban, enforced on Fridays to prevent attacks on mosques during weekly prayers, now covers most of the day.