Three days of mourning are underway in Gaza and the West Bank for the hundreds of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks. In other parts of the world, protests are under way calling for an end to the violence.

Hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank mourned their dead on Sunday and protested the Israeli military assault.

Shops, banks and government offices in Gaza and the West Bank are closed for three days. Flags are at half staff at government buildings and the tomb of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

In Hebron, East Jerusalem, and Nablus, Palestinian protesters blocked roads and burned tires as they clashed with Israeli soldiers. In Ramalla, at least one Palestinian was shot dead and several others were wounded by Israeli soldiers.

The Muslim world is speaking out strongly against the Israeli airstrikes. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, calls the Israeli assault a "deliberate massacre" and a "humanitarian tragedy".

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad strongly condemns the raids and vows to support Palestinian resistance. And Iranian university students rallied at the UN office in Tehran.

In several locations of northern Israel on Sunday, Arabs clashed with police.

Protests were also held in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and other countries to show support for the Palestinians.

In the Turkish capital of Ankara, hundreds of people demonstrated outside the Israeli embassy after their prime minister denounced Israeli actions as a "crime against humanity".

About three hundred Iraqis protested outside the Islamic Party offices in Samarra.

A protest was held outside the Israeli embassy in London.

Pope Benedict XVI denounced the "endless" bloodshed in the Middle East and urged all sides to end the violence. The pontiff condemned the attacks and renewed his Christmas Day appeal that negotiations replace clashes and violence.

(CCTV December 30, 2008)