Masses of people have attacked the branches of the KFC chain "due to the U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza." The demonstrators claimed that "the KFC chain is a symbol of the U.S. and its ally Israel."
The Pakistani Interior Minister said that "at least 20 incidents of attacking KFC branches have occurred in the last week across the country." In videos and photos that surfaced on social media, masses of people armed with metal rods were seen entering KFC restaurants and threatening to burn them, whilevandalizing the restaurants and even setting them on fire.
In one of the videos, a protester is seen shouting that "they buy bullets with the money you earn." The Pakistani police arrested nearly 200 protesters and one person was killed during the protests after being shot by unknown assailants.
A senior officer in the Pakistani police told Reuters that the police are investigating whether political figures incited the crowd to harm KFC branches due to the war in Gaza.
"We are investigating the role of individuals and different groups in these attacks," he said.
KFC is not the only one affected by boycotts in the Arab world following the war in Gaza. McDonald's also faced a boycott in many Arab countries after rumors that it funded food packages for IDF soldiers and due to American support for Israel.