ALGIERS, 01/09 – Hundreds of people lined streets in Algeria's capital Thursday to donate blood for wounded Palestinians in Gaza in a government-sponsored solidarity effort, amid fears Algerian outrage over the violence could spill over at home.

   But the government has no estimate of when the blood will reach Gaza, because getting shipments into the Palestinian territory is extremely difficult at the moment.

   Algerians, like most people in the Arab world, are angry that nearly 700 people have died since Israel attacked the Hamas stronghold 13 days ago. But Algerian authorities have forbidden large pro-Palestinian demonstrations out of concern they could turn violent in a country that has long battled Islamic extremists.

   "We're not allowed to demonstrate, so giving our blood is the least we can do," said Nadia Chefchaoui, a schoolteacher who had been waiting two hours at a mobile blood clinic in central Algiers.

   Dr. Kahima Souami, overseeing the blood collection point, said 200 people had come daily since Wednesday when the effort was launched by Algerian Health Minister Said Barkat, who was photographed while donating blood with a Palestinian Keffieh scarf wrapped around his neck.