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16-05-2021
GAZA/ JERUSALEM/ UNITED NATIONS: Forty-two people have died in the latest Israeli air strikes on Gaza, as the conflict with Palestinian militants entered its seventh day.
Gaza health officials said 16 women and 10 children were among the dead.
Israel’s military said it had been targeting leaders and infrastructure linked to Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza.
Hamas launched a new barrage of rockets towards southern Israel on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, a UN Security Council meeting has begun, with international mediators hoping to broker a ceasefire.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the meeting by describing the violence as “utterly appalling” and said the fighting must stop immediately.
Since it began on Monday at least 188 people have been killed in Gaza, including 55 children and 33 women, with 1,230 injured, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry. Israel says dozens of militants are among the dead.
Ten people, including two children, have been killed by militant attacks on Israel, Israeli officials say.
The flare-up of violence over the last week came after weeks of increasing Israeli-Palestinian tension in East Jerusalem, which culminated in clashes at a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews. Hamas – the Palestinian militant group that runs Gaza – began firing rockets after warning Israel to withdraw from the site, triggering retaliatory air strikes.
How heavy were the latest bombardments?
Israel’s military said it had struck the homes of both Yahya Sinwar and his brother Muhammad Sinwar, whom it described as head of logistics and manpower for Hamas.
Both residences had, it said, “served as military infrastructure” for Hamas.
Local sources confirmed to media that the Hamas leader’s home in the Gaza town of Khan Younis had been bombed. There were no immediate reports about the fate of the two brothers.
Multiple air strikes rocked Gaza City during the night, with dozens of people reported missing under the rubble of homes, said the BBC’s Rushdi Abualouf in Gaza.
“I have never covered strikes with such intensity, explosions are everywhere in Gaza, there are difficulties in communicating with officials to find out where the strikes are,” he said on Twitter.
“The building in which I live in (the) western part of the city shook like an earthquake”, “a hysterical state of chaos, children and women in the building that houses more than 200 people screaming”, he said.
Shortly after noon, rockets were launched by militants in Gaza against Ashkelon, Ashdod, Netivot and other parts of central and southern Israel, according to Israeli media. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israel said the militants had launched 3,000 rockets in the past week, which it described as unprecedented.
Some 120 rockets had been launched overnight but there were no reports of serious injuries.
What are the prospects for a ceasefire?
Blaming the militants for the conflict, Netanyahu said strikes would continue for “as long as necessary” and everything possible was being done to limit civilian casualties.
On Saturday, the Israeli military blew up a tower block in Gaza City used by international media after issuing warnings to evacuate it.
President Biden told Netanyahu he continued to support Israel’s right to defend itself. He expressed concern over deaths on both sides and called for journalists to be protected.
Speaking to President Abbas, the US leader said he was committed to “strengthening the US-Palestinian partnership”. He also said the Hamas rocket fire into Israel had to stop.
President Abbas, who is based in the occupied West Bank, has little power in Gaza but the US will not speak to Hamas, which it regards as a terrorist organization.
Biden told both leaders he remained committed to finding a two-state solution to the conflict.
US envoy Hady Amr is having talks with top Israeli officials including Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz on Sunday.
EU foreign ministers are to discuss the conflict in video talks on Tuesday. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas urged Israel and the Palestinians to resume talks.
“What is needed now is: 1. an end to the rocket attacks, 2. an end to the violence and 3. a return to talks… on a two-state solution,” be tweeted (in German).
Pope Francis urged the warring sides to “end the clamour of weapons and to take the path of peace”.
“Many innocent people have died, amongst them there are also children,” he said in a weekly address to the Catholic faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Square. “This is terrible. Unacceptable, their death is a sign that (people) don’t want to build a future but destroy it… I wonder where hatred and revenge will lead.”
Pro-Palestinian protests were held across the world on Saturday, from Europe to the Americas. In central Paris, police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse an illegal demonstration while in London; nine police officers were hurt during clashes with protesters outside the Israeli embassy. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
