• Israel offensive against Hamas.

    In Gaza, the headquarters of Al Jazeera and Ap

  • Gaza.

    Now Hamas is calling for a truce, but there is Israel's no

  • Israel: UN Security Council meeting, US opposed to declaration.

    Severe escalation

  • Rockets, raids and dozens of deaths: it is war between Israel and Hamas

  • Clashes in East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

    Israel sends aviation to the Strip

Share

May 16, 2021

These are "the most intense air strikes of the last seven days", as al Jazeera described the Israeli attacks last night on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli jets - writes the correspondent Safwat al-Kahlout on the broadcaster's website - carried out 150 air attacks in the early hours of today, of which at least 60 in Gaza City alone.



Israel bombed the home of Hamas leader in Gaza, Yehya Al-Sinwar, and the Islamist group fired rocket volleys in Tel Aviv as hostilities continue into the seventh day with no sign of abating. According to health sources, at least three Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Strip and many are injured. Local sources and residents denounce on twitter dozens of consecutive attacks on the main streets of Gaza City, which also hinder ambulance rescue. 



The Israeli bombing of Gaza City touched the building that houses the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa). The director of the institution Matthias Schmale reports in a tweet, "God help the people of #gaza - he writes in a post. 



Matthias Schmale, Gaza director for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), reported "heavy bombardment" near the agency's compound in the early hours of Sunday: Al Jazeera pic.twitter.com/hwYiZjyvWc

- ZamanAlwsl (@EnAlwsl) May 15, 2021



After a

lull

lasting a couple of hours, around midnight, Hamas fired a heavy barrage of rockets from Gaza into central and southern Israel.

According to the Israeli army, in the same minute a Palestinian vehicle broke through a military checkpoint and attempted to overwhelm Israeli soldiers southwest of Hebron.

An Israeli soldier responded to the attack by shooting at the vehicle.



Since the beginning of the violence on Monday, at least 148 people have died in Gaza, including 41 children.

Israel reported 10 deaths, including two children.



Yesterday Israel destroyed a 12-story building in Gaza City that housed the Associated Press and Al Jazeera. The Israeli military said the al-Jala building was a legitimate military target, containing Hamas military offices, and that it had warned civilians to leave the building before the attack. The PA condemned the attack and asked Israel to provide evidence: "We had no indication that Hamas was in the building or that it was active in the building," the news outlet said. In what has been called retaliation for Israel's destruction of the Theal-Jala building, Hamas fired rockets at Tel Aviv and cities in southern Israel.



⭕ LIVE footage of the moment an Israeli air raid bombed the offices of Al Jazeera and The Associated Press in Gaza City ⬇️



🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/RvtP1lEX1x pic.twitter.com/RBO1ZiDAl0

- Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 15, 2021



Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night confirmed that Israeli military operations will continue as long as needed



Netanyahu accused Hamas of "committing a double war crime" by taking targeting civilians and using Palestinian civilians as "human shields". United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres reminded "all parties that any indiscriminate attack against civil and media structures violates international law and must be avoided at all costs".



President Joe Biden's envoy, Hady Amr, arrived in Israel on Friday for talks. Biden spoke with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas late yesterday and updated them on US diplomatic efforts.



Any mediation is complicated by the fact that the United States and most Western powers do not speak to Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization. And Abbas, whose power base is in the occupied West Bank, exerts little influence over Hamas in Gaza. The United Nations and Egypt are also working to restore calm, but have not yet shown signs of progress. The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet today. Both Israel and Hamas insisted they would continue their cross-border fire.



The conflict was accompanied by violence between mixed Jewish and Arab communities, with synagogues attacked and Arab-owned shops vandalized. There has also been a spike in deadly fighting in the occupied West Bank. At least 12 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops, most of them during the fighting. 890 people were also arrested