Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that an end to seven days of hostilities with Gaza fighters was not imminent, despite diplomatic moves to restore calm.
Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip entered its seventh consecutive day with air raids early on Sunday killing at least 42 Palestinians, wounding dozens more, and flattening at least two residential buildings.
The home of Gaza’s Hamas chief, Yehya al-Sinwar, was also targeted, according to the group’s media.
In Israel’s Tel Aviv, people dashed for bomb shelters as sirens warning of incoming rocket fire blared across the city.
At least 188 people, including 55 children and 33 women, have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the past week. More than 1,200 others have been wounded. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces have killed at least 13 Palestinians.
Israel has reported 10 dead, including two children.
The United Nations Security Council meets on Sunday to discuss the worst outbreak of violence in years in Palestine and Israel.
Here are the latest updates:
Rescue teams still looking for survivors in El Wahda neighborhood
Rescuers in Gaza are still hoping to pull survivors in Gaza city after overnight Israeli bombing left dozens dead.
“We are still here at the Al-Shifa Hospital just a very short while ago five more bodies where brought out of the El Wahda neighborhood, unfortunately, all of them dead,” journalist Youmna Al Sayed told Al Jazeera.
Al Sayed said lack of resources for rescue crews was creating a “great challenge” to pull bodies from the rubble.
Netanyahu says “will take take time” before Gaza fighting ends
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that an end to seven days of hostilities with Gaza fighters was not imminent, despite diplomatic moves to restore calm.
“Our campaign against the terrorist organisations is continuing with full force,” Netanyahu said in a televised speech.
“We are acting now, for as long as necessary, to restore calm and quiet to you, Israel’s citizens. It will take time.”
UN chief says Israel, Gaza fighting ‘utterly appalling’
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the U.N. Security Council on Sunday that hostilities in Israel and Gaza were “utterly appalling” and called for an immediate end to fighting.
He said the United Nations is “actively engaging all sides toward an immediate ceasefire” and called on them “to allow mediation efforts to intensify and succeed”.
Children are unable to cope – Gaza resident
Gaza resident and teacher Rajaa Abu Jasser says her five children are unable to cope with the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, and are “terrified all the time”.
“They are just listening carefully if there will be a bombing anytime soon. They are afraid to close their eyes at night,” she told Al Jazeera, whose oldest child is 10 and the youngest, two twin boys, are 2.
Jasser said she “struggled every night” to put her kids to bed, adding that “as a mother I do not know how to deal with this”.
‘What’s the point of the UN?’ – activist
Rana Nazzal a Palestinian activist in the occupied West Bank said she is not very hopeful with the OIC and the UN meeting.
“Well to be honest with you I don’t think many Palestinians even know about this meeting, and I’m certain that no families are around sitting in their TVs waiting to see what happens,” Nazzal said.
“All the crimes that have happened in Palestine over the last years have happened … under the noses of the international community and one has to ask what’s the point of the UN if it’s only condemning, and there is no action to follow up.”
Israel faces highest ever rate of rocket attacks: Army
Israel has faced the highest ever rate of rocket attacks on its territory from Gaza, the army said.
Since Monday, armed groups in Gaza have fired about 3,000 rockets towards Israel, surpassing the pace during an escalation in 2019 and during the 2006 war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, said Major General Ori Gordin.
Gordin, commander of Israel’s home front, presented a graphic to reporters with data of rockets fired towards Israel in past years and now.
Kashmir police arrest graffiti artist over Palestine mural
Police in Indian-administered Kashmir arrested at least 20 people, including an outspoken religious leader who prayed for Palestine and an artist who drew graffiti in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The family of 32-year-old Mudasir Gull, an artist based in the main city of Srinagar, accused the regional authority of censoring an artist’s freedom of expression.
Read more here.
‘Israel is committing war crimes’
Saleh Hijazi, deputy regional director at Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa, told Al Jazeera that Israel was trying to hide what it was doing in Gaza and to the people of Gaza, adding that Amnesty was prevented from entering the enclave since 2012.
“We now have an International Criminal Court investigation open on the situation in the Palestinian Territories, since 2014. We call on the ICC to look into this incident” he said, referring to the bombing of international media offices by Israeli forces.
“Even if there is a legitimate military target there, it is disproportionate to attack a building in such a manner,” Hijazi also said.
“Such a disproportionate attack amounts to war crime. In addition, this follows a pattern of collective punishment against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
He stressed that more than 51 residential buildings were reported to be destroyed since the beginning of the operation, including high-rise buildings.
Pope Francis calls for end to fighting in Israel and Gaza
Pope Francis called for an end to the conflict in Israel and Gaza, saying the deaths of so many innocent people in recent days, including children, was unacceptable.
“I appeal for calm, and for those responsible to end the clamour of weapons and to take the path of peace,” he said in a weekly address to faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Square.
“Many innocent people have died, amongst them there are also children. 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?”
Turkish FM: OIC meeting condemns Israel
Turkish foreign minister said an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Conference executive committee emphasised that Israel is solely responsible for the ongoing atrocity in Palestine.
“[We] will continue to resolutely lead all efforts at international level for protection of Palestinian brothers,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a tweet.
‘Arab-Jewish violence on rise among Israeli citizens’
Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said all non-Muslims were denied access to Al-Aqsa Mosque as there was some talk of right-wing Jewish activists trying to enter the compound to carry out some kind of activities.
“Tensions and worries about security remain high even during the daytime,” he said.
“Disturbing videos came out overnight. There was a video showing a group of Jewish people at a road junction looking for Palestinian-Israeli drivers. When a driver comes in, they started throwing stones. Police did not intervene in any strong fashion,” he also said.
“Another video showed a Jewish man walking at night in Jaffa on CCTV before two Palestinian Israeli push him in a doorway and beat him up,” our correspondent said.
“There are concerns of more organised levels of violence with armed settler group going to places such as Lod, an eastern suburb of Tel Aviv. There are also concerns of armed organised crime among the Israeli Palestinian sector,” Fawcett added.
German FM calls for end to violence
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called for an end to violence in the Middle East and 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 between Israelis Palestinians and on a two-state solution,” Maas tweeted, calling the situation “highly explosive”.
Saudi Arabia slams Israel’s ‘flagrant violations’ of Palestinian rights
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister condemned Israel’s “flagrant violations” of Palestinian rights and called on the international community to act urgently to put an end to military operations.
He called on the international community to carry out its responsibility towards ending this “dangerous escalation”, to act urgently to halt military operations and to revive peace negotiations based on a two-state solution.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud was speaking in televised remarks at the start of an emergency virtual meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Al-Jalaa tower owner denies Israeli claims
The owner of a bombed high-rise building in Gaza City housing offices of international media outlets denied his building contained assets of Hamas intelligence agency after an air attack launched by Israel obliterated the 12-storey building.
Jawad Mehdi, the owner of the al-Jalaa tower, said no evidence for the claim has been provided by the Israeli authorities.
“Apart from the tenants, there are some offices of lawyers, engineers and some media agencies including Al Jazeera and AP. Nothing else,” said Mehdi.
Israel says it made arrests in Lod
The Israeli police said they have arrested six suspects involved in riots in the Israeli Arab city of Lod in the early hours of the morning.
They also reported that they had seized petrol bombs and ammunition, adding that “police operations and activities continued in cities and areas across the country to prevent and respond to incidents”.
EU to hold urgent talks on Israeli-Palestinian issue
European Union foreign ministers will hold urgent video talks on the escalating fighting between Israel and the Palestinians, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said.
“In view of the ongoing escalation between Israel and Palestine and the unacceptable number of civilian casualties, I am convening an extraordinary VTC of the EU Foreign Ministers on Tuesday. We will coordinate and discuss how the EU can best contribute to end the current violence,” Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter Sunday.
‘Apartheid states are not democracies’
US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed the administration of President Joe Biden for not standing up to Israel, which she called an “apartheid state”.
“Apartheid states aren’t democracies,” she wrote in a tweet.
Sharing a video of the Israeli attack on the AP and Al Jazeera offices, she said: “This is happening with the support of the United States.”
She added: “I don’t care how any spokesperson tries to spin this. The US vetoed the UN call for ceasefire. If the Biden admin can’t stand up to an ally, who can it stand up to? How can they credibly claim to stand for human rights?”
Read more here.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators block traffic in LA
Hundreds of protesters shut down traffic as they took to the streets of Los Angeles, calling for an end to Israeli air attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The protesters waved flags and signs saying “Free Palestine” and shouted “long live Intifada”, or uprising. They marched from outside the federal building to the Israeli consulate in the western part of the city.
China calls for UNSC action, slams US
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on the UN Security Council to seek a de-escalation of violence between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers. He also blamed the US for the council’s lack of action so far.
“Regrettably, the council has so far failed to reach an agreement, with the United States standing on the opposite side of international justice,” the state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Wang as saying.
Blinken talks to AP chief over Israeli attack
US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken spoke with Gary Pruitt, the president and CEO of The Associated Press, on the Israeli attack on the news agency’s office in Gaza, his spokesman Ned Price said.
“The Secretary offered his unwavering support for independent journalists and media organizations around the world and noted the indispensability of their reporting in conflict zones,” Price said in a statement.
He also expressed relief that The Associated Press team on the ground in Gaza remains safe.
IDF: Media tower was Hamas base
The Israeli military called the office of media organisations it bombed on Saturday “an important base of operations for Hamas’ military intelligence”.
“The base gathered intel for attacks against Israel, manufactured weapons positioned equipment to hamper IDF operations,” the Israeli military said in a tweet.
It added: “We warned civilians in the building about our strike out of concern for their safety gave them enough time to safely evacuate. Hamas Islamic Jihad used this time to take items out of the building. We were willing to pay that price to not harm any civilians.”
Leicester City duo shows solidarity with Palestinian people
Hamza Choudhury and Wesley Fofana, football players with Britain’s Leicester City, waved a Palestine flag during their celebration for their team’s FA Cup final victory, showing solidarity with the Palestinian people under Israeli attacks.
Pro-Palestinian rallies organised in big New Zealand cities
Thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters marched through New Zealand’s largest cities to protest against Israeli air attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of demonstrators protested in the capital Wellington, as well as in Auckland and Christchurch, holding signs, banners and Palestinian flags.
The marches coincided with Nakba Day, which commemorates the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the war for Israel’s independence in 1948.
Israeli premier says attacks on Gaza will continue
Israel’s prime minister said that attacks on the Gaza Strip would continue as long as they were necessary.
Netanyahu also claimed that the tower, which housed offices of various media groups, including Al Jazeera and The Associated Press, was being used by Palestinian groups, including Hamas, before being destroyed by the Israeli army. The prime minister claimed that Israel shows “special care” to avoid civilian deaths in attacks on Gaza.
“Israel’s operations on Gaza will continue as long as needed to reach its aims,” he said at a news conference where he thanked US President Joe Biden for his support.
Canada calls for protecting journalists after Gaza attack
Canada stressed “the fundamental importance of protecting journalists” following the Israeli attack on a building housing international media in Gaza, and called for “immediate steps” to end the violence.
Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said Canada was following the situation in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza “with grave concern” and urged “all parties to take immediate steps to end the violence, deescalate tensions, protect all civilians, refugees, journalists and media workers.”
He reiterated on Twitter “the fundamental importance of protecting journalists,” stressing they “must be free to do their work,” adding: “Their safety and security must always be ensured.”
Second Palestinian killed in West Bank
Israeli forces killed a second Palestinian during protests in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Wafa news agency said, citing health officials.
More than 450 people were wounded, the agency reported, with 100 injured from the use of live ammunition.
Israeli raids damage road leading to Gaza’s main hospital
Israeli air raids created a crater that blocked one of the main roads leading to al-Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza, the Associated Press news agency reported, citing residents and journalists.
The Palestinian Wafa news agency said the intensive shelling caused “massive destruction” in the Gaza Strip, including to civilian homes, and also resulted in a complete blackout in the northern Rimal neighbourhood.
Biden reaffirms ‘strong support’ for Israel
US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reaffirmed his “strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza”, the White House said.
He also spoke with Palestinian Authority President Abbas and “conveyed a commitment to strengthening the US-Palestinian partnership,” the White House added in a tweet.
Rescue workers pull out five children from rubble in Gaza
Al Jazeera’s Safwat al-Kahlout, reporting from Gaza, said rescue teams are racing to dig out survivors from beneath the rubble of residential buildings flattened in Israeli raids.
“The rescue teams have found five children alive,” he said. “They say they hear some people are still alive under the rubble and they’re still working to pull out more survivors.”
He said the Israeli bombardment had destroyed houses and roads in the El Wahda district.
US Muslim groups urge boycott of White House Eid dinner
American Muslims for Palestine, a US-based advocacy group, urged the Muslim community to boycott President Joe Biden’s Eid celebration on Sunday over his stance on Palestine.
The group also announced a counter event, called “Eid with Palestine”.
“Recent statements made by President Biden, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki, and Department of State spokesperson, Ned Price, completely disregard the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from East Jerusalem, the Israeli assault on Al-Aqsa on worshippers during Ramadan, and the ongoing siege of Gaza that has already claimed the lives of hundreds,” the advocacy group said.
“In a show of solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Palestine, the United States, and around the world, a coalition of Muslims nationwide is urging our Muslim community to boycott the White House event and join the ‘Eid with Palestine: A Protest of the White House Eid event.”
Earlier, the Council on American-Islamic Relations also said it would boycott the White House’s Eid celebration.
Israel targets home of Hamas chief in Gaza
Israel struck the home of a senior Hamas leader in a burst of air raids, the group’s TV station said.
Yehya al-Sinwar has headed the political and military wings of Hamas in Gaza since 2017.
Israel launches ‘most intensive air strikes’ yet in Gaza
Al Jazeera’s Safwat al-Kahlout, reporting live from Gaza, said Israeli jets carried out 150 air raids across the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Sunday, including at least 60 in Gaza City alone.
“The last couple of hours the Israeli army carried out the most intensive air strikes all over the Gaza Strip over the past seven days of escalation,” al-Kahlout said, adding that several people were killed in the raid.
Emergency workers are digging through the rubble in the hopes of finding survivors, he said.
The Gaza health ministry meanwhile said many Palestinians were arriving at hospitals with injuries.
Israeli military fatally shoots Palestinian youth in West Bank
Israeli forces fatally shot a Palestinian youth north of Tulkarem in the West Bank just after midnight on Sunday, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported, citing the ministry of health.
At least nine people were wounded after soldiers opened live fire, and were taken to the hospital, WAFA said.
Huge crowds rally across US in support of Palestine
Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Washington, DC, said there was an “unusually large show of support” for the Palestinian cause in the United States on Saturday.
“There were demonstrations in New York, Chicago, Colorado, and in Washington, DC. These were what we thought were an unusually large pro-Palestinian crowd of several thousand people,” he said.
“They wanted the US government to exert more pressure on Israel, to end this conflict. There was a real sense of dissatisfaction that the Biden administration’s policies are really not significantly different than the policies of the Trump administration or any other US administration over the past several years.”
‘Heavy bombardment’ near Gaza UN office
Matthias Schmale, the Gaza director for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), reported “heavy bombardment” near the agency’s compound in the early hours of Sunday.
For the developments from Saturday, May 15, go here.
