The Deadly Gaza Violence Between Israel And Palestine
May 18, 2021
One week since violence escalated with heavy military exchanges of fire on May 10, here is a recap.
Israel and the Palestinians are mired in their worst conflict in years, in which Islamists have fired rockets and Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip with air strikes and artillery.
One week since violence escalated with heavy military exchanges of fire on May 10, here is a recap:
On the evening of May 3, clashes erupt in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, sparked by a years-long bid by Jewish settlers to take over Arab homes.
On May 6, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain urge Israel to end its settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territories and expulsions from east Jerusalem.
Major clashes broke out on May 7 as tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers pack the holy Al-Aqsa mosque compound — revered by Jews as the Temple Mount — to pray on the last Friday of Ramadan.
Israeli police say Palestinians hurl stones, bottles and fireworks at officers, who fire rubber-coated bullets and tear gas.
Video footage shows Israeli forces storming the mosque’s plaza and firing sound grenades inside the building.
Clashes erupt over the following days in other parts of east Jerusalem.
On May 10, hundreds of Palestinians and 32 Israeli police officers are wounded in clashes, mainly in the mosque compound.
The violence coincides with what Israel calls “Jerusalem Day”, marking its 1967 seizure of the city’s eastern sector.
More than 700 Palestinians are wounded in the violence at Al-Aqsa and other parts of east Jerusalem over several days.
On the evening of May 10, Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas launch volleys of rockets towards Israel, which responds with deadly strikes on the Palestinian enclave.
The next day, Hamas rains rockets down on Tel Aviv after an Israeli air strike destroys a Gaza City tower block where senior Hamas officials are said to have offices.
On the evening of May 11, unrest flares in mixed Jewish-Arab towns. Israel declares a state of emergency in Lod, near Tel Aviv, after police report rioting by some Arab residents following the death of an Arab Israeli.
Up to 1,000 border police are called up as reinforcements. More than 400 people, Jews and Arabs, are arrested.
On May 12, the US says it is rushing an envoy to Israel and the occupied territories. Russia calls for an emergency meeting of the Middle East Quartet — the European Union, Russia, the United States and the United Nations.
The next day, Israel masses armoured vehicles and troops along Gaza’s border. The defence ministry gives the army the green light to mobilize thousands of reservists.
On May 15, an Israeli air strike on a building in Gaza’s Shati refugee camp kills 10 members of an extended family.
Hours later a strike flattens a 13-floor building in Gaza City housing Qatar-based Al Jazeera television and the US news agency the Associated Press.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells US President Joe Biden that
Israel is doing its utmost to safeguard civilians in Gaza as Biden expresses his “grave concern” over the flare-up.
The White House says it has cautioned Israel about the importance of protecting independent media.
Demonstrations across the occupied West Bank have led to clashes with the Israeli army, leaving 11 Palestinians dead on May 14 alone and more than 150 wounded, health officials and medics say.
On May 16, Israel says strikes destroyed the home of Hamas’ political leader in Gaza. Medics say raids across the territory left at least 42 dead, the highest daily death toll.
UN chief Antonio Guterres appeals for an immediate end to the “utterly appalling” violence, but a virtual meeting of the Security Council results in no joint statement.
Since conflict escalated on May 10, the death toll has risen to 198 in the crowded coastal enclave of Gaza, including at least 58 children, and to 10 in Israel, according to authorities on each side. Israel’s army says over 3,000 rockets have now been fired from Gaza.
The bombardment of Gaza has displaced 38,000 people and made 2,500 homeless, the United Nations says.
Courtesy: ET