Casualties mount in Gaza as ceasefire remains elusive

GAZA/JERUSALEM:

Israel bombarded Gaza with airstrikes and Palestinian groups retaliated with rocket fire, with no firm sign on Wednesday of any imminent ceasefire despite international calls to end more than a week of fighting.

Israeli leaders said they were pressing on with an offensive against Hamas and other groups, but an Israeli military spokesperson acknowledged that with an estimated 12,000 missiles and mortars in the groups' Gaza arsenal, "they still have enough rockets to fire".

Two Thai workers were killed and seven people were wounded in a rocket strike on Tuesday on an Israeli farm just over the Gaza border, police said. 

Rockets were also launched early on Wednesday, with sirens sounding in the coastal city of Ashdod, south of Tel Aviv, and in communities closer to the Gaza border. There were no reports of damage or injuries.

An Israeli soldier works at an artillery unit near the border between Israel and the Gaza strip, on the Israeli side May 18, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

Gaza medical officials say 217 Palestinians have been killed, including 63 children, and more than 1,400 wounded since the fighting began on May 10. Israeli authorities claimed that 12 people have been killed in Israel, including two children.

Israel said its aircraft attacked homes belonging to several Hamas leaders that were used as command centres or for weapons storage. Israeli artillery also shelled targets in the southern Gaza Strip, witnesses said.

Read more: Qatar urges Israel to end 'ethnic cleansing' of Palestinians

Nearly 450 buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or badly damaged, including six hospitals and nine primary-care health centres, since the current conflict began, the United Nations humanitarian agency said. Some 48,000 of the 52,000 displaced had gone to 58 UN-run schools.

Israel said more than 3,450 rockets had been launched at it from Gaza, some falling short and others shot down by its Iron Dome air defences. It put the number of people it has killed at around 160.

A Palestine protestor throws back a tear gas grenade during an anti-Israel protest over cross-border violence between Palestinian in Gaza and the Israeli military, near Hawara checkpoint near Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 18, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

Israeli security forces stormed the holy Al-Aqsa mosque during the last Friday of Ramazan and used unjustified force against peaceful worshippers. The incident and subsequent actions by Israeli forces led to the current confrontation. 

The current hostilities are the most serious between Hamas and Israel in years, and in a departure from previous Gaza conflicts have helped fuel street violence in Israeli cities between Jews and Arabs.

DIPLOMACY

France called on Tuesday for a UN Security Council resolution on violence between Israel and Palestinians, as diplomats said the United States told the body a "public pronouncement right now" would not help calm the crisis.

"Our goal is to get to the end of this conflict. We are going to evaluate day by day what the right approach is. It continues to be that quiet, intensive behind-the-scenes discussions are tactically our approach at this time," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.

Egypt and UN mediators also stepped up diplomatic efforts, and the UN General Assembly will discuss the violence on Thursday.

Streaks of light are seen as Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercept rockets launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel May 18, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

Germany called for a ceasefire and offered more aid to help Palestinians before the emergency European Union talks.

Clashes also flared in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian.

Another Palestinian was killed by Israeli forces at a West Bank protest, health officials said. The Israeli military claimed soldiers had come under fire, which wounded two of them, and shot back.

Israel's N12 TV news, quoting unidentified Palestinian sources, reported that Egypt, via "secret channels", had proposed that Israel-Gaza fighting end on Thursday morning.

Palestine protestors throw stones during an anti-Israel protest over cross-border violence between Palestinians in Gaza and the Israeli military, near Hawara checkpoint near Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 18, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

Ezzat El-Reshiq, a member of Hamas' political bureau who is based in Qatar, issued a statement on Tuesday saying reports that it had agreed to such a ceasefire were untrue.

“There has been no agreement reached over specific timings for a ceasefire," he said. "We confirm that efforts and contacts are serious and are continuing and the demands of our people are known and clear."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated in a post on Twitter on Tuesday that Israel's attacks "will continue for as long as it takes to restore calm" for all of its citizens.

Read more: UN chief calls on Israel, Palestine to return to negotiations for 2-state solution

Netanyahu said Israel's strikes had "set Hamas back many years" - which some Israeli news commentators took as a possible prelude to a ceasefire within days when he could claim victory.

Israel's soldiers look on during an anti-Israel protest over cross-border violence between Palestinians in Gaza and the Israeli military, near Hawara checkpoint near Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 18, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS