For updates as Israel pounds the besieged Gaza strip in a new military operation follow our live blog here ⤵️ middleeasteye.net/live/israel-pa…
🔴 UPDATE: A Palestinian man identified as Tameem Hijazi was killed on Saturday morning in Khan Younis, taking the death toll to 11 since Israeli bombardment of Gaza began on Friday afternoon
🔴 A Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament, Sami Abu Shehadeh, has slammed the Israeli military operation in Gaza as part of an election campaign by caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz
🔴The Energy Authority in Gaza announced that the only power plant in the besieged strip will completely shut down at noon time today.
The decision came after 5 days of Israeli blockade and road closures, resulting in an inability to supply the fuel needed to operate the plant.
🔴 Overnight, Israeli jets continued to bomb several areas in the besieged Gaza strip, while dozens of Palestinian rockets were fired in response.
More than 80 people have been wounded so far, with many in critical condition, according to the Palestinian health ministry
🔴 A friendly match between the Spanish football clubs Juventus and Atletico Madrid scheduled for Sunday in Tel Aviv has reportedly been cancelled.
The clubs citing security reasons, amid the ongoing hostilities between Israel and armed groups in the Gaza Strip since Friday
🔴 The director of Gaza’s main hospital says health sector unprepared for war.
He told MEE on Saturday that the death toll from the Israeli bombardment has reached 12 Palestinians
🔴 Israel has destroyed a residential building in western Gaza, displacing at least eight families, eyewitnesses told MEE.
"We've never seen this level of brutality, we are all civilians here. There are no members of any armed group," Gaza resident middleeasteye.net/live/israel-pa…
🔴 BREAKING: The death toll in Gaza on Saturday has risen to 15 people killed as Israeli jets continue to pummel overcrowded residential areas in the Palestinian enclave.
Among those killed are a five-year-old girl, a 23-year-old woman, and a 75-year-old grandmother
🔴 At least 125 civilians have been wounded in the Gaza strip, with the numbers likely to grow.
Meanwhile, two soldiers were lightly injured by rocket shrapnel in southern Israel
Palestinian authorities in Gaza have said that 650 housing units have been damaged in 24 hours since the start of the Israeli onslaught, which has targeted several residential towers.
🔴 Palestinian demonstrators take to the streets in Haifa and Umm al-Fahm, with more expected in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
Chanting national slogans, waving the Palestinian flag and demanding an end to Israeli shelling that has killed 15 people in Gaza in 24 hours
🔴 Israeli ultra-nationalists, including settlers, are planning a large-scale storming of al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday, amid Palestinian calls to mobilise at the occupied East Jerusalem site
🔴 Egypt's President Sisi, on the second day of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, has expressed hope that calm will be restored soon.
Speaking at a military academy event, he said his government is trying to play a positive role between the Palestinian and Israeli sides
🔴 An Israeli village located near the boundary with the Gaza Strip is set to be evacuated as the Israeli army threatens to widen its attacks against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
According to Israeli broadcaster, residents of the village will be removed tomorrow.
🔴 Egypt has traditionally played the role of mediator in the Israel-Palestine conflict since it formally recognised Israel in 1979.
Cairo brokered the truce that ended the 11-day war in Gaza last year
- At least 15 Palestinians killed, including a five-year-old
- The Israeli army says it's preparing for week-long operation
- Gaza's sole power plant shuts down
Russia has appeared to pin initial blame on the Israelis for escalating the assault on Gaza
"The new escalation was caused by the Israeli army firing into the Gaza Strip..." - Maria Zakharova Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman middleeasteye.net/live/israel-pa…
Ahamd Arafah, an eyewitness, describes scenes of horror as he speaks with MEE
"It was literally a massacre. There are no other words to describe it. I'm still in shock at what I saw. They were just children. What is their crime?"
"We were watching the news like everyone, then we heard screaming and went outside. I saw frightening scenes.
Blood-covered children, body parts all over the street, people running around confused"
- At least 24 Palestinians killed
- At least 203 civilians wounded
- Gaza’s sole power plant was forced to close down
- Gaza's health sector warns hospitals could shut down in three days
"It was literally a massacre. There are no other words to describe it. I'm still in shock at what I saw. They were just children. What is their crime?"
Veteran Israeli analyst, Meron Rapoport, tells MEE 👇
Rapoport explains the chain of events that lead up to Israel’s latest bombardment on Gaza which began on Friday.
"Israel arrests a senior member of Islamic Jihad, Bassam al-Saadi, in the West Bank, but the group does not respond"
But then, "Israel puts tens of thousands of residents in the areas adjacent to Gaza under curfew on the grounds that Islamic Jihad is planning a response...
Then kills senior members of the group in Gaza, as well as civilians, on the grounds that they planned to attack Israel"
The attack, which comes after days of lockdowns imposed by Israeli authorities on residents living near Gaza hit three different areas:
- Khan Yunis south of the strip
- Shujaiya in the north
- A residential building in central Gaza
#BREAKING: According to Israeli reports, a senior Islamic Jihad official has been killed in Israel's military operation in Gaza, which has been dubbed 'Dawn Rising.'
So far, there has been no confirmation from the group
🧵: 2 years on from the Beirut port explosion, Lebanon is still reeling from the disaster; families are denied justice and the political elite remain in place.
On the night of the explosion, hospitals took thousands of patients in for free, but long-term treatments for injuries and wounds require significant financial means.
With Lebanon's ongoing economic crisis, the majority of its population struggle to afford even basic healthcare
With the call for justice, political leaders and high-ranking officials called in for questioning refused to answer to courts.
Some even filed lawsuits against the judge in charge. In December, investigations were suspended until the complaints can be processed
Following two weeks of violence, a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian movement Hamas was reached.
Over 274 people were killed between 7 and 21 May - including at least 71 children.
The vast majority - 243 - were Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Here are their names 👇
1. Mohammad Abdullah Fayyad, 26, M 2. Mohammad Ali Mohammad Nusseir, 24, M 3. Esmat Shaaban al-Zein, 49, M 4. Zakariya Ziad Alloush, 18, M 5. Bashir Mohammad Alloush, 56, M 6. Raed al-Abed Abu Warda, 29 , M 7. Nabil Numan Dardouna, 34, M 8. Mustafa Mohammad Obeid, 17, M
9. Amira Abdelfattah Subuh, 58 , F 10. Abdulrahman Youssef Subuh, 19, M 11. Sameh Fahim Hashem al-Mamlouk, 66, M 12. Kamal Taysir Qreiqe, 34, M 13. Salim Mohammed al-Farra, 38, M 14. Mohammad Yahya Abu al-Ata, 30, M 15. Mohammad Abdulraouf Hallas, 34, M
Death toll continues to rise amid reports of imminent ceasefire following intense airstrikes on Gaza by Israeli forces and increased crackdown on Palestinians in the West Bank.
- Over 230 Palestinians killed by Israeli air strikes on Gaza - including 65 children
- Palestinian in critical condition after being stabbed by settlers
- US says no to French push for UN ceasefire action
Muhammad Kiwan, 17, has been pronounced dead after struggling in a coma for the past week. He was shot in the head by Israeli forces during a protest inside Israel