Areas that have escaped worst of bombing in previous conflicts are bearing brunt this time around
For the residents of the central neighbourhoods of Gaza City the last nine days have been unusually brutal.
The affluent heart of Gaza’s Palestinian society, in past conflicts areas like Tal al-Hawa and al-Rimal have been less heavily hit by the periodic wars between Israel and Hamas that have shaken the coastal strip since 2008.
Continue reading...Israel carries out fresh wave of pre-dawn airstrikes US president stops short of demanding halt to hostilities
Joe Biden has issued a statement for the first time expressing support for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza’s militant rulers, Hamas, after a phone conversation with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
However, the US president stopped short of calling for an immediate halt to the eight days of Israeli airstrikes and Hamas rocket barrages that have killed more than 200 people, the vast majority of them Palestinian.
Continue reading...The Israeli military has launched another heavy wave of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, saying it destroyed militants' tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders. Early on Tuesday morning, three massive blasts shook Gaza City. Confirmation is being sought as to what caused the explosions. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, signalled Israel’s bombardment would continue despite mounting global pressure to stop the bloodshed. After a phone conversation with Netanyahu on Monday afternoon, the US president, Joe Biden, issued a statement expressing support for a ceasefire, but did not say it should be immediate. In the last week, at least 200 Palestinians, including 59 children, have been killed in the attacks by Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu signals Israel’s bombardment will continue as Joe Biden issues statement supporting ceasefire
Two hundred Palestinians, including 59 children, have been killed during a week of attacks in Gaza, health officials in the territory have said, as Benjamin Netanyahu signalled Israel’s bombardment would rage on despite mounting global pressure to stop the bloodshed.
After a phone conversation with Netanyahu on Monday afternoon, US president Joe Biden issued a statement, supporting – but not demanding – a ceasefire and did not say it should be immediate.
Continue reading...A six-year-old Palestinian girl was found deep inside a pile of rubble after her home was destroyed by an Israeli strike in Gaza that killed her mother and all four of her siblings.
Suzy Eshkuntana, trapped for seven hours under the debris, was reunited in Shifa hospital with her father, who was also being treated for his wounds. The family’s home was hit by Israeli air strikes early on Sunday in Gaza City, a wave of attacks that Gaza health officials said killed 42 people including 10 children and raised the death toll in Gaza after a week of bombardment to more than 200.
Israel says it is attacking the militant Islamist Hamas movement that controls the densely populated Gaza Strip and that - along with Islamic Jihad and other militant groups - has fired more than 3,000 rockets towards Israeli towns and cities, killing 10 people, including two children
Continue reading...Deaths of doctors have further hit medical services struggling with damaged facilities and medicine shortages
In her bed in Gaza City’s Shifa hospital, 25-year-old Aya Aloul recalls the moment her 66-year-old father, Moeen, one of Gaza’s few neurologists, was killed in an Israeli strike, one of two key Palestinian medical staff killed within hours on Sunday.
Covered in wounds and bruises caused by shrapnel and falling masonry, she described the bombing of the family’s home in the Rimal neighbourhood. “I get scared,” Aya told the Guardian on Monday, “so, since the war began, I’ve slept next to my parents’ bed, putting a mattress on the floor.
Continue reading...Strikes early on Monday appeared broader and more intense than Sunday’s, in which 42 Palestinians died in the deadliest single attack yet
Israeli warplanes have launched what appeared to be the heaviest airstrikes yet on Gaza City, hours after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled the bombardment would rage on.
The series of attacks early on Monday rocked the city from north to south for 10 minutes and was more intense, covered a broader area and lasted longer than the raids 24 hours earlier in which 42 Palestinians were killed – the deadliest single attack in the latest violence between Israel and the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza.
Continue reading...At least 33 Palestinians have been killed and 50 injured in the deadliest airstrikes since the start of fighting between Israel and Hamas six days ago. Israel targeted the home of the Hamas leader Yehya al-Sinwar over the weekend and destroyed the building that housed the offices of Al-Jazeera and the Associated Press. At least 181 people in Gaza and 10 in Israel have been killed so far
A rush for escape as Israeli forces bombed the building that housed the US news agency and Al Jazeera
On Saturday, Israeli forces bombed the office which houses Associated Press and Al Jazeera in Gaza, alleging that Hamas military intelligence was operating inside the building.
Twelve AP staffers and freelancers were working and resting in the bureau when the Israeli military telephoned a warning, giving occupants of the building one hour to evacuate. The AP journalist Fares Akram told how he escaped the building.
Continue reading...The Met said nine of its officers were injured while dispersing crowds outside the Israeli embassy
Thirteen people have been arrested after a day of largely peaceful protest in solidarity with the people of Palestine outside the Israel embassy on Saturday.
The Metropolitan police said nine of its officers were injured while dispersing crowds outside the embassy in west London. The force said missiles were thrown at officers during “small pockets of disorder”.
Continue reading...Family celebrating Eid killed as building housing the Associated Press and other news agencies is bombed
Intense Israeli airstrikes on Gaza on Saturday killed eight young cousins who had gathered to celebrate Eid with their mothers, and destroyed the high-rise tower that housed the Associated Press, the leading news agency of its greatest ally.
Mohammed Haddidi’s wife and five sons were inside the house when it was bombed, and only five-month-old Omar was pulled from the rubble alive. Rescuers searched for survivors through piles of shattered concrete dotted with toys, a Monopoly boardgame and holiday food prepared for a meal that was never enjoyed.
Continue reading...An Israeli airstrike destroys a 15-storey building in Gaza City that housed offices of the Associated Press and Al Jazeera among other media outlets as well as private flats. The Israel Defence Forces ordered people to evacuate the building about an hour before the strike brought the entire tower down
Continue reading...Israeli fighter jets have hit targets in central Gaza, the military said on Saturday, and Palestinian militants continued to fire rockets into Israel after a day of deadly violence rocked the West Bank and unrest persisted inside the Jewish state.
Early on Saturday, the Israel Defence Forces said they had hit a Hamas 'operation office' near the centre of Gaza City, with additional overnight strikes targeting what the military called 'underground launch sites'. In an escalation of the worst bout of fighting between Israel and Hamas for seven years, dozens of Hamas operatives were killed in the strikes by Israeli artillery, the IDF said
Continue reading...Israeli ground and air forces have attacked targets in Gaza, forcing residents to flee their homes, in a significant escalation during the worst bout of fighting for seven years. Red flames illuminated the skies above Gaza in the early hours of Friday as the deafening blasts from the outskirts of Gaza City, which lies about a mile from the frontier, jolted people awake
Analysis: A series of combustible events coincided dangerously to trigger worst violence in years
The current crisis between Israelis and Palestinians, like so many before, has complex roots in the foundation of Israel in 1948 and after the six-day war in 1967 when Israel captured then Arab-controlled parts of Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites.
Continue reading...Members of the US Congress have responded as the deadly hostilities in Israel and Gaza entered a fifth day with no sign of abating.
Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American congresswoman who has been critical of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians, questioned the US government's 'unconditional support' of Israel and, often tearing up as she spoke, accused Israel of being an 'apartheid state'.
Earlier in the day Joe Biden said there had 'not been a significant overreaction' by Israel to the Hamas rocket attacks and Ted Deutch and Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke in the House in support of Israel’s 'right to defend her citizens'. Meanwhile Ilhan Omar said: 'Instead of condemning blatant crimes against humanity and human rights abuses, many members of Congress have instead fallen back on a blanket statement defending Israel's airstrikes against civilians under the guise of self-defence.'
Continue reading...Latest news as IDF says ground forces have joined the attacks on Gaza Strip but have not entered the enclave
We are pausing this live coverage for a while, but will bring you any key developments and breaking news when it happens.
The Israeli Defense Forces have sent the Guardian their “clarification” stating that there are “currently no IDF ground troops” in Gaza. It is brief, and does not explain the earlier statement to the contrary given to journalists and published in Twitter:
The IDF statement "clarifying" what happened tonight in Gaza: pic.twitter.com/jrxphiwUm0
Clarification: there are currently no IDF ground troops inside the Gaza strip. IDF air and ground forces are carrying out strikes on targets in the Gaza strip.
Continue reading...Military says no troops currently operating inside territory as number of casualties continues to grow
Israeli ground and air forces have attacked targets in Gaza, forcing residents to flee their homes, in a significant escalation in the worst bout of fighting for seven years.
Heavy artillery fire was aimed at what the Israeli military said was a large network of militant tunnels. The intense overnight bombardment came amid speculation that Israeli troops were preparing to enter Gaza on the ground.
Continue reading...Analysis: The Israeli PM seemed to be on the way out, until the eruption of conflict with the Palestinians
The escalating conflict between Israel and Gaza has put efforts to form a coalition government that excludes Israel’s longest-serving prime minister on the back burner.
Until violence erupted this week, Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be on the verge of losing his position at the helm of Israeli politics after 12 years as prime minister.
Continue reading...An Israeli airstrike struck a high-rise building in central Gaza City as journalist Youmna Al Sayed reported live for Al Jazeera from a neighbouring building. Al Sayed continued to provide commentary despite being forced to move away from the camera by the explosions. The targeted building housed businesses in addition to offices for Hamas' Al-Aqsa satellite channel and is located in one of the busiest streets of Gaza's Roman neighbourhood. The airstrike is part of continued violence between Israel and Palestinian militants that is the most serious conflict between the parties since 2014
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