Israel Bombs Gaza Apartment Blocks
The international community is calling for an end to the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. The United Nations Security Council is due to discuss the violence in the coming hours. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he was "dismayed" by civilian casualties in Gaza. Meanwhile there's been yet more bloodshed in the conflict, which is now in its seventh day.
Calling out for survivors. Rescuers pull the injured from the rubble, and retrieve the bodies of those who didn't survive. Several Gaza apartment blocks were bombed in the early hours of Sunday. The human cost is still being counted. Israel says its overnight strikes were targeting a senior Hamas political leader and taking out tunnels and rocket launch sites.
The response from Hamas came quickly. Israel says about half of the militants' rockets have fallen short, or been intercepted by an aerial defense system. But some hit their targets - residential areas such as here in Tel Aviv. One man died when a Hamas rocket struck his house. Others narrowly escaped death.
Israel's destruction of this Gaza building hosting several media outlets has raised international concern. Israel says it was also used by a Hamas intelligence operation. The Associated Press has demanded evidence, and says the world will now know less about what is happening in Gaza.
On Saturday, funerals were held for 10 family members killed in an earlier Israeli strike. Only a baby survived.
Desperate diplomatic efforts are underway to broker a ceasefire, and avoid more such tragedies.
The conflict in the Middle East has brought people onto the streets in cities worldwide -- to protest against the violence. In Germany, thousands have marched in support of the Palestinians.
Campaigners around the world organized rallies to condemn the violence in the Middle East and to commemorate 'Nakba' - the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians when the state of Israel was created in 1948. Most of Saturday's events were peaceful, although in Berlin police broke up at least one pro-Palestinian gathering and arrested several demonstrators. Still the people made their voices heard.
Elsewhere in the city, a smaller gathering, backing the Israelis. But most of rallies around the world have been in support of the Palestinians. In France, police fired tear gas in an attempt to break up a rally in the north of Paris. Crowds gathered even though city authorities had banned the march fearing an outbreak of antisemitic violence.
There was also solidarity Down Under, with a pro-Palestinian gathering in Sydney. As the renewed violence deepens the rift in the Middle East, many around the world are uniting in protest.
Topics: Gaza, Palestine
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