UN Security Council to meet after Gaza destruction, rocket fire into Israel
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GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, May 16, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – The UN Security Council was due to meet Sunday after Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip killed eight children and demolished a building housing media offices, sparking international outcry.
Israeli forces pummeled the densely populated Gaza Strip on Saturday, the sixth day of bombardments on the Palestinian enclave controlled by Islamist group Hamas, which fired back rocket barrages.
One strike on Gaza killed 10 members of an extended family.
The children “didn’t carry weapons, they didn’t fire rockets”, said Mohammad al-Hadidi, one of the grieving fathers.
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Rockets and artillery fires continued to take lives and pound the Gaza strip yesterday, defying all ceasefire efforts and leaving no sign of an end to the worst escalation since 2014.
Missiles also brought down a 12-storey Gaza tower block that housed news media organisations. US and Arab diplomats are seeking to halt almost a week of conflict but efforts have yet to gain traction.
Palestinian medics said the Israeli bombardment killed more than 15 Palestinians in Gaza overnight and yesterday. Casualties also include a woman and four of her children who died when rockets hit their house in a refugee camp.
Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said Canada was following the situation in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza "with grave concern" and urged "all parties to take immediate steps to end the violence, deescalate tensions, protect all civilians, refugees, journalists and media workers."