JERUSALEM: Media offices reduced to rubble, alleged “manipulation” of the press to trick the enemy: Many are concerned truth could become yet another casualty of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
On Saturday afternoon, the owner of the 13-storey Jala Tower housing Qatar-based Al Jazeera television and the US news agency The Associated Press received a troubling call from the Israeli forces.
Jawad Mehdi said an Israeli intelligence officer warned him he had just one hour to ensure that the building was evacuated, and his plea for “10 extra minutes”, broadcast live by Al Jazeera, was denied.
Israeli defence officials claimed the building housed not only news bureaus but offices of the Islamist Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip.
The building, he said, was a “human shield” for Hamas’ intelligence, and the group uses such places to target fuel and kindergarten facilities in Israel.
He said that while Al Jazeera and AP were located in the building, “if you first say that this building was used by international media, then basically you are adopting the Hamas rhetoric.
“I would say the building was used for Hamas infrastructure”.
Is Israel going to publish proof backing up such claims?
“I think we will publish proof. All such attacks do not go ahead without legal confirmation. We didn’t want to kill anyone. We gave them a warning two hours in advance so that they can evacuate the building, and there were no casualties,” he said.
Published on: Monday, May 17, 2021
By: AFP
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Palestinian paramedics evacuate a girl from the rubble of a destroyed building in Gaza City’s Rimal residential district, following massive Israeli bombardment on the Hamas-controlled enclave.
GAZA CITY: Israeli strikes killed 33 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip Sunday, the worst reported daily death toll yet in the almost week-long clashes, as the UN Security Council prepared to meet amid global alarm at the escalating conflict.
The heaviest fighting since 2014, sparked by unrest in Jerusalem, saw the rivals again trade heavy fire, with the death toll rising to 181 in the crowded coastal enclave of Gaza since Monday and at 10 in Israel, according to authorities on either side.
Israel and the Palestinians are mired in their worst conflict in years, in which Islamists have fired rockets and Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip with air strikes and artillery.
One week since violence escalated with heavy military exchanges of fire on May 10, here is a recap:
On the evening of May 3, clashes erupt in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, sparked by a years-long bid by Jewish settlers to take over Arab homes.
On May 6, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain urge Israel to end its settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territories and expulsions from east Jerusalem.
Worldwide protests in response to Mideast conflict
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take to the streets across North America
Thousands of Pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets across North America on Saturday, as Israel s military operation towards Gaza continued. Demonstrations took place in cities such as New York, Boston, Washington D.C. and Montreal.
The protesters waved Palestinians flags and shouted slogans such as Freedom for Gaza. Many of the demonstrators wore Palestinian symbols such as Keffiyeh scarves.
President Joe Biden has expressed support for Israel s military operation, but has also signaled concern over the loss of Palestinian life in Gaza. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has urged Hamas and Israel to deescalate tensions.