US must help end Middle East conflict By Fan Hongda | China Daily | Updated: 2021-05-19 07:09 Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike on a building in Gaza City May 18, 2021. [Photo/Agencies] Israel unleashed another round of air strikes on Gaza City on Monday which was heavier and on a wider area than the series of attacks a day ago in which 42 Palestinians were killed and the house of a Hamas leader was razed. The Israel-Palestine conflict has simmered since April, escalating sharply on May 10 after Hamas set an ultimatum for Israel to withdraw its forces from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where hundreds of Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli police earlier that day.