Israel strikes media building, refugee camp in Gaza City

At least 10 Palestinians from a family killed.

May 15, 2021 06:12 pm | Updated November 30, 2021 06:33 pm IST - GAZA CITY

A fireball and smoke billow up into the air during an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City, in Gaza Strip on May 15, 2021.

A fireball and smoke billow up into the air during an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City, in Gaza Strip on May 15, 2021.

An Israeli air strike targeted and destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed the offices of The Associated Press Al-Jazeera and other media outlets hours after another Israeli air raid on a densely populated refugee camp killed at least 10 Palestinians from an extended family, mostly children, on Saturday.

The strike on the high-rise came nearly an hour after the military ordered people to evacuate the 12-storey building, which also housed other offices and residential apartments.

 

The strike brought down the entire structure, which collapsed in a gigantic cloud of dust. 

There was no immediate explanation for why it was attacked.

The air strike on the refugee camp was the deadliest single strike of the current conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. Both sides are pressing for an advantage as ceasefire efforts gather strength.

 

The latest outburst of violence started in Jerusalem and spread across the region over the past week, with Jewish-Arab clashes and rioting in mixed cities of Israel. There were also widespread Palestinian protests Friday in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces shot and killed 11 people.

The spiralling violence has raised fears of a new Palestinian “intifada,” or uprising, when peace talks have not taken place in years.

U.S. diplomat Hady Amr arrived Friday as part of Washington’s efforts to de-escalate the conflict, and the UN Security Council was set to meet on Sunday. But Israel turned down an Egyptian proposal for a one-year truce that Hamas rulers had accepted, an Egyptian official said on Friday on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

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