On Thursday, Israel launched an airstrike on southern Lebanon, marking the first such attack since a ceasefire with Hezbollah was declared earlier this week. The Israeli military stated the strike targeted a rocket storage site linked to Hezbollah, accusing the group of violating the truce. Lebanese authorities reported sporadic incidents of Israeli shelling and gunfire, which injured two people attempting to return to southern Lebanon. While Lebanese media identified the injured as civilians, the Israeli military described them as suspects breaching the ceasefire. Despite these skirmishes, the truce largely held as Lebanese forces began deploying in areas long dominated by Hezbollah. Read: Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah start a ceasefire after nearly 14 months of fighting Efforts are underway to facilitate the return of displaced residents. Over 1.2 million people were forced to flee their homes during Lebanon's deadliest conflict in decades. However, restrictions remain in place, with both Israeli and Lebanese authorities cautioning civilians against entering border zones still under military control. Israeli forces reported opening fire on "several suspects" entering restricted areas in southern Lebanon, though specifics were not disclosed. Lebanese state media reported two civilians wounded in the border village of Markaba amid ongoing Israeli tank fire in nearby villages, which caused no casualties. Adding to the tension, the Lebanese military accused Israel of multiple ceasefire breaches, citing airstrikes and surveillance operations. An Israeli military spokesperson announced a curfew for Lebanese residents south of the Litani River, enforcing strict movement restrictions from Thursday evening to Friday morning. Read: Displaced people return to south Lebanon as ceasefire appears to hold The fragile truce, brokered by the U.S. and France, mandates Hezbollah’s withdrawal north of the Litani River and a gradual Israeli pullback, with Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers set to patrol a buffer zone. Lebanese military officials are clearing unexploded ordnance and debris to pave the way for displaced families to return. Drone footage revealed extensive destruction in towns like Qana, which has endured repeated devastation in past conflicts with Israel. Residents returning to sift through the rubble expressed a mix of grief and resilience. “They’re determined to destroy us,” said Aref AbouKhalil, a local taxi driver. “But we’ll build it again.” Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzl Halevi, emphasized that any violations of the ceasefire would be met with force. He reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to the agreement while urging caution for displaced Israelis considering returning to their northern border communities. Though the day saw reduced violence compared to recent months, the situation remains tense. The ongoing war in Gaza, which triggered this conflict, continues unabated, with no resolution in sight. Source: With inputs from agencies

Thousands of people in Muslim countries and beyond held demonstrations Friday in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. They called for an end to Israel's blockade and airstrikes following a brutal incursion into southern Israel by fighters from the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza. Demonstrators headed to Israeli military checkpoints after Friday prayers in the West Bank and gathered in Iraq at the country's border crossing with Jordan; in Jordan itself; in locations across Egypt; in Turkey's capital Ankara and its most populous city of Istanbul; and in Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco and South Africa. A Tuesday night explosion at a Gaza City hospital tending to wounded Palestinians and residents seeking shelter was a prominent theme in some of the demonstrations. The cause of the blast at al-Ahli Hospital has not been determined. Resolving Palestine crisis depends on ‘united efforts’ by Muslim Ummah: PM U.S. assessments said the explosion was not caused by an Israeli airstrike, as the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza initially reported. Israel has presented video, audio and other evidence it says proves the blast was caused by a rocket misfired by Palestinian militants, who denied responsibility. The Associated Press has not independently verified any of the claims or evidence released by the parties. The Israeli siege of the Palestinian territory and airstrikes on it were the focus earlier this week of demonstrations at Egyptian universities, inside a congressional office building in Washington, outside the Israeli Embassy in Bogota, Colombia and near the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. Nearly two weeks after the Hamas attack in Israel, such protests continued as Israel prepared for an expected ground invasion of Gaza. Israel has right to statehood, so does Palestine: Chinese Ambassador The Gaza Health Ministry has said more than 4,000 people have been killed and over 13,000 wounded in Gaza since the war began, most of them women, children and older adults. More than 1,000 people were believed buried under rubble, authorities said. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians slain during Hamas’ deadly incursion. Roughly 200 others were abducted. Stop Israel-Palestine war, save women and children: PM Hasina urges world leaders WEST BANKProtests erupted in the main cities of the occupied West Bank on Friday following midday prayers. Palestinians streamed out of mosques and headed to Israeli military checkpoints in Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem, where they threw stones at troops and burned tires. Israeli security forces responded firing tear gas and live rounds. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank reported that 21 people were wounded by soldiers’ gunfire. Tensions were particularly high in Hebron, where Hamas activists called for big protests. Hebron residents shared copies of leaflets they said were dropped across the city by Israeli military drones warning that anyone “who demonstrates on behalf of Hamas will be pursued.” There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. In Tulkarem, militants carried rifles and shots rang out Friday during a funeral for 13 people killed in a battle with Israeli troops in the Nur Shams refugee camp. The past 13 days since the eruption of the war have been the deadliest in decades in the West Bank, with more than 80 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers. EGYPTThousands of Egyptians demonstrated in cities and towns across the North African country, in an expression of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. In a rare move, the Egyptian government approved and even helped organize 27 locations for protesters to gather on Friday. Since coming to power in 2013, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s government has outlawed large public protests. But pro-Palestinian protests broke out in undesignated areas too. Hundreds gathered in the courtyard of the Al-Azhar Mosque, the Sunni Muslim world's foremost religious institution, in central Cairo. “Oh Al-Aqsa, do not worry, we will redeem you with our soul and blood,” they chanted after Friday’s midday prayer. The Al-Aqsa mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam situated in Jerusalem's contested Old City, a spot also known to Jews as the Temple Mount, which is the holiest site in Judaism. In a demonstration not among those approved by the government, scores of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square, where they were cordoned off by security forces. The downtown Cairo square was the focal point of the 2011 uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak. In official demonstration spots located in every major Egyptian city, state TV showed protesters waving flags and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans. While Egypt has functioning relations with both Israel and Hamas, the overwhelming majority of Egyptians harbor sympathy toward Palestinians and their desire for independence. Over the past week, el-Sissi has publicly criticized Israel, accusing Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of trying to liquidate the Palestinian cause by pushing Gaza’s inhabitants onto Egyptian territory. LEBANONDozens of supporters of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group and others protested in a southern Beirut suburb calling for the lifting of the blockade of Gaza and to support Palestinians there. “We salute the heroes of Gaza, the people of Gaza, the elderly, men, women and children,” said Hezbollah legislator Ali Ammar. Protesters waved Hezbollah, Lebanese, and Palestinian flags and burned an American flag. Hezbollah and the Israeli military have skirmished in towns along the Lebanon-Israel border. The militant group has threatened to escalate should Israel launch a ground invasion of Gaza, while Israel has vowed to retaliate aggressively in Lebanon should that happen. The Lebanese government and international community fear a ground invasion could expand the war into the cash-strapped country and elsewhere in the region. Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war that ended in a stalemate in 2006. TURKEYIn Turkey, where the government has declared three days of mourning in solidarity with the victims of a blast at a Gaza hospital, thousands of people staged protests outside mosques following Friday prayers in Istanbul and in the capital, Ankara. In Istanbul, protesters affiliated with Islamic groups waved Turkish and Palestinian flags, held up placards and chanted slogans denouncing Israel’s actions in Gaza. “Stop the genocide!” and “Murderer Israel get out of Palestine” some of the placards read. About a dozen men wearing red-stained doctors’ coats carried dolls depicting dead babies to protest the hospital blast, while some of the protesters set fire to an effigy of the Israeli prime minister and an Israeli flag. In contrast to protests earlier this week, when some demonstrators tried to enter Israeli diplomatic missions in Ankara and Istanbul and flung fireworks at the Israeli Consulate, no violence was reported during Friday’s demonstrations. Israel withdrew its diplomats from Turkey on Thursday over security concerns, officials said. NEW YORKHundreds of protesters braved rainy weather Friday night in New York City and marched to U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand’s Manhattan office, many shouting “cease fire now,” to call on the Democrat — and the rest of the delegation — to condemn Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza. The march was organized by the New York City Democratic Socialists of America and a diverse coalition of Muslim, Jewish and other groups. Brooklyn-based Rabbi Miriam Grossman told the crowd she knows many people grieving the loss of family members killed in the Hamas attack or have friends and family taken hostage. Yet Grossman said she also knows many Palestinians “living in terror” as they lose contact with loved ones in Gaza. “Ceasefire is the only way the Israeli hostages, children and elders can come home,” she said. “Ceasefire is the only way thousands and thousands more Palestinians do not die trapped in Gaza, trapped under the rubble of Israeli bombs.” Police later arrested dozens of the protesters who blocked Third Avenue outside Gillibrand's office by sitting in the middle of the street. At a pro-Israel rally on Thursday night, where hundreds packed into New York City's Times Square to demand the release of the hostages, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York led the crowd in the chant “bring them home.” Photos of the hostages and the Israeli flag shined brightly from towering billboards. Schumer said he assured Israelis on a recent visit that the U.S. is committed to Israel. “We will not abandon you," he told the crowd. "We will fight with you side by side until the threat of Hamas is totally eliminated and every hostage is brought home." IRAQHundreds of Iraqi protesters gathered at the western Trebil border crossing near Jordan in a demonstration organized by the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Iran-backed Shia political groups and militias in Iraq. The pro-Iran coalition also called for a protest in Baghdad near the main gate of the highly fortified international zone, where the U.S. Embassy is located, to condemn its endorsement of Israel in the ongoing war with Hamas. Their rival, Iraq’s firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the most influential in the country, issued a call Thursday for Arab nations bordering Israel, notably Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Jordan, to engage in what he called peaceful demonstrations at their borders. The protesters waved Palestinian flags and chanted “No to Israel” before praying in the presence of religious clerics. In recent days, Iran-backed militias attacked United States military bases in Iraq. Iran has warned that an Israeli ground incursion into Gaza could spark an escalation from allied armed groups and a possible regional war. JORDANPro-Hamas protesters clashed with Jordanian security forces who prevented them from marching toward the border with the occupied West Bank, and police made at least two arrests. All roads to the border were closed, and a few thousand people were allowed to demonstrate in the Naour area, between the capital, Amman, and the border. Protesters chanted pro-Hamas slogans and condemned the Jordanian government for blocking access to the border. They also demanded that all diplomatic relations with Israel be severed and its ambassador to Jordan expelled. YEMENThousands of Yemenis demonstrated across the divided, war-torn country in support of Palestinians. Large protests took place in the capital Sanaa, which is governed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, but also in the south where a secessionist group called the Southern Transitional Council has control. In Sanaa, thousands waved Palestinian flags, chanting: “With our souls, with our blood, we sacrifice for you ... oh Palestinians.” The Houthi rebels are staunch foes of Israel and the United States. Last week, the group’s leader warned the U.S. against intervening in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, threatening that his forces would retaliate by firing drones and missiles. The Houthis regularly organize pro-Palestinian marches during times of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. MOROCCOProtesters holding banners and chanting slogans in support of Palestinians demonstrated outside a mosque after prayers in Salé, Morocco. Participant Lahcen Farhi said he hoped the peaceful gathering would help the people of Gaza. “At least we want the medicines to reach them, or ... to stop the war," he said, adding that expressions of support for Palestinians should be held “without violence and within the framework of the law.” MALAYSIASome 1,000 Muslims marched along a busy thoroughfare in Kuala Lumpur after Friday prayers, calling for an end to the killing in Gaza. Waving Palestinian flags, they gathered outside the U.S. Embassy, which was under heavy security, to protest America’s support for Israel. “Israel is just a big bully, and they are cowards because they are targeting the children, the hospital. (Palestinians) are helpless because they are denied all the basic things in life to survive, and yet (Israel) complained they are being bullied by Hamas,” said retiree Salwa Tamrin. Chanting “Death to Israel, God is great,” many carried placards calling for an end to violence. “For me Palestine is rightfully Palestinian, it’s not the place for Israelis. They went there and took the land” from the Palestinians, said activist Isyraf Imran. Predominantly Muslim Malaysia, a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, doesn’t have diplomatic ties with Israel. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is in Saudi Arabia for the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council summit, warned Friday that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza could widen into a regional and world conflict if no solution is found. INDONESIAIn Indonesia’s capital, demonstrators marched from several mosques to the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy in Jakarta to denounce American support for Israel. Similar protests also took place in front of the United Nations mission, a few kilometers (miles) from the embassy, and in the compound of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Authorities said about 1,000 people participated in the rallies across Jakarta following Friday prayers in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. Protesters who marched to the U.S. Embassy halted traffic along the way as they chanted “God is great,” and “Save Palestinians.” Waving Indonesian and Palestinian flags and signs reading “We are proud to support Palestine,” more than 100 noisy demonstrators gathered along a major street in Jakarta that runs outside the embassy. Some burned portraits of President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. About 1,000 police were deployed around the embassy, the nearby presidential palace and the U.N. mission. Indonesia does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, and there is no Israeli embassy in the country. It's a strong supporter of the Palestinians. President Joko Widodo strongly condemned the Gaza City hospital blast. “Now is the time for the world to stand together to build global solidarity to resolve the Palestinian issue fairly,” Widodo said from Saudi Arabia, where he was attending the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council summit. ITALYRome’s Jewish community has remembered the estimated 203 people believed held by Hamas by setting a long Shabbat table for them outside the capital’s main synagogue and empty chairs for each of the hostages. On the backs of each chair was a flyer featuring the name, age and photo of each missing person. On the table were candles, wine and loaves of challah, the braided bread typically eaten during the Friday night meal. The same flyers appeared on billboards elsewhere in downtown Rome. The Israeli government has said Hamas is holding an estimated 203 people after militants stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7. At least two Italian-Israelis are believed to be among them. The head of Rome’s Jewish community, Victor Fadlun, said the community hoped for as few victims as possible. He said the Palestinian people as well were suffering and were “hostages” of Hamas. He said: “From them we must wait for a helping hand and hope that there will be a proper solution for everyone." SOUTH AFRICAPro-Palestinian demonstrators led by South Africa’s ruling African National Congress protested at the Israel embassy in the capital Pretoria. More than 1,000 protesters brought traffic to a standstill as they marched through the streets. It was the biggest such demonstration in South Africa, where the Palestinian cause continues to enjoy significant support. ANC leaders, including the head of the party in Gauteng province, Panyaza Lesufi, and first deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane led the protesters through the streets of Pretoria. The ANC’s political allies, including the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Union, also joined the march. The ANC has expressed its solidarity with the Palestinian people, emphasizing their long relationship dating back to the days of the racial policy of apartheid implemented by the white minority government. Its youth leader, Collen Malatji, called on the South African government to ban all Israeli imports and businesses in South Africa.  

Israeli airstrikes flattened homes in Gaza on Saturday and Palestinian rocket barrages into southern Israel persisted for a second day, raising fears of another major escalation in the Mideast conflict. Gaza’s health ministry said 24 people had been killed so far in the coastal strip, including six children. The fighting began with Israel’s killing of a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group in a wave of strikes Friday that Israel said were meant to prevent an imminent attack. So far, Hamas, the larger militant group that rules Gaza, appeared to stay on the sidelines of the conflict, keeping its intensity somewhat contained. Israel and Hamas fought a war barely a year ago, one of four major conflicts and several smaller battles over the last 15 years that exacted a staggering toll on the impoverished territory’s 2 million Palestinian residents. Whether Hamas continues to stay out of the fight likely depends in part on how much punishment Israel inflicts in Gaza as rocket fire steadily continues. The Israeli military said an errant rocket fired by Palestinian militants killed civilians late Saturday, including children, in the town of Jabaliya, in northern Gaza. The military said it investigated the incident and concluded “without a doubt” that it was caused by a misfire on the part of Islamic Jihad. There was no official Palestinian comment on the incident. A Palestinian medical worker, who was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the blast killed at least six people, including three children. An airstrike in the southern city of Rafah destroyed a home and heavily damaged surrounding buildings. The Health Ministry said at least two people were killed and 32 wounded, including children. A teenage boy was recovered from the rubble, and the other slain individual was identified by his family as Ziad al-Mudalal, the son of an Islamic Jihad official. The military said it targeted Khaled Mansour, Islamic Jihad's commander for southern Gaza. Neither Israel nor the militant group said whether he was hit. The Civil Defense said responders were still sifting through the rubble and that a digger was being sent from Gaza City. Another strike Saturday hit a car, killing a 75-year-old woman and wounding six other people. In one of the strikes, fighter jets dropped two bombs on the house of an Islamic Jihad member after Israel warned people to evacuate the area. The blast flattened the two-story structure, leaving a large rubble-filled crater, and badly damaged surrounding homes. Women and children rushed out of the area. “Warned us? They warned us with rockets and we fled without taking anything,” said Huda Shamalakh, who lived next door. She said 15 people lived in the targeted home. Among the 24 Palestinians killed were six children and two women, as well as the senior Islamic Jihad commander. The Gaza Health Ministry said more than 200 people have been wounded. It does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. The Israeli military said Friday that early estimates were that around 15 fighters were killed. Read: Israel and Gaza militants exchange fire after deadly strikes The lone power plant in Gaza ground to a halt at noon Saturday for lack of fuel as Israel has kept its crossing points into Gaza closed since Tuesday. With the new disruption, Gazans can get only 4 hours of electricity a day, increasing their reliance on private generators and deepening the territory’s chronic power crisis amid peak summer heat. Throughout the day, Gaza militants regularly launched rounds of rockets into Israel. The Israeli military said Saturday evening that nearly 450 rockets had been fired, 350 of which made it into Israel, but almost all were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system. Two people suffered minor shrapnel wounds. One rocket barrage was fired toward Tel Aviv, setting off sirens that sent residents to shelters, but the rockets were either intercepted or fell into the sea, the military said. Sunday could be a critical day in the flare-up, as Jews mark Tisha B’av, a somber day of fasting that commemorates the destruction of the biblical temples. Thousands are expected at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, and Israeli media reported that the Israeli leadership was expected to allow lawmakers to visit a key hilltop holy site in the city that is a flashpoint for violence between Israelis and Palestinians. The violence poses an early test for Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who assumed the role of caretaker prime minister ahead of elections in November, when he hopes to keep the position. Lapid, a centrist former TV host and author, has experience in diplomacy having served as foreign minister in the outgoing government, but has thin security credentials. A conflict with Gaza could burnish his standing and give him a boost as he faces off against former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a security hawk who led the country during three of its four wars with Hamas. Hamas also faces a dilemma in deciding whether to join a new battle barely a year after the last war caused widespread devastation. There has been almost no reconstruction since then, and the isolated coastal territory is mired in poverty, with unemployment hovering around 50%. Israel and Egypt have maintained a tight blockade over the territory since the Hamas takeover in 2007. Egypt on Saturday intensified efforts to prevent escalation, communicating with Israel, the Palestinians and the United States to keep Hamas from joining the fighting, an Egyptian intelligence official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The latest round of Israel-Gaza violence was rooted in the arrest earlier this week of a senior Islamic Jihad leader in the occupied West Bank, part of a monthslong Israeli military operation. Israel then closed roads around Gaza and sent reinforcements to the border, bracing for retaliation. On Friday, it killed Islamic Jihad’s commander for northern Gaza, Taiseer al-Jabari, in a strike on a Gaza City apartment building. An Israeli military spokesman said the strikes were in response to an “imminent threat” from two militant squads armed with anti-tank missiles. Hamas seized power in Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007, two years after Israel withdrew from the coastal strip. Its most recent war with Israel was in May 2021. Tensions soared again earlier this year following a wave of attacks inside Israel, near-daily military operations in the West Bank and tensions at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site. Iran-backed Islamic Jihad is smaller than Hamas but largely shares its ideology. Both groups oppose Israel’s existence and have carried out scores of deadly attacks over the years.

Israeli aircraft carried out a series of airstrikes at militant sites in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, the first such raids since a shaky cease-fire ended the war with Hamas last month. The airstrikes targeted facilities used by Hamas militants for meetings to plan attacks, the Israeli military said, blaming the group for any act of violence emanating from Gaza. There were no immediate reports of casualties. On Tuesday, hundreds of Israeli ultranationalists, some chanting “Death to Arabs,” paraded in east Jerusalem in a show of force that threatened to spark renewed violence. Palestinians in Gaza responded by launching incendiary balloons that caused at least 10 fires in southern Israel. The march posed a test for Israel’s fragile new government as well as the tenuous truce that ended last month’s 11-day war between Israel and Hamas. READ: Israel swears in new coalition, ending Netanyahu’s long rule Palestinians consider the march, meant to celebrate Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem in 1967, to be a provocation. Hamas called on Palestinians to “resist” the parade, a version of which helped ignite last month’s 11-day Gaza war. With music blaring, hundreds of Jewish nationalists gathered and moved in front of Damascus Gate. Most appeared to be young men, and many held blue-and-white Israeli flags as they danced and sang religious songs. At one point, several dozen youths, jumping and waving their hands in their air, chanted: “Death to Arabs!” In another anti-Arab chant, they yelled: “May your village burn.” In a scathing condemnation on Twitter, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said those shouting racist slogans were “a disgrace to the Israeli people,” adding: “The fact that there are radicals for whom the Israeli flag represents hatred and racism is abominable and unforgivable.” READ: Israel arrests Jerusalem activists in contested neighborhood The crowd, while boisterous, appeared to be much smaller than during last month’s parade. From the Damascus Gate, they proceeded around the Old City to the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray. Ahead of the march, Israeli police cleared the area in front of Damascus Gate, shut down roads to traffic, ordered shops to close and sent away young Palestinian protesters. Police said that officers arrested 17 people suspected of involvement in violence, some of whom threw rocks and attacked police, and that two police officers needed medical treatment. Palestinians said five people were hurt in clashes with police. The parade provided an early challenge for Israel’s new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, a hardline Israeli nationalist who has promised a pragmatic approach as he presides over a delicate, diverse coalition government. READ: Israel suspends ultranationalists' march in east Jerusalem Though there were concerns the march would raise tensions, canceling it would have opened Bennett and other right-wing members of the coalition to intense criticism from those who would view it as a capitulation to Hamas. The coalition was sworn in Sunday and includes parties from across the political spectrum, including a small Arab party. Mansour Abbas, whose Raam party is the first Arab faction to join an Israeli coalition, said the march was “an attempt to set the region on fire for political aims,” with the intention of undermining the new government. Abbas said the police and public security minister should have canceled the event. “I call on all sides not to be dragged into an escalation and maintain maximum restraint,” he said. In past years, the march passed through Damascus Gate and into the heart of the Muslim Quarter, a crowded Palestinian neighborhood with narrow streets and alleys. But police changed the route Tuesday to avoid the Muslim Quarter. Instead, the route went around the ancient walls of the Old City and through Jaffa Gate, a main thoroughfare for tourists, and toward the Jewish Quarter and Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray. Damascus Gate is a focal point of Palestinian life in east Jerusalem. Palestinian protesters repeatedly clashed with Israeli police over restrictions on public gatherings during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in April and May. Those clashes spread to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint site sacred to Jews and Muslims. Tensions at the time were further fueled by protests over the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers, also in Jerusalem. At the height of the tensions, on May 10, Israeli ultranationalists held their annual flag parade. While it was diverted from the Damascus Gate at the last minute, it was seen by Palestinians as an unwelcome celebration of Israeli control over what they view as their capital. In the name of defending the holy city, Hamas fired long-range rockets at Jerusalem, disrupting the march and sparking the Gaza war, which claimed more than 250 Palestinian lives and killed 13 people in Israel. After capturing east Jerusalem in 1967, Israel annexed the in a move not recognized by most of the international community. It considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state. The competing claims over east Jerusalem, home to Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites, lie at the heart of the conflict and have sparked many rounds of violence. Hamas had called on Palestinians to show “valiant resistance” to the march. It urged people to gather in the Old City and at the Al-Aqsa Mosque to “rise up in the face of the occupier and resist it by all means to stop its crimes and arrogance.” In the afternoon, Hamas-linked Palestinians launched some incendiary balloons from Gaza, setting off at least 10 blazes in southern Israel, according to Israel’s national fire department. Abu Malek, one of the young men launching the balloons, called the move “an initial response” to the march. Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, of the internationally backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, called the march an “aggression against our people.” In neighboring Jordan, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the march as “unacceptable,” saying it undermined efforts to reduce friction between Israel and the Palestinians. Israeli media reported the military was on heightened alert in the occupied West Bank and along the Gaza frontier. Batteries of Israel’s Iron Dome rocket-defense system were seen deployed near the southern town of Netivot, near the Gaza border, as a precaution. Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with the military chief of staff, the police commissioner and other senior security officials. He “underscored the need to avoid friction and protect the personal safety of ... Jews and Arabs alike,” his office said.

BNP on Wednesday sent medicines and medical equipment to Palestine ravaged by Israeli airstrikes. Party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir handed over the medicines and equipment to Palestinian Ambassador in Dhaka Yousef SY Ramadan at his  embassy in the city’s Baridhara residence. Talking to reporters later, Fakhrul said over 200 people, including women and children, were killed and many others injured in Palestine and their houses, educational institutions and hospitals were destroyed by the unjustified airstrikes by Israel. Read: Removal of "except Israel" from passports exposed govt’s amoral position: BNP “We’ve been condemning the barbaric attacks for long.  We also sent a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas voicing deep concerns over the inhuman air attacks by Israel and expressed our solidarity with Palestinians,” he said. He said they are providing medicines and medical equipment to Palestine for the treatment of those injured in the Israeli attacks. “We’ve observed with great sadness that when the Palestinians were fighting for their motherland, our Home Ministry removed the words 'except for Israel' from our passport. We think it's not a good move at a time when the whole world was standing (beside Palestine) during their fight against Israel,” the BNP leader observed. He said the Palestinian envoy thanked BNP for its assistance for his country and wished speedy recovery of party chairperson Khaleda Zia. Yousef Ramadan said his country’s people will never forget the cooperation and support of the people of Bangladesh for Palestine.  Read:BNP slams govt over Israel issue Earlier on May 20, Mirza Fakhrul, on behalf of BNP, sent a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressing profound concerns over the recent violence and inhuman air attacks by Israel on innocent Palestinian civilians and devotees on the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Israel conducted more than 1,800 airstrikes on Gaza during the fight that began between Israel and Hamas on May 10. On May 21, Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire, halting a bruising 11-day war that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, brought life in much of Israel to a standstill and left more than 200 people dead.  

Israel on Thursday announced a cease-fire in the bruising 11-day war against Hamas militants that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip and brought life in much of Israel to a standstill. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced the cease-fire after a late-night meeting of his Security Cabinet. It said the group had unanimously accepted an Egyptian proposal, though the sides were still determining exactly when it was to take effect. Senior defense officials, including the military chief of staff and national security adviser, recommended accepting the proposal after claiming “great accomplishments” in the operation, the statement said. “The political leaders emphasized that the reality on the ground will be that which determines the future of the campaign,” the statement said. Also read: How did Hamas grow its arsenal to strike Israel? One member of the Security Cabinet said the cease-fire would take effect at 2 a.m., roughly three hours after the announcement. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the closed-door talks. Shortly after the announcement, air-raid sirens indicating incoming rocket fire sounded in southern Israel. The agreement would close the heaviest round of fighting between the bitter enemies since a 50-day war in 2014, and once again there was no clear winner. Israel inflicted heavy damage on Hamas but was unable to prevent the rocket fire that has disrupted life for millions of Israelis for more than a decade. The fighting began May 10, when Hamas militants in Gaza fired long-range rockets toward Jerusalem after days of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint site sacred to Jews and Muslims. Heavy-handed police tactics at the compound and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers had inflamed tensions. Also read: Hamas official says ‘no shortage of missiles’ Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes during the operation, targeting what it said was Hamas’ military infrastructure, including a vast tunnel network. Hamas and other militant groups embedded in residential areas have fired over 4,000 rockets at Israeli cities, with hundreds falling short and most of the rest intercepted. At least 230 Palestinians were killed, including 65 children and 39 women, with 1,710 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not break the numbers down into fighters and civilians. Hamas and the militant group Islamic Jihad said at least 20 of their fighters have been killed, while Israel said the number is at least 130. Some 58,000 Palestinians have fled their homes, many of them seeking shelter in crowded U.N. schools at a time of a raging coronavirus outbreak. Twelve people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl and a soldier, were killed. Also read: Israel unleashes new strikes as expectations for truce rise Since the fighting began, Gaza’s infrastructure, already weakened by a 14-year blockade, has rapidly deteriorated. Medical supplies, water and fuel for electricity are running low in the territory, on which Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after Hamas seized power in 2007. Israel considers Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seeks its destruction, to be a terrorist group and Hamas’ government is not internationally recognized. Israeli bombing has damaged over 50 schools across the territory, according to advocacy group Save the Children, completely destroying at least six. While repairs are done, education will be disrupted for nearly 42,000 children. Also read: Israeli strikes kill 42, topple buildings in Gaza City Israeli attacks have also damaged at least 18 hospitals and clinics and destroyed one health facility, the World Health Organization said. Nearly half of all essential drugs have run out.

In this fourth war between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, the Islamic militant group has fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel, some hitting deeper in Israeli territory and with greater accuracy than ever before. The unprecedented barrages reaching as far north as the seaside metropolis of Tel Aviv, coupled with drone launches and even an attempted submarine attack, have put on dramatic display a homegrown arsenal that has only expanded despite the choke hold of a 14-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the coastal strip. “The magnitude of (Hamas) bombing is much bigger and the precision is much better in this conflict,” said Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City. “It’s shocking what they’ve been able to do under siege.” Israel has argued that the blockade — which has caused severe hardship for more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza — is essential for preventing a Hamas arms build-up and cannot be lifted. Also read: Hamas official says ‘no shortage of missiles’ Here’s a look at how, despite intense surveillance and tight restrictions, Hamas managed to amass its cache. FROM CRUDE BOMBS TO LONG-RANGE ROCKETS Since the founding of Hamas in 1987, the group’s secretive military wing — which operates alongside a more visible political organization — evolved from a small militia into what Israel describes as a “semi-organized military.” In its early days, the group carried out deadly shootings and kidnappings of Israelis. It killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, which erupted in late 2000. As violence spread, the group started producing rudimentary “Qassam” rockets. Powered partly by molten sugar, the projectiles reached just a few kilometers (miles), flew wildly and caused little damage, often landing inside Gaza. Also read: Israel unleashes new strikes as expectations for truce rise After Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Hamas assembled a secret supply line from longtime patrons Iran and Syria, according to Israel’s military. Longer-range rockets, powerful explosives, metal and machinery flooded Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. Experts say the rockets were shipped to Sudan, trucked across Egypt’s vast desert and smuggled through a warren of narrow tunnels beneath the Sinai Peninsula. In 2007, when Hamas fighters pushed the Palestinian Authority out of Gaza and took over governing the coastal strip, Israel and Egypt imposed their tight blockade. According to the Israeli military, the smuggling continued, gaining steam after Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist leader and Hamas ally, was elected president of Egypt in 2012 before being overthrown by the Egyptian army. Gaza militants stocked up on foreign-made rockets with enhanced ranges, like Katyushas and the Iranian-supplied Fajr-5, which were used during the 2008 and 2012 wars with Israel. Also read: Netanyahu’s prospects bolstered amid Israel-Hamas fighting A HOMEGROWN INDUSTRY After Morsi’s overthrow, Egypt cracked down on and shut hundreds of smuggling tunnels. In response, Gaza’s local weapons industry picked up. “The Iranian narrative is that they kick-started all the missile production in Gaza and gave them the technical and knowledge base, but now the Palestinians are self-sufficient, said Fabian Hinz, an independent security analyst focusing on missiles in the Middle East. “Today, most of the rockets we’re seeing are domestically built, often with creative techniques.” In a September documentary aired by the Al-Jazeera satellite news network, rare footage showed Hamas militants reassembling Iranian rockets with ranges of up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) and warheads packed with 175 kilograms (385 pounds) of explosives. Hamas militants opened unexploded Israeli missiles from previous strikes to extract explosive materials. They even salvaged old water pipes to repurpose as missile bodies. To produce rockets, Hamas chemists and engineers mix propellant from fertilizer, oxidizer and other ingredients in makeshift factories. Key contraband is still believed to be smuggled into Gaza in a handful of tunnels that remain in operation. Also read: Israel’s Netanyahu ‘determined’ to continue Gaza operation Hamas has publicly praised Iran for its assistance, which experts say now primarily takes the form of blueprints, engineering know-how, motor tests and other technical expertise. The State Department reports that Iran provides $100 million a year to Palestinian armed groups. THE ARSENAL ON DISPLAY The Israeli military estimates that before the current round of fighting, Hamas had an arsenal of 7,000 rockets of varying ranges that can cover nearly all of Israel, as well as 300 anti-tank and 100 anti-aircraft missiles. It also has acquired dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles and has an army of some 30,000 militants, including 400 naval commandos. In this latest war, Hamas has unveiled new weapons like attack drones, unmanned submarine drones dispatched into the sea and an unguided rocket called “Ayyash” with a 250-kilometer (155-mile) range. Israel claims those new systems have been thwarted or failed to make direct strikes. The Israeli military says its current operation has dealt a tough blow to Hamas’ weapons research, storage and production facilities. But Israeli officials acknowledge they have been unable to halt the constant barrages of rocket fire. Also read: Israeli strikes kill 42, topple buildings in Gaza City Unlike guided missiles, the rockets are imprecise and the vast majority have been intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. But by continuing to frustrate Israel’s superior firepower, Hamas may have made its main point. “Hamas is not aiming for the military destruction of Israel. Ultimately, the rockets are meant to build leverage and rewrite the rules of the game,” Hinz said. “It’s psychological.”

A senior Hamas official said in an interview Thursday that he expects a cease-fire between the group’s Gaza branch and Israel within a day, but warned that Hamas has “no shortage of missiles.” Osama Hamdan also told The Associated Press that Mohammed Deif, an elusive Hamas commander who has been hunted by Israel for decades, is alive and remains in charge of Gaza military operations. Deif, also known as Abu Khaled, is by far Israel’s most wanted target in Gaza. He has survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts, and is rarely seen in public. Israeli media have said there were two more failed attempts during the current Israel-Hamas war, the fourth in just over a decade. Hamdan told the AP that Deif is “still heading the operation and directing the joint operations” of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, and other factions. He provided no evidence for that statement. Also read: Israel unleashes new strikes as expectations for truce rise Since the conflict began, Israel has leveled a number of Gaza City’s tallest office and residential buildings, alleging they house elements of the Hamas military infrastructure. On Saturday, an Israeli strike destroyed the 12-story al-Jalaa Building, an office and residential tower where the offices of the AP and the TV network Al-Jazeera were located. The military gave a warning ahead of the strike and occupants evacuated safely. The AP has called for an independent investigation. AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt has said in statement that the AP had no indication of a Hamas presence in the building. “This is something we actively check to the best of our ability,” he said. Hamdan denied there was any military presence belonging to Hamas or any other armed group in the building. Also read: Netanyahu’s prospects bolstered amid Israel-Hamas fighting In the interview, Hamdan said his group could continue bombarding Israel for months if it chose to do so. “I can assure that what we saw during the first days in terms of bombarding Tel Aviv and some areas in Jerusalem, can continue not only for days or weeks but for months,” said Hamdan. But he added that he believed a cease-fire announcement is near. Hamdan, who is based in Beirut, is a member of Hamas’ powerful decision-making political bureau. Hamas is a militant off-shoot of the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood and has sworn to pursue Israel’s destruction. It has been branded a terrorist group by Israel, the U.S., the European Union and other Western allies. Also read: Israel’s Netanyahu ‘determined’ to continue Gaza operation Founded in 1987, Hamas consists of a secretive military wing and an above-ground political organization. Its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, runs Hamas from exile in Qatar. The group’s power center remains Gaza, the small territory it seized from internationally-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ forces in 2007. Also Thursday, Haniyeh in a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asked for a wide “mobilization of Arab, Islamic and international support” to stop Israeli airstrikes, the official IRNA news agency reported. It said this was Haniyeh’s second note to Khamenei since the latest war between Israel and Hamas erupted. The war broke out on May 10, after Hamas fired long-range rockets at Jerusalem following weeks of clashes in the holy city between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police. The protests were focused on the heavy-handed policing of a flashpoint sacred site during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers. Since then, the Israeli military has launched hundreds of airstrikes that it says are targeting Hamas’ militant infrastructure. Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired more than 4,000 rockets toward Israeli cities and towns. Also read: Israeli strikes kill 42, topple buildings in Gaza City At least 230 Palestinians have been killed, including 65 children and 39 women, with 1,710 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Twelve people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, have been killed. Hamdan said Egypt and Qatar have been involved in cease-fire negotiations and suggested that progress was being made. “This is the tentative vision that I believe that within 24 hours will lead to an understanding or an agreement,” he added. Hamdan said that as part of the talks, Hamas and a smaller militant group, Islamic Jihad, demand that Israeli police agree not to enter Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third holiest site. During the Jerusalem tensions that preceded the current war, Israeli riot police firing tear guns, stun grenades and rubber bullets clashed with Palestinian stone throwers in the compound. Israel is bound to reject any Hamas demands linked to Jerusalem. During the current fighting, Hamas missiles have been hitting deeper inside Israel and with greater accuracy than ever before, including several barrages on Tel Aviv. Also read: Israel unleashes strikes after vowing to press on in Gaza Hamdan said the arsenal was far from being depleted. “There is no shortage of missiles,” he said, without elaborating. On Thursday, Hamas received verbal support from ally Iran, which has armed militant groups through the region. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, who heads Iran’s expeditionary Quds Force, sent letters to Deif and a commander of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, praising “their resistance” against Israel, according to state media in Tehran. “We will stand by you,” Ghaani said in the letters to the Palestinian commanders.

Israel unleashed a new wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and Hamas fired more rockets into Israel, despite growing signs that the sides were close to a cease-fire that would end 11 days of heavy fighting. In an apparent sign of progress, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting of his Security Cabinet, where the issue of a cease-fire was expected to be debated. An Egyptian official said Israel has informed his government, which is mediating a truce, that it intends to end its military operations in Gaza. Speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing behind-the-scenes diplomacy, he said an announcement was expected following the Security Cabinet meeting. The official spoke shortly after Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi talked by phone with President Joe Biden. The two leaders discussed ways to stop violence in the Palestinian Territories, el-Sissi’s office said. In Washington, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said reports of a move toward a ceasefire were “clearly encouraging.” She said the U.S. was trying “to do everything we can to bring an end to the conflict.” Also read: Netanyahu’s prospects bolstered amid Israel-Hamas fighting With U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urging an immediate cease-fire, a U.N. Mideast envoy was in the Gulf state of Qatar to help with efforts to restore calm, a diplomatic official said. Energy-rich Qatar often helps mediate between Israel and Hamas and has donated hundreds of millions of dollars for development and humanitarian projects in Gaza in recent years. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media. Osama Hamdan, a top Hamas official based in Lebanon, also said he expected a cease-fire within the coming day. Biden on Wednesday publicly pressed Netanyahu to wind down the operation. The Israeli leader initially pushed back, appearing determined to inflict maximum damage on Hamas in a war that could help save his political career. But by Thursday evening, Israeli media were reporting that a cease-fire agreement was expected to take effect by early Friday, perhaps sooner. Despite the signs of progress, fighting continued into the evening, with Israeli airstrikes on targets in Gaza and Palestinian militants firing rockets toward Israeli cities. In past rounds of violence, fighting has picked up in the final hours, with each side trying to eke out a final achievement before a cease-fire went into effect. Earlier Thursday, explosions shook Gaza City and orange flares lit up the pre-dawn sky, with bombing raids also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the southern town of Khan Younis. As the sun rose, residents surveyed the rubble from at least five family homes destroyed in Khan Younis. Heavy airstrikes also hit a commercial thoroughfare in Gaza City. Also read: Israel unleashes strikes after vowing to press on in Gaza The Israeli military said it struck at least three homes of Hamas commanders in Khan Younis and another in Rafah, targeting “military infrastructure,” as well as a weapons storage unit at a home in Gaza City. On Wednesday, Biden told Israel on Wednesday that he expected “a significant de-escalation today on the path to a cease-fire” — but Netanyahu pushed back, saying he was “determined to continue this operation until its aim is met.” It marked the first public rift between the two close allies since the fighting began and posed a difficult test of the U.S.-Israel relationship early in Biden’s presidency. Visiting the region, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Israel has “the right to defend itself against such unacceptable attacks.” But he also expressed concern about the rising number of civilian victims and voiced support for truce efforts. Even as the diplomatic efforts appeared to gather strength, an Israeli airstrike smashed into the Khawaldi family’s two-story house in Khan Younis, destroying it. The 11 residents, who were sleeping outside the home out of fear, were all hospitalized, said Shaker al-Khozondar, a neighbor. Shrapnel also hit his own home, killing his aunt and wounding her daughter and two other relatives, he said. Al-Khozondar spoke from the bedroom where his aunt Hoda died. The windows were shattered and the bed pillows and rubble stained with blood. Also read: Israel’s Netanyahu ‘determined’ to continue Gaza operation Weam Fares, a spokesman for a nearby hospital, confirmed the death and said at least 10 people were wounded in strikes overnight. Heavy airstrikes also pummeled a street in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, destroying ramshackle homes with corrugated metal roofs nearby. The military said it struck two underground launchers in the camp used to fire rockets at Tel Aviv. The current round of fighting between Israel and Hamas began May 10, when the militant group fired long-range rockets toward Jerusalem after days of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint site sacred to Jews and Muslims. Heavy-handed police tactics at the compound and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers had inflamed tensions. Since then, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes that it says have targeted Hamas’ infrastructure, including a vast tunnel network. Hamas and other militant groups embedded in residential areas have fired over 4,000 rockets at Israeli cities, with hundreds falling short and most of the rest intercepted. At least 230 Palestinians have been killed, including 65 children and 39 women, with 1,710 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not break the numbers down into fighters and civilians. Hamas and militant group Islamic Jihad say at least 20 of their fighters have been killed, while Israel says the number is at least 130. Some 58,000 Palestinians have fled their homes. Also read: Israeli strikes kill 42, topple buildings in Gaza City Twelve people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl and a soldier, have been killed. The military said an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza hit an empty bus near the frontier on Thursday, lightly wounding an Israeli soldier. Since the fighting began, Gaza’s infrastructure, already weakened by a 14-year blockade, has rapidly deteriorated. Medical supplies, water and fuel for electricity are running low in the territory, on which Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after Hamas seized power in 2007. Israeli bombing has damaged over 50 schools across the territory, according to advocacy group Save the Children, completely destroying at least six. While repairs are done, education will be disrupted for nearly 42,000 children. Israeli attacks have also damaged at least 18 hospitals and clinics and destroyed one health facility, the World Health Organization said. Nearly half of all essential drugs have run out.

Israeli airstrikes killed at least six people across the Gaza Strip and destroyed the home of a large extended family early on Wednesday. The military said it widened its strikes on militant targets to the south amid continuing rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled territory. Residents surveyed the piles of bricks, concrete and other debris that had once been the home of 40 members of al-Astal family. They said a warning missile struck the building in the southern town of Khan Younis five minutes before the airstrike, allowing everyone to escape. Ahmed al-Astal, a university professor, described a scene of panic before the airstrike hit, with men, women and children racing out of the building in various states of undress. “We had just gotten down to the street, breathless, when the devastating bombardment came,” he said. “They left nothing but destruction, the children’s cries filling the street... This is happening and there is no one to help us. We ask God to help us.” Read:AP source: US encouraging Israel to wind down Gaza offensive The Israeli military said it struck militant targets around the towns of Khan Younis and Rafah, with 52 aircraft hitting 40 underground targets over a period of 25 minutes. Gaza’s Health Ministry said a woman was killed and eight people were wounded in those strikes. Hamas-run Al-Aqsa radio said one of its reporters was killed in an airstrike in Gaza City. Doctors at the Shifa hospital said his was among five bodies brought in early Wednesday. The fatalities included two people killed when warning missiles crashed into their apartment. The latest strikes came as diplomatic efforts aimed at a cease-fire gathered strength and Gaza’s infrastructure, already weakened by a 14-year blockade, rapidly deteriorated. The Palestinian territory is ruled by Hamas, an Islamic militant group. U.S. officials said the Biden administration was privately encouraging Israel to wind down its bombardment of Gaza. Egyptian negotiators also were working to halt the fighting, and while they have not made progress with Israel, they were optimistic international pressure would force it to the table, according to an Egyptian diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing diplomatic efforts. The fighting began May 10 when Hamas fired long-range rockets toward Jerusalem in support of Palestinian protests against Israel’s heavy-handed policing of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint site sacred to Jews and Muslims, and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers. At least 219 Palestinians have been killed in airstrikes, including 63 children and 36 women, with 1,530 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not break the numbers down into fighters and civilians. Hamas and Islamic Jihad say at least 20 of their fighters have been killed, while Israel says the number is at least 130. Twelve people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy, have been killed in rocket attacks so far. A rocket attack on Tuesday near Gaza killed two Thai workers and wounded another seven. The Israeli military said rockets also were fired at the Erez pedestrian crossing and at the Kerem Shalom crossing, where humanitarian aid was being brought into Gaza, forcing both to close. It said a soldier was slightly wounded at Erez. Read:Palestinians go on strike as Israel-Hamas fighting rages The Israeli military has launched hundreds of airstrikes it says are targeting Hamas’ militant infrastructure, while Palestinian militants have fired more than 3,700 rockets at Israel, with some 550 falling short. Israel says its air defenses have a 90% interception rate. Medical supplies, fuel and water are running low in Gaza, which is home to more than 2 million Palestinians and has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Some 58,000 Palestinians have fled their homes. Israeli attacks have damaged at least 18 hospitals and clinics and destroyed one health facility, the World Health Organization said. Nearly half of all essential drugs have run out. The Gaza Health Ministry said it had salvaged coronavirus vaccines after shrapnel from an Israeli airstrike damaged the territory’s only testing facility, which also administered hundreds of vaccines. The medical operation was relocated to another clinic. The WHO said the bombing of key roads, including those leading to the main Shifa Hospital, has hindered ambulances and supply vehicles in Gaza, which was already struggling to cope with a coronavirus outbreak. Among the buildings leveled by Israeli airstrikes was one housing The Associated Press’ Gaza office and those of other media outlets. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged that Hamas military intelligence was operating in the building. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that Israel had given the U.S. information about the bombing, without elaborating. Read:Gaza children bearing the brunt in Israel-Hamas conflict AP President Gary Pruitt has reiterated calls for an independent investigation of the attack. Pruitt has said the AP had no indication Hamas was present in the building and that “this is something we check as best we can.” Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories meanwhile observed a general strike Tuesday in a rare collective action spanning boundaries central to decades of failed peace efforts. Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians want for their future state. Although the strike was peaceful in many places, with shops in east Jerusalem’s usually bustling Old City markets shuttered, violence erupted in the occupied West Bank. Hundreds of Palestinians burned tires in Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered, and hurled stones at an Israeli military checkpoint. Three protesters were killed and more than 140 wounded in clashes with Israeli troops in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron and other cities, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Israeli army said two soldiers were wounded in Ramallah by gunshots to the leg.