Death, destruction in Gaza, while Israel calls for a truce – Live | New Israel-Palestine Conflict
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Israeli fighter jets continued to march on the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding several others as he defied calls for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to disembark.
At least 227 Palestinians, including 64 children, have been killed in 11 days of violence.
On the Israeli side, 12 people have been killed.
U.S. President Joe Biden discussed the events in Gaza with Netanyahu on Wednesday, and told the interim leader that he expected “a significant de-escalation on the road to a ceasefire today.”
But shortly after Biden’s phone call, Netanyahu said he was “determined” to continue bombing Gaza until Israel’s “goal” is met.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to secure a truce between the Israeli and Hamas authorities in Gaza have stalled, while the US continues to block the issue of the UN Security Council.
Here are the latest updates:
Israel, the Hamas ceasefire ‘could come as soon as Friday,’ the WSJ says
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas “could come as soon as Friday.” reported, citing U.S. and foreign officials who participated in the discussions.
Egyptian officials have made progress in negotiating with the Hamas leadership, the newspaper said, adding that the Israeli military has privately admitted that it is about to meet its targets.
An unnamed U.S. official told the WSJ that there was a ceasefire mechanism and that the “only problem is time.”
The official also stated that members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another armed group based in Gaza, remained a wildcard.
A Hamas official has announced a truce “within a day or two”
Moussa Abu Marzou, a senior Hamas political official, has announced a ceasefire on the Israel-Gaza scale.
“I believe that the ongoing efforts around the ceasefire will be a success,” he told Lebanese television al-Mayadeen. “I hope the ceasefire will be achieved in a day or two, and the ceasefire will be based on mutual agreement.”
An Egyptian security source told Reuters that the parties had agreed in principle to a ceasefire after receiving help from mediators, but details were still being negotiated in secret.
A Palestinian killed in Gaza
At least one Palestinian was killed and 13 others were injured in the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza, the Palestinian news agency Wafaa reported.
A Gaza Wafa correspondent said Israeli fighter jets had attacked at least 30 airstrikes targeting roads and houses in Gaza City, Jabalia and Khan Younis.
The search caused “significant destruction” of the Saftawi highway, which connects the city of Gaza with the northern areas of the enclave, and damaged energy, water and sanitation networks, the agency reported.
Palestinian groups fired 80 rockets into the night
Palestinian groups in Gaza fired 80 rockets and mortars at southern Israel between 7pm on Wednesday and 7am on Thursday, the Times of Israel reported, citing the Israeli military.
The Israeli air defense system detected most of the rockets and no one was injured, according to the website.
The last rocket was fired at 1:00 a.m. local time, he added.
The lightning strikes show that rockets fired by the Israeli Iron Dome missile system from the Gaza Strip are being detected, as seen from Ashkelon on May 19, 2021. [Amir Cohen/ Reuters]
The US is opposed to France’s draft UN resolution
The Associated Press reports that Washington has spoken out against a UN Security Council resolution written by France calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
A spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United States reaffirmed Washington’s stance that a public statement could hamper Biden’s efforts to end the enemy.
“We have been clear and consistent that we are focused on the intensive diplomatic efforts being made to end the violence and will not accept actions that we believe undermine efforts to end violence,” the spokesman told the AP on condition of anonymity.
Diplomats said the remaining 15-member bodies were in favor of the French draft.
U.S. Democrats are calling on Bideni to facilitate the Israeli-Palestinian truce
More than 130 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives called on Bideni to “immediately cease violence” between Israel and Hamas and “negotiate a ceasefire quickly to put pressure on both sides.”
“The alternative is developing an unimaginable human tragedy,” he said in the letter.
With more than 130 members of Congress, I am asking @POTUS to demand an immediate ceasefire in Israel and Palestine.
No more lives to be lost. pic.twitter.com/jEc2uZcgOS
– Representative Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) May 19, 2021
Several Palestinians wounded in Israeli attacks
According to doctors, at least nine Palestinians were injured in an Israeli attack on a house in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
Eight others were injured in an airstrike on a residential building in Jabalia, north of Gaza.
Israel has launched dozens of airstrikes in Gaza
Israel continued the Gaza Strip with airstrikes early Thursday.
Numerous explosions engulfed Palestinian territory, illuminating the sky before dawn with bright orange glow.
Israeli warplanes bomb Al-Saftawi Street in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/YWsddgskjq
– TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) May 20, 2021
For all the developments yesterday, May 19th, go here.
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