Horrifying accounts of Israel-Palestine conflict flood internet as air strikes continue

Israel, on May 11, unleashed new airstrikes on Gaza, flattening a pair of high-rise buildings deemed to be housing Hamas militants. The strikes came as Hamas and other Palestinian fundamentalist group continued firing hundreds of rockets into the Zionist territory. The conflict escalated relentlessly throughout the day, only to be succeeded by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to expand the offensive.

_Image: AP

_{Image: AP}

_{Image: AP}

Despite several bombs being intercepted by Israeli anti-missile systems and several others landing on the unoccupied ground, the rocket attack killed three Israeli women. Meanwhile, the death toll on the other side claimed to be 36 on Tuesday. The sounds of the projectiles echoed as far as Tel Aviv as horrific visuals from the ground flooded the internet.

Later in the day, Netanyahu said, in a television broadcast, that Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant groups “have paid, and I tell you here, will pay a heavy price for their aggression.” Boasting about “heavy militant casualties” in the Gaza strip, the Likud leader asserted that airstrikes have annihilated hundreds of targets across the west bank.

Standing alongside political rival Benny Gantz, Netanyahu said that Israel would “increase even more the strength of the strikes and also the rate of the strikes” against Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip. “Hamas will receive blows now that it didn’t expect,” he added in a statement.

Demonstrations across countries

The recent clashes have also triggered demonstrations across the Arab and Muslim states like Turkey and Pakistan. Meanwhile, protests also blanketed Jersusalem where as many as 150 Israelis walked through the centre of the city demanding an end to violence. The protesters carried banners calling for an end to the escalation and chanted "We don't want another war."

The conflict began last Friday after Israeli Law enforcers and Palestinians clashed at the Al Aqsa Mosque complex. Over the course of five days, Israeli police have not only fired stun grenades but also tear-gassed hundreds of Palestinians, who in turn hurtled stones. Since Monday, both the parties have been engaged in airstrikes, turning the region into a bristling war zone.

_{Image: AP}

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