© Naaman Omar/APA ImagesMinistry of Health Headquarters following Israeli airstrike
Gaza City • May 17, 2021
- Gaza death toll hits 227, including 64 children and over 1,600 injuries, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health; 29 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank
- 10 Israeli casualties, including two children; two Thai nationals
Worldwide protests in solidarity with PalestineThe BDS Movement released the following video marking the worldwide protests that have taken place in solidarity with Palestine over the past week and
call on the international community to keep up the pressure:
In the struggle to end South African apartheid, global solidarity forced policymakers to take action. There, apartheid was thrown into the dustbin of history. Dismantling Israeli apartheid is now #InOurHands! We call on you, everywhere, to intensify your meaningful solidarity. Mobilize in your community, country, or internationally to end complicity in Israeli apartheid, strengthening the struggle for justice in Palestine and globally.
Israeli attacks cripple Gaza health sectorThe following statement by the Palestine Ministry of Health on the impact of Israeli attacks on the Gaza health sector was shared on a WhatsApp group for journalists:
Gaza: Dr. Salha critically injured by Israeli airstrikes.
Dr. Salha is being treated in the Shifa hospital after being critically injured by the Israeli bombing of the Ministry of Health facilities and Al-Rimal Primary Health care clinics on May 17. Dr. Salha provided primary care to Gaza patients. Targeting health care professionals in Gaza, like Dr. Salha, Dr. Ayman, and Dr. al-Aloul has added additional strain to provide patient services.
Dr. Salha was working as a physician, speaking on the telephone, when the Israeli bombing struck the Al-Rimal Primary Health Care Center. A piece of shrapnel struck Dr. Salha in the head, causing him to be critically injured. The ambulance was delayed in reaching Dr. Salha due to severely damaged roads leading to the Al-Rimal Primary Health Care Center. This delay caused significant blood loss for Dr. Salha, increasing the severity of his critical injuries.
The targeting of health clinics and facilities in Gaza, including the Al-Rimal Primary Health Clinic, has led to the
closure of the central laboratory services, COVID-19 vaccination, pregnancy services, telemedicine, and Coronavirus testing. The suspension of these services has severely impaired the Ministry of Health's ability to confront the COVID-19 pandemic and to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Gaza communities.
Comment: The destruction and carnage continues, despite unheeded efforts of world leaders to influence a ceasefire:
Update: 18/5/21 6:00 Israeli airstrikes continue and
devastation increases. Residents no longer recognize their homes for the debris:
© APPalestinian inspects the damage of a house destroyed by early morning Israeli airstrike
Gaza City 18/5/2021
Israeli attacks have damaged at least 18 hospitals and clinics and destroyed one health facility. Nearly half of all essential drugs have run out.
Three protesters were killed and more than 140 wounded in clashes with Israeli troops in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron. The Israeli army said two soldiers were wounded in Ramallah by gunshots to the leg. Hamas-run Al-Aqsa radio said one of its reporters was killed in an airstrike in Gaza City.
If you can stomach this, check out how Netanyahu lays it all out for his constituency:
Update: 18/5/21 8:17 WH pressed Israel to 'wind down' [its attacks] as international objections increase. Remarks in general were said to be far stronger than Biden made publicly - obviously to no avail:
Biden's administration noted growing international objections and emphasized that time is not on Israel's side. Reports detailed that Biden warned Netanyahu during the Monday call that "he could put off a lot of growing pressure from the international community," as well as from the US Congress, but that he could only do so for a limited amount of time.
Israel plans to keep on striking at high-value targets, including the commander of the Hamas terror group's Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif.
Gantz told US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin: "The IDF's military campaign will continue to the end of achieving long-term quiet."
Netanyahu said: "I am sure that all the enemies around us see how costly it is to attack us, and I am sure they will learn the lesson."
© Amir Levy/Getty ImagesIsraeli artillery unit as it fires near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip
Israel launched a wave of air strikes against targets in Gaza, including a six-story building that housed Islamic University libraries and educational centers. New bombardments would target two sections of tunnels that weren't hit during four previous nights of air assaults.
A Hamas mortar attack killed two Thai workers inside a packaging plant in southern Israel and also wounded 10 other people, four of them seriously.
Update: 18/5/21 17:39 IDF bombed Qatar Red Crescent's building in Gaza Strip without prior notice:
© UnknownQatar Red Crescent sign
Update: 19/5/21 00:47 Israeli strikes rampant now in its ninth consecutive day of violence:
The Israeli military reported a flurry of strikes on the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday night, targeting what it said were Hamas sites in Khan Younis, Gaza City, Zeitoun, Shuja'iyya and Rafah, including rocket launch installations, "research and development complexes," and the homes of several commanders. Palestinian return fire targeted the Hatzor, Hatzerim, Nevatim, Tel Nof, Palmachim and Ramon air force bases, though there were no reports of damage or injuries. Rockets were also fired toward the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba.
UN warning that some 52,000 people have been displaced. Around 450 buildings have been destroyed or severely damaged by Israeli strikes, including six hospitals, nine health clinics and Gaza's primary Covid-19 testing and vaccination site.
While Israeli media previously reported that Hamas and Tel Aviv were nearing agreement on a ceasefire, a senior Hamas official, Izzat al-Rishq, later denied any such deal, saying that "no agreement or specific timings for the ceasefire were reached." He added that negotiations led by the UN, Egypt, Qatar and other nations were ongoing, however.
Meeting with the mayors of Lod and Ramla on Tuesday - cities with large Arab populations - Israel's police commissioner Kobi Shabtai said that "terrorists from both sides" were responsible for the bloodshed, enraging local right-wing leaders. "From my perspective, anyone who was involved in the riots in the mixed cities is a terrorist."
Update: 19/5/21 1:10 Interesting twist during these horrific circumstances, a group of companies are
using advertising to 'promote peace' - a feel-good distraction for global public consumption:
The ad initiative is an effort led by Israeli Bank HaPoalim, one of Israel's largest banks which recently gained new investments from BlackRock, a giant US asset management company. The idea has been picked up by the Clalit Health Fund, one of Israel's largest health service organizations. numerous rallies calling for justice have been held around the world, including in London and across several cities in the United States.
Meanwhile, Riyad Mansour, a Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, has asked for more humanitarian aid after the UN Security Council held its fourth emergency meeting about the Israeli bombings, with no official statement.
Israel opened the Kerem Shalom crossing, allowing humanitarian workers into Gaza.
Update: 19/5/21 2:41 Message from Biden: Ditch the war and do it soon.
© Youssef Massoud/Getty Images/KJNIsraeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu • US President Joe Biden
Biden has faced increasing pressure, even from fellow Democrats, to take a more active and public role in brokering a ceasefire. Biden conveyed to the prime minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire. Latest calls and diplomatic efforts have increasingly been geared toward pressing Netanyahu on a timetable.
Update: 19/5/21 3:32 It comes down to
sneaky trickery to get the US onboard:
© Sarah Meyssonnier/AFPFrench President Macron • Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah • Jordanian King Abdullah II
May 18, 2021
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan on Sunday urged members to "unequivocally condemn Hamas," rather than calling on both sides to exercise restraint. China's UN ambassador Zhang Jun said we are supportive to all effort facilitating the ending of the crisis and the coming back of peace in the Middle East."
Update: 19/5/21 11:20 Eleven children being treated for trauma were killed in their homes by Israeli airstrikes:
© Family photos/DCIP/NRCTala Ayman Abu al Auf • Rula Mohammad al Kawlak • Yara Mohammad al Kawlak
...
Violence erupted at protests in the occupied West Bank, including in the city of Ramallah. Hundreds of Palestinians burned tyres and threw stones toward an Israeli military checkpoint. Troops fired tear gas canisters at the crowd and protesters picked up some of them and hurled them back. One protester was killed and more than 70 others wounded - including 16 by live fire - 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 by gunshots to the leg.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad say at least 20 of their fighters have been killed while Israel says the number is at least 160. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says nearly 47,000 Palestinians have fled their homes during the airstrikes. He welcomed Israel's decision to open Gaza's main commercial crossing, allowing essential supplies to flow in for the first time since the conflict broke out on 10 May.
See also:
And of course, when it comes to Bibi, he always, seems to use the Palestinians, as a whipping post, living in their homeland, just getting along to survive, and when is comes to Bibi, in some critical juncture in his so called leadership, WHAM, BANG, all hell breaks loose on the most bombed open air prison on the planet.
Strange, the voices of western political leadership, are deafening. I guess, when it comes to crimes against humanity, they can be very selective.