IDF jets launch ‘extensive attacks’ on Gaza as violence enters 2nd week

#Israel 🇮🇱 army said its warplanes are carrying out "widespread" strikes across the #Gaza Strip 🇵🇸, claimed they are targeting "terror sites," but gave NO further details#Palestinian sources said there have been 66+ strikes in 30 min & the bombardments are particularly intense pic.twitter.com/beSCvFEGZb

— Saad Abedine 🤬😷🤟🏼 (@SaadAbedine)
May 16, 2021

 

Footage shows the IDF launching overnight airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. Latest numbers from Gaza's Health Ministry say 192 Palestinians, including 58 children and 34 women have died as a result of the Israeli raids. pic.twitter.com/VDT8m27RXs
— redfish (@redfishstream)
May 17, 2021

 

There were also reports of several Hamas rocket interceptions over Israel earlier on Sunday night, although on a much smaller scale than the night before.

💥 Rocket from Gaza intercepted by Israel's iron dome a little while ago pic.twitter.com/o4irZJ2nVj
— Ezra Taylor (@nezrataylor)
May 16, 2021

 

While there were no immediate reports of new casualties, the death toll in Gaza reached 192, including 58 children and 34 women, with more than 1,200 injured by Sunday. In Israel, 10 people were killed, including two children, and reportedly over 500 wounded after a week of nightly fire exchanges, most by shrapnel or while rushing for cover in bomb shelters.

The latest escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict follows days of unrest in Jerusalem, prompted by Israel’s plans to forcefully evict several Palestinian families in an occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood. The plan triggered mass protests, which were met with a heavy-handed response. Israeli police even stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the last days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, prompting accusations that it deliberately cracked down on worshippers. In retaliation, Hamas launched the first volley of rockets into Israel last Monday, triggering a full-scale Israeli military operation.