Rockets in Tel Aviv, destruction in the Gaza Strip — the situation between Israelis and Palestinians has been escalating for nearly a week. On both sides, people are suffering.
13 May 2021 | Various Sources | DW
All rights included with each photo.
The wave of destruction continued on Thursday. Israeli fighter planes bombed the southern Gaza Strip, in attacks targeting facilities the Israeli army said housed members Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers.
Israeli officials said the military has destroyed at least three high-rise buildings housing the offices of militant groups or their leaders
At least 103 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, including children. Hamas militants have also fired rockets into Israel, killing at least seven people.
Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has fired rockets into Israel in previous nights. Israel’s missile defense system has protected Tel Aviv and other areas, destroying projectiles in the air or diverting them so they cause as little damage as possible.
But the Iron Dome missile defense system does not offer 100% protection. When the sirens go off, Israelis know that they have to find safety in shelters as quickly as possible. Even if it’s 3 a.m.
People who fail to make it to shelters in time try to take cover as best they can, like these people in Ashkelon, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
Even if rockets can be repelled, falling debris is also dangerous. Here, a house in Yehud, just north of Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, has been destroyed. The Israeli army has claimed that more than 1,000 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since Monday.
In recent days, there have been many clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli security forces in several cities, including here in Hebron, in the West Bank, which is occupied by Israel. Demonstrators threw stones and other projectiles.
Security forces have used stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets against Arab Israelis protesting forced evictions in east Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has been amassing combat troops and tanks on the border with the Gaza Strip, recalling the conflicts in 2008/2009 and 2014.
It doesn’t look as if either side will de-escalate the tension any time soon. Some Palestinians in Gaza City have taken refuge at the UN compound for fear of further airstrikes.
