Israel’s intense bombing campaign has killed 213 Palestinians, including 61 children, and wounded more than 1,400 people in Gaza in more than a week of fighting against Islamist group Hamas, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. The death toll on the Israeli side rose to 12 when a volley of rockets Hamas fired at the southern Eshkol region killed two Thai nationals working in a factory and wounded several others, police said. Watch | “You have 10 minutes”: a first-person account of the Israeli strike on Gaza towerThe humanitarian crisis deepened in the impoverished strip, from where Hamas has launched nearly 3,500 rockets at Israel since May 10, . Humanitarian disasterThe conflict risks precipitating a humanitarian disaster, with the UN saying nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced and 2,500 have lost their homes. Israeli fire has battered crucial Gaza infrastructure, causing blackouts and prompting the electricity authority to warn on Monday it only had enough fuel left to provide power for another two to three days.

Source: The Hindu May 18, 2021 06:56 UTC