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In Pictures: Ruins and devastation as Israeli attacks pummel Gaza

Israel has launched hundreds of air raids on the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the week, in the worst escalation since the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza.

A Palestinian man runs for cover during an Israeli air attack near the site of a destroyed tower building in Gaza City. [Suhaib Salem/Reuters]
Published On 13 May 2021

Heavy bombardment on the Gaza Strip continued into the early hours of Thursday as Israeli forces launched a series of air attacks on various locations.

Since the Israeli offensive began late on Monday, Gaza’s health ministry says at least 83 people, including 17 children, have been killed. More than 390 others have been wounded.

The Israeli army said about 1,500 rockets have been fired from Gaza towards various locations in Israel, killing at least six Israelis.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Safwat al-Kahlout said most people in the besieged enclave did not sleep overnight as the bombing continued.

“From time to time you hear loud explosions, and the buildings are shaken,” he said.

On the morning of Thursday, the first day of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the month of Ramadan, residents and shop owners in Gaza City walked among the rubble and what is left of their homes and businesses following the heavy Israeli bombardment.

Pointing to his damaged shop, Zakria Al-Halees was struggling for words.

“The damage is huge in the whole area,” he said.

 

 

Palestinians walk amidst debris near the al-Sharouk Tower, which housed the bureau of Al-Aqsa television channel in the Gaza Strip, after it was destroyed by an Israeli air attack. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
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A ball of fire engulfing the al-Walid building which was destroyed in an Israeli air attack on Gaza City early on Thursday, the first day of the Eid al-Fitr religious festival, one of the most important dates in the Islamic calendar. [AFP]
The Israeli army has launched hundreds of air attacks on the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the week, in the worst escalation since the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza. [Mahmud Hams/AFP]
A Palestinian man cleans debris near al-Sharouk Tower in Gaza City. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
A man searches for belongings under the rubble of a building that was destroyed in Israeli air attacks in the northern Gaza Strip. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]
Smoke and a ball of fire rise above buildings in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. [Said Khatib/AFP]
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At least 69 people, including 17 children, have been killed this week by Israel's bombardment. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
Ruins of buildings that were destroyed in Israeli bombardment in the northern Gaza Strip. Despite international calls to de-escalate, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday “both the might of the attacks and the frequency of the attacks will be increased” on Gaza. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]
People inspect the rubble of a destroyed residential building that was hit by Israeli air attacks in Gaza City. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya said he had told mediators the group is “ready” if Israel increases its attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip, saying: “If they (Israel) want to escalate, the resistance is ready; and if they want to stop, the resistance is ready.” [Adel Hana/AP Photo]