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Two Palestinians were killed and eight others wounded, while 15 buildings and one mosque were destroyed on Tuesday, as the Israeli occupation's aggression against the Gaza Strip continued for the ninth consecutive day. Palestinian medical sources reported that Mahmoud Ramadan Ishtawi, 18, was killed in an Israeli bombing of the Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City. Three-year-old Amna Iyad Shreir also died from injuries sustained in an Israeli bombing of her home on May 11, which killed her parents (Iyad Shreir, 44, and Layali Shreir, 40) and her sister, Lina Shreir, 15. Eight other Palestinians were wounded in separate raids on homes in the Gaza Strip, with injuries ranging from moderate to serious. Hamas political bureau member Fathi Hammad asserted that Israel will not achieve a victory over the Palestinian resistance, which still has many options to counter the aggression. Speaking to Al-Aqsa Radio, Hammad said, "The Zionist enemy is trying to achieve a victory, but it will not be able to..." That is it.” He added that the Palestinian resistance, spearheaded by the Qassam Brigades (Hamas’s military wing), is the one setting the terms and has surprised both near and far, and still has much in store. The final word will be theirs. Hammad pointed out that Israel’s attempts to conceal its losses will not diminish or lessen the image of its defeat at the hands of the resistance. He continued, “The uprising of our people in the West Bank in support of Jerusalem and Gaza confirms that they are the strategic reserve of the resistance and the epicenter of terror for the Zionist enemy.” The occupation forces bombed residential buildings. The Israeli occupation army focused today on bombing buildings and homes, striking 15 residences with missiles. Receive instant alerts and updates based on your interests. Be the first to know about important stories. Eyewitnesses reported that the Israeli occupation army completely bombed the Kahil building in the Rimal neighborhood, west of Gaza City, this morning. The six-story building is located near a group of schools belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the Islamic University. The building's ground floor housed the Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque, which was completely destroyed, as well as a number of educational centers. Israeli warplanes destroyed a house in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, and three houses were destroyed in Khan Younis (south). In the central Gaza Strip, aircraft bombed a house in the Bureij refugee camp, injuring one person. In Gaza City, Israeli occupation forces bombed five houses, and in the northern Gaza Strip, four houses were destroyed. Israeli warplanes launched more than 10 raids on land, poultry farms, and resistance sites in the towns of Al-Qarara, Abasan Al-Kabira, Abasan Al-Jadida, Bani Suheila, Ma'an, and Al-Manara in Khan Younis (south), and two sites in the Al-Zanna and Al-Muharrarat areas, east and west of Khan Younis. An airstrike targeted the Abu Khadra government complex, and another struck east of Jabalia. Eyewitnesses added that warships continued to bombard the Gaza Strip's coastline with dozens of shells, coinciding with artillery shelling in the eastern part of the Strip. This resulted in fires in fields and a house fire in the town of Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis. Early this morning, Israeli warplanes launched a fierce and successive attack on dozens of targets in the Jabal al-Rais, Beit Lahia, al-Tuam, al-Karama, and Sheikh Zayed areas in the northern Gaza Strip. The bombing also struck the al-Maqousi and al-Katiba areas north and west of Gaza City. According to eyewitnesses, the Israeli airstrikes targeted resistance sites, streets, and infrastructure, causing widespread destruction. The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza announced today that the losses from the Israeli aggression on the Strip have reached approximately $243 million, due to the total or partial damage inflicted on hundreds of residential, commercial, and government facilities by the airstrikes. On Tuesday, the death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip rose. In Gaza, since May 10, the death toll has risen to 217 martyrs, including 63 children and 36 women, in addition to 1,500 wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. West Bank Martyrs: The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced today the martyrdom of four citizens by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, while violent clashes continue between Palestinian youths and occupation forces in the Shuafat refugee camp in occupied Jerusalem. With these martyrs, the total number of victims since May 7 has risen to 26 martyrs and approximately 4,000 wounded. The Ministry of Health stated in a press release that a Palestinian man died after arriving at the Palestine Medical Complex from the town of Bil'in (west of Ramallah), succumbing to critical injuries sustained from a live bullet wound to the head. A second Palestinian man also died after being shot in the chest while at the Palestine Medical Complex. The Occupation Escalates: In this context, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the military operation in the Gaza Strip will continue for the coming days, and the Israeli Minister of Intelligence hinted that the “step The next step is cutting off electricity to the Gaza Strip.” Today, Israeli occupation forces continued their bombardment of various areas of the Strip by air, land, and sea. Palestinian resistance factions responded with rocket barrages targeting several Israeli cities, towns, and settlements. Netanyahu added, “We have set Hamas and Islamic Jihad back years, and the military operation will continue for as long as it takes.” He continued, “The equation will change afterward.”
תקיפת עמדת שיגור רקטות ממנה בוצע הירי לבאר שבע לפני מספר שעות. בסרטון ניתן לראות שיגור רקטה To cross the city and the security forces from behind: pic.twitter.com/nRjoMHJvkP
— Israel Defense Forces (@idfonline) May 18, 2021 For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement that “the fighting will not stop until we reach a comprehensive and long-term truce.” An occupation spokesperson announced that the army will continue its operations in Gaza in line with its list of objectives for the next 24 hours, adding in statements to military radio, “We are not talking about a ceasefire, we are focusing on firing.” The spokesperson revealed that 11 Israelis have been killed as a result of rocket attacks from Gaza since the beginning of the escalation, and added, “3,300 rockets have been launched from Gaza, most of them from the north of the Strip.” The Iron Dome intercepted 90% of them. He continued, "As long as Hamas and Islamic Jihad attacks continue, we will not discuss de-escalation," noting that they possess approximately 12,000 rockets that are difficult to destroy completely. He added, "We targeted three residential apartments belonging to Hamas leaders in Gaza and a missile development and production warehouse belonging to the movement." The scope of confrontations widened. On Tuesday, confrontations between Palestinians and the Israeli occupation army in the West Bank expanded to include approximately 20 flashpoints. Peaceful marches set off from various West Bank cities, with thousands of Palestinians participating, towards points of contact with the occupation army following protests held in city centers. These protests were in rejection of the Israeli aggression and its military escalation in the occupied territories. The Israeli occupation army used live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets, and tear gas to disperse these marches. In the northern West Bank, confrontations were concentrated at the Huwwara military checkpoint south of Nablus, west of Tulkarm, and in the cities of Jenin, Qalqilya, and Salfit, as well as in the villages and towns of Beita, Tell, and Osarin. Kafr Qaddum and Qarawat Bani Hassan. The most violent clashes witnessed in the Palestinian territories on Tuesday took place at the Beit El Israeli military checkpoint north of Ramallah, where thousands of Palestinians marched from the city center towards the checkpoint. Villages and towns in the Ramallah governorate (central West Bank) also witnessed clashes, concentrated in the towns of Nabi Saleh, Budrus, Sinjil, Turmus Ayya, and Ni'lin. Among the areas that witnessed clashes with the occupation army were villages northwest of Jerusalem, most notably clashes in the village of Beit Sira. Other clashes erupted at the southern entrance to the city of Jericho in the eastern West Bank. In the southern West Bank, the most significant clashes occurred in the cities of Bethlehem and Hebron. A general strike swept through the cities of the West Bank and Arab towns in Israel on Tuesday in condemnation of the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Since the morning, shops in the West Bank remained closed, traffic largely stopped, and civil institutions, banks, and universities did not open. Eyewitnesses reported that this came in response to calls from Palestinian political and union frameworks. Today is considered a day of rage against the occupation due to its continued escalation in the occupied territories. Fahmi Shaheen, coordinator of the National and Islamic Forces in Hebron, in the southern West Bank, said, “The strike is an expression of the Palestinian people’s anger at the ongoing barbaric aggression perpetrated by the Israeli occupation state, and at the international community’s stance towards Israel and its aggression against our people in Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah, and Gaza.” He explained that the importance of this strike lies in its “comprehensiveness among all Palestinians throughout historical Palestine (the West Bank, Gaza, and the 1948 territories).” Regarding the next step after the strike, Shaheen said, “The forces and factions will work to strengthen their unity and continue all possible forms of struggle. We are committed to the continuation and development of the intifada.” He called on the Palestinian leadership to “elevate its approach and actions to the level of the Palestinian people’s intifada and struggle, to halt security coordination (with Israel), and to withdraw recognition of the occupation state in order to achieve harmony between the leadership and the people.” In response to a call from the Palestinian forces and factions, the occupied Palestinian territories are witnessing a general strike. In the West Bank, popular marches and clashes with occupation forces at flashpoints are taking place. On Monday evening, the death toll from the ongoing Israeli military aggression against the Gaza Strip since May 10 rose to 213 martyrs, including 61 children and 36 women, in addition to 1,442 wounded, according to a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Since April 13, the situation in the Palestinian territories has been volatile due to brutal attacks perpetrated by the Israeli occupation police and settlers in occupied Jerusalem, particularly at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings, and in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood (central Jerusalem), following Israeli efforts to evict Palestinian families from 12 homes and hand them over to settlers.