Dozens of air strikes pounded Gaza on Tuesday as US President Joe Biden expressed support for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A new front in the conflict opened as the Israeli military said it also shelled Lebanon in response to six failed rocket launches from southern areas in the neighbouring country.
Biden held his third phone conversation with Netanyahu since violence flared on May 10 and expressed support for a ceasefire. But the US president stopped short of demanding an end to the violence.
At least 212 Palestinians, including 61 children, have been killed in Gaza since the attacks began. About 1,500 Palestinians have been wounded. Ten Israelis have died, including two children, while at least 300 Israelis have been wounded
Here are the latest updates:
3 mins ago (07:27 GMT)
Protests in Indonesia, South Korea against Israel
From Indonesia to South Korea, demonstrators are gathering to protest against the bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli army and show solidarity to the Palestinian people.
Members of Indonesian labour organizations carry placards during a protest against Israel outside the United Nations building in Jakarta, Indonesia [Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters]Palestinian people and South Korean activists staged a protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza, in front of Israeli Embassy the country’s capital.
Palestinian people and South Korean activists stage a protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza, in front of Israeli Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, May 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)39 mins ago (06:51 GMT)
Gaza’s first 3D printer destroyed
Tashkeel3D, Gaza’s first 3D printer, which manufactured medical devices for years, has been destroyed by an Israeli air raid, according to Dr Tarek Loubani, a Palestinian Canadian physician and founder of the Glia Project, Tashkeel3D’s partner.
Tashkeel 3D was started with a 3D printer made by its founder from scratch, following open-source designs online, because the printers were not allowed in Gaza by Israel.
The company, who represented half of Gaza’s 3D printing capacity, was producing stethoscopes and tourniquets to support Gaza’s medical system.
1 hour ago (06:28 GMT)
Israeli military says it downed UAV near Jordan border
Israeli military said that its forces downed a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) that approached Israel’s border with Jordan, without specifying where the aircraft might have originated.
1 hour ago (06:09 GMT)
Iran’s FM reacts to US blocking UNSC statement and selling more arms to Israel
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif slammed the US administration for approving the sale of $735m in weapons to Israel, while blocking a joint UN security council statement.
The arms sale, which Congress was notified of on May 5, a week before the current escalation began, includes Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), which are used to turn bombs into precision-guided missiles,
according the the Washington Post.
3 hours ago (04:49 GMT)
More blasts in Gaza as day breaks
Israel continued its air raids on Gaza as day broke on Tuesday.
Explosions were heard and balls of fire and plumes of smoke were seen rising from several buildings in Gaza City.
Smoke and flames are seen following an Israeli attack on a building in Gaza City on May 18, 2021 [Mohammed Salem/ Reuters]
Smoke rises following an Israeli attack on a building in Gaza City on May 18, 2021 [Mohammed Salem/ Reuters]3 hours ago (04:03 GMT)
Jordan’s king blames ‘provocative’ Israeli actions for escalation
Jordan’s King Abdullah II spoke to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday and said it was Israel’s “recurrent provocative” actions against Palestinians that have led to the ongoing escalation.
The king also told Guterres that the “international community must shoulder its responsibility, move actively to stop Israeli violations in Jerusalem, aggression on Gaza,” the royal court wrote on Twitter.
4 hours ago (03:24 GMT)
Argentinians protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered near the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires to protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza.
The demonstrators held banners that read “No to the Palestine genocide” and “Everybody with Palestine”.
Protesters hold a banner that reads ‘No to the Palestine genocide’ during a demonstration against Israel and in support of Palestinians, in Buenos Aires, Argentina [Victor R Caivano/ AP]One protester held a sign that said “Boycott Israel” while another carried a placard that called on the Argentinian government “to break relations with Israel”.Riot police blocked the demonstrators from reaching the Israeli embassy.
6 hours ago (01:59 GMT)
Blasts in Gaza City as dawn approaches
Explosions lit up the night sky over Gaza City early on Tuesday as Israeli forces continued to shell the Palestinian enclave.
There were about 30 Israeli air attacks overnight, as well as bursts of Palestinian rocket fire.
A ball of fire explodes above buildings in Gaza City as Israeli forces shell the Palestinian enclave, early on May 18, 2021 [Mahmud Hams/ AFP]
Israeli jets kept up a barrage of attacks against Gaza following a week of violence that has killed more than 200 people [Mahmud Hams/ AFP]6 hours ago (01:49 GMT)
UN: Situation in southern Lebanon is ‘now calm’
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said it is enhancing security controls in southern Lebanon, in coordination with the Lebanese army, after detecting rocket fire from the area.
UNIFIL added on Twitter it has intensified patrols “to prevent any further incidents that endanger the safety of the local population and the security of southern Lebanon”.
It added the “situation in the area is now calm”.
7 hours ago (00:59 GMT)
Amnesty condemns US approval of arms sales to Israel
Human rights group Amnesty International has condemned US plans to sell weapons worth $735m to Israel in the midst of the latest conflict with Palestinian armed groups, saying the approval undermines the US commitment to upholding human rights around the world.
“By supplying weapons that could be used to commit war crimes, the US government is taking the risk of fuelling further attacks against civilians and seeing more people killed or injured by US weapons,” Philippe Nassif, Amnesty International USA’s advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement urging Biden to reconsider the decision.
7 hours ago (00:17 GMT)
Israel shells southern Lebanon after ‘failed rocket launches’
Six shells were fired from Lebanon towards northern Israel on Monday but did not cross the border, the Israeli military said.
It said that in response, artillery was fired at “the sources of the launches” in Lebanon.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon said it had detected rocket fire around Rashaya al-Foukhar and urged all parties to “exercise maximum restraint”.
8 hours ago (23:27 GMT)
Gaza images suggest Israel committing ‘war crimes’, law professor says
Ardi Imseis, a law professor at Queen’s University in Canada, said Israel is responding with disproportionate force in the Gaza Strip and probably committing war crimes as a result.
“We have reasonable grounds to believe that war crimes are being committed, violations of international humanitarian law, primarily through lack of respect for the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution,” Imseis told Al Jazeera.
The violations appear to come “primarily from the Israeli side, but not exclusively”, Imseis said.
9 hours ago (22:21 GMT)
US ‘delay’ in ceasefire support ‘has caused slaughter of children’: Ilhan Omar
US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar said US President Joe Biden’s delay in expressing support for a ceasefire “has caused the slaughter of children and destruction of lives”.
The tweet came after Biden told Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call that he backed a ceasefire.
At least 61 Palestinian children have died since Israel began its bombardment on May 10, following Israeli attacks on Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. Two children in Israel have also died.
10 hours ago (21:39 GMT)
Biden backs ceasefire, repeats support for Israel
US President Joe Biden “expressed his support for a ceasefire” during a conversation with Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday afternoon, according to a White House readout of the conversation.
Biden also “welcomed efforts to address intercommunal violence and to bring calm to Jerusalem” and “encouraged Israel to make every effort to ensure the protection of innocent civilians”.
Israel has come under criticism for the civilian death toll during its air raids.
Still, Biden “reiterated his firm support for Israel’s right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks”, the readout said.
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