Death toll climbs in Israel-Gaza conflict amid UN deadlock
- United Nations Security Council meeting breaks up after less than an hour, with no statement issued
- Israel’s bombing campaign has killed 217 Palestinians, including 63 children, and wounded more than 1,400 people; 12 have died on the Israeli side
Heavy air strikes and rocket fire in the Israel-Gaza conflict claimed more lives on Tuesday as tensions flared in Palestinian “day of anger” protests in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Calls for a ceasefire intensified, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Israel would continue its onslaught on the coastal enclave “as long as necessary”, before a UN Security Council meeting broke up after less than an hour without issuing a statement.
Israeli forces and protesters meanwhile clashed at multiple flashpoints across the occupied West Bank and in east Jerusalem, hospitalising scores, as Palestinians rallied in solidarity with their besieged Gazan counterparts. Dozens were treated for wounds caused by live bullets, medics said.
Israel’s near-relentless bombing campaign has killed 217 Palestinians, including 63 children, and wounded more than 1,400 people in just over a week in the Hamas-run enclave, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
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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.
Israeli strikes that again sent fireballs, debris and black smoke into the sky have left two million Palestinians in Gaza desperate for reprieve.