Graphic shows Palestinian and Israeli conflict deaths by year.
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MIDEAST

Palestinian-Israeli conflict deaths

By Duncan Mil

May 19, 2021 - Israeli forces pounded Gaza with airstrikes, and Hamas militants continued cross-border rocket attacks for a tenth day on Wednesday.

Gaza officials report that Israeli attacks have killed 212 people since fighting began on May 10. Israeli authorities put the death toll in Israel at 12.

More than 10,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis have died in conflicts since 2000, following the breakdown in peace negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat. The current hostilities are the most serious between Hamas and Israel in years -- the third offensive launched against the militant group by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Around 450 buildings in the densely populated Gaza enclave have been destroyed or badly damaged, including six hospitals and nine health centres, the United Nations humanitarian agency said.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 60,000 people have also had to flee their homes in Gaza. Forty-seven thousand are sheltering in UN Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) schools.

The conflict is the most serious between Hamas and Israel since July 2014, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched Operation Protective Edge. In a departure from previous Gaza conflicts, the current fighting has led to a spike in mob violence in Israeli cities between Jews and Arabs.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 19/05/2021; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Associated Press
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