Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets at southern Israel early on Tuesday, killing a man in a strike on a residential building, and warning they would escalate their attacks if Israel continues bombing targets in the Gaza Strip.

The cross-border attacks, which were triggered by a botched Israeli undercover raid into Hamas-ruled Gaza late Sunday, marked the most serious escalation since an Israel-Hamas war in 2014.

The Israeli military said some 400 rockets and mortars have been launched from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon, with about 100 of them intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defence system.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said Israeli warplanes, tanks and naval vessels were involved in strikes against military compounds, observation posts and weapons facilities belonging to the two main Gaza militant groups behind the attacks — Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.

He said the Israeli military has enhanced its deployment along the border but had yet to mobilise its reserves.

He said Gaza militant groups were believed to have an arsenal in excess of 20,000 rockets and mortars of different caliber and range.

On Tuesday, Gaza's health ministry said two Palestinians in their 20s were killed in separate airstrikes, raising the number killed since the Israeli offensive began Monday to six, including four militants.

At least 25 people have been wounded.

Israeli medical officials said a 48-year-old man was found early Tuesday under the rubble of a building hit by a rocket in the southern city of Ashkelon.

Relatives in the West Bank town of Halhoul identified the man as Mahmoud Abu Usbeh, a Palestinian labourer who had been working in Israel.

He left a wife and six children behind.

At least 20 people have also been wounded in Israel, three critically, according to medical officials.

Ashkelon - 13 November 2018

1. Set up shot of IDF spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, Israeli military spokesman:

"Well the situation currently is that Hamas and other terrorist organisations from the Gaza Strip have fired more than 400 rockets and missiles at Israel aiming for Israeli civilians. What you can see behind me is an Israeli house. We're standing in Ashkelon which is a regular Israeli city. Approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) away from the Gaza border. And what Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have tried to do is to fire rockets at Israeli civilians in order to kill Israeli civilians. Out of those 400 rockets that have been fired, we have been able to intercept more than 100 of those. Unfortunately, a few rockets have been able to impact and we have had casualties civilian casualties inside Israel which is what Hamas and the other terrorists have been aiming to do so. "

3. Cutaway of Conricus

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, Israeli military spokesman:

"Our response has been to focus first and foremost on the defence on the ground making sure that Hamas and other terrorists are not able to infiltrate into Israel and to terrorise Israeli civilians on the ground. For that purpose, we have enhanced our troop presence on the ground. Second, our aerial defence against rockets that have been fired from Gaza towards Israel. As you can see behind me. And the third aspect would be our retaliatory strikes that we have responded to the aggression from the Gaza Strip. And we, unlike Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have responded against military targets only, whereas terrorist attack civilians, we target terror and we have struck more than 100 military targets inside the Gaza Strip. That is in order to deliver a message to Hamas that this rocket barrage on Israeli civilians is totally unacceptable. We will not stand for it and we will make sure that Hamas understands that there is a price to attacking Israel in such a way. We stand ready to continue these operations as we should be guided by the Israeli cabinet and government and we are ready for different scenarios and developments."

5. Set up shot of police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Micky Rosenfeld, Israeli police spokesman:

"The Israeli National Police are continuing to heighten security in and around the different areas of the country with focus on the cities in the south. As a result of the direct strikes that have taken place over the last 24 to 48 hours where there has been more than 400 rockets that have been fired from the Gaza Strip, inside Israel and with more than 100 interceptions by the Iron Dome. Here where we are, in Ashkelon, there was a direct strike where one man was killed, one woman was injured seriously. Altogether over the last 24 hours 71 Israelis have been taken to hospital in light condition after being injured from the rockets that have struck. When the sirens go off it's critical to go inside the safety zones and extra police units will continue to respond. Bomb disposal experts will be at each and every strike, if necessary."

7. Wide of building hit by rocket fired from Gaza that left one dead

An Israeli Defense Force spokesman said on Sunday that the IDF (Israel Defense Force) had thwarted an attack of Iranian militia and Quds forces on Saturday.

The Israeli military attacked targets near Damascus late Saturday in what it said was a successful effort to thwart an imminent Iranian drone strike on Israel, stepping up an already heightened campaign against Iranian military activity in the region.

The late-night airstrike, which triggered Syrian anti-aircraft fire, appeared to be one of the most intense attacks by Israeli forces in several years of hits on Iranian targets in Syria.

IDF spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Concricus, said the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, working with allied Shiite militias, had been planning to send a number of explosives-laden attack drones into Israel.

Tel Aviv - 25 August 2019

1. Various of Lt Col Jonathan Concricus, IDF (Israel Defense Force) spokesman, arriving and speaking to media

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Lt Col Jonathan Concricus, IDF spokesman:

"Last midnight the IDF foiled an attempt of the Iranian Quds Force and Shiite militias to attack Israel using killer drones. The Israeli Air Force struck targets south of Damascus belonging to the Iranian Quds Force and Shiite militia. The IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani planned to launch these killer drones from Syria and attack Israel, just like he has attacked airports and oil fields in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and additional places all over the Middle East. We hold the Iranian and Syrian regimes responsible for this attempted attack. The IDF is monitoring the situation and is on high alert for various scenarios, both offensive and defensive. This Iranian attempt to attack Israel is further proof of the threat that the Iranian entrenchment in Syria poses to the security of the state of Israel and the region as a whole."

3. Mid of Concricus

The Israeli prime minister said on Tuesday that Hamas has turned Gaza into a "barrel bomb".

Benjamin Netanyahu was addressing a dedication ceremony of a bomb proof emergency room in the southern city of Ashkelon.

"We don't have a desire to harm the routine of Gaza's residents, but they must know that it is not Israel responsible for their hardship. The responsibility lays on the radicals that lead them," he said.

The Israeli military said on Monday it struck an underground militant infrastructure site in Gaza in response to rocket fire toward Israel.

The airstrikes came amid days of renewed tensions and violence along the Gaza border.

The military has struck various targets in Gaza in recent days and killed two Palestinians who tried to infiltrate Israel after a militant bomb on the border wounded four Israeli soldiers.

Israel holds Gaza's militant Hamas rulers responsible for all attacks emanating from the territory, regardless of who carries them out. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the strike on the underground site.

The border area has been generally quiet since a 50-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2014.

But it has seen an increase in violence since President Donald Trump's announcement in December recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Ashkelon, southern Israel - 20 February 2018

1. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and wife Sara at dedication ceremony of bomb proof emergency room

2. Sign reading (Hebrew and English) "Emergency Department - Adult and Pediatric"

3. Netanyahu and wife Sara cutting ribbon

4. Cutaway cameras

5. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"Hamas rule and the terror organisations have turned Gaza into a barrel bomb. We build hospitals and they build terror tunnels and rockets. We don't have a desire to harm the routine of Gaza's residents, but they must know that it is not Israel responsible for their hardship. The responsibility lays on the radicals that lead them. We don't intend to look away from the attempts to violate our sovereignty, or to harm our soldiers and civilians. "

5. Audience

6. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"We will not accept any trickle of fire, we will not accept devices on the fence, as happened last weekend. Whoever harms us, will be hurt himself."

7. Netanyahu waving to crowd and stepping down from stage

Massive earthworks and mounds of sandy soil line much of the Israel-Gaza border as the Israeli military forges ahead with an ambitious subterranean barrier to detect and prevent attack tunnels from running into southern Israel from the Palestinian enclave.

The 40-mile (64 kilometre) long wall - construction of which got underway last summer - aims to thwart one of the major strategic assets Palestinian militant groups have to attack Israel.

The barrier - a subterranean wall plunging hundreds of feet (metres) below ground, studded with sensors and topped by a 26-foot (eight metres) metal fence - has an estimated price tag of 700 million US dollars and is on track for its slated completion in mid-2019.

Thus far, crews working 24 hours a day, six days a week have completed 2.5 miles (four kilometres) of the border barrier.

During a tour of the barrier on Thursday, Israeli military officials were loath to discuss particulars concerning the barrier's tunnel detection capabilities, or how deep the wall goes.

But a spokesman said that the anti-tunnel barrier under construction would provide a significant challenge for anyone tunnelling below.

Thus far, Hamas has not tried to disrupt construction, and giant earth berms protect workers from spying eyes and small arms fire.

Israel and Hamas, the Islamist militant group that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, have fought three wars since 2008.

During most recent conflict in 2014, Hamas militants on several occasions caught Israel off guard by attacking through its underground tunnel network.

While Hamas fighters didn't manage to reach civilian centres, five Israeli soldiers were killed in such attacks, which rattled the Israeli public.

Israel destroyed 32 tunnels during that conflict, and has prioritised anti-tunnel operations since.

A combination of intelligence, infantry operations and hi-tech sensors have already helped the military detect and destroy at least three tunnels running from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory in the past few months.

Kissufim, Israel-Gaza border - 18 January 2018

1. Army jeep driving by watch tower, located near barrier tunnel

2. Soldier guarding barrier tunnel entrance

3. Watch tower as seen through barbed wire

4. Officer standing outside entrance to tunnel

5. Soldiers

6. Officer entering tunnel

7. Tracking shot inside tunnel

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, Israeli military spokesman:

"The tunnel that we see here is one of three tunnels that have been destroyed over the last two months by the IDF. Thanks to new capabilities that we have, which are a combination of technological, intelligence and operational capabilities that are new, and a game changer."

9. Various of inside tunnel

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, Israeli military spokesman:

"The obstacle being built is another layer of the security - that is the hard part of the security - which will be basically a concrete wall. A deep, underground concrete wall, which will be a hard barrier, and very difficult to tunnel through - not impossible but very difficult to tunnel through - and that will also provide us the basis for our defences, in addition to other components of that same defence system. Some of them we can speak about, some of them we cannot speak about."

11. Tracking shot inside tunnel

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, Israeli military spokesman:

"Threats will continue to exist. Hamas still holds a significant arsenal of rockets that are aimed at Israeli cities and civilians, and Hamas has been overt about their intentions to kill Israeli civilians with whatever means they have capable. So the threat has not passed and the terror from Hamas has not passed, and we will continue to mitigate these other military capabilities that Hamas has. Concerning tunnels, today the situation is greatly improved."

13. Underground entrance to tunnel

14. Various exteriors of tunnel

Rocket fire from the Gaza Strip continued to be fired toward Israel on Sunday amid what is one of the most intense flareups of violence in years.

Video emerged from the southern coastal city of Ashkelon of what is believed to be Israel intercepting incoming rockets using its Iron Dome defence system.

Gaza militants have fired more than 400 rockets at Israel over the past day, killing one Israeli man in Ashkelon.

Israel says it has struck back against some 220 targets, killing eight militants.

A pregnant Palestinian woman and her young daughter have also been killed in the fighting.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas was paying a "heavy price" for its rocket attacks and that it would be held accountable not only for its own militant actions but also for that of the Islamic Jihad, which operates under its jurisdiction in Gaza.

Ashkelon - 5 May 2019

1. Various of video showing trails of smoke in sky believed to be Iron Dome defence system interception of rockets fired from Gaza AUDIO: sirens in distance

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets toward Tel Aviv late Thursday, the Israeli military said, marking a significant escalation that raised the likelihood of a harsh Israeli reprisal.

The rocket barrage triggered air raid sirens throughout the city, Israel's densely populated commercial and cultural capital.

No damage or injuries were reported.

But it marked the first time that Tel Aviv, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Gaza, has been targeted by rocket fire since a 2014 war with Gaza militants.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushed to the military headquarters in Tel Aviv and was conferring with senior army officials to discuss a response.

In Gaza, there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Gaza is controlled by Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seeks Israel's destruction. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since Hamas sized control of Gaza in 2007.

Hamas possesses a vast arsenal of rockets and missiles, but it has sought to contain violence with Israel since the last war in 2014.

Tel Aviv - 14 March 2019

++NIGHT SHOTS++

1. Various of traffic after air raid warning sirens in Tel Aviv

2. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Boris Shindler, local resident:

"I took my dog for a walk, there was a siren, honestly I didn't know if it's here in the neighborhood because it was a bit low, and I thought maybe from nearby areas, anyway, as we do we went into a building we heard an explosion we went out, and that's it we move on."

3. Street traffic

4. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Shimon Katavi, local resident:

"I work in the store, suddenly there was a siren, I am used to it from (living in) the south, I'm a bit tense, people left behind their shopping and left, I hope there will not be more."

5. Traffic

Residents in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, which was pounded by rockets in the latest tense exchange of fire between Israel and Hamas, have expressed their frustration and anger over the reached cease-fire.

Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza accepted an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire in an attempt to end two days of intense fighting with Israel that had pushed the sworn enemies to the brink of another war.

However on Wednesday, some residents in Sderot were blaming the Israeli government for treating them as third class citizens.

As news of the cease-fire broke Tuesday, dozens of protesters in Sderot burnt tires, blocked traffic and chanted "disgrace" at what they saw as the government's caving in to militant violence.

Meanwhile some Palestinians in Gaza celebrated the deal, seeing it as a win for Hamas.

The Israeli military says Palestinian militants fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel in a 24-hour period, while it carried out airstrikes on 160 Gaza targets.

Seven Palestinians, including five militants, were killed. In Israel, one person was killed in a rocket strike and three were critically wounded.

Sderot - 14 November 2018

1. Bakery damaged by rocket fired from Gaza on Monday

2. Various of damage

3. Entrance to Sderot

4. Children being dropped off at school

5. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) David Maimon, Sderot resident:

"Our government is doing whatever it wants, that's it. It only let us suffer, nothing more. We are third class (citizens) here in Sderot and (so are) the communities at the border with Gaza, not only Sderot. It's a shame instead of helping us, let us live quietly, they let us suffer. We only suffer, for 18 years we have been suffering."

6. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Herzl Zigzag, Sderot resident:

"I will never vote for (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu. People here are traumatised. Gaza is victorious, what is this nonsense, it can't continue like this."

7. School exterior

8. Mother sending child off to school

9. Children holding umbrellas

STORYLINE

Israel's rescue and search service, Zaka, deployed large refrigeration trucks and scores of vans April 30th to the site of a deadly stampede that broke out at a Jewish religious festival.

At least 44 people died and around 150 were injured when the stampede occurred during the celebrations of Lag BaOmer at Mount Meron, medical officials said.

The victims are to be buried April 30th before Shabbat begins in Israel, in line with Jewish tradition.

They are to be collected at a single location for identification prior to their burial.

The stampede was one of the deadliest civilian disasters in Israeli history.

Lag BaOmer draws tens of thousands of people, most of them ultra-Orthodox Jews, each year to honour Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a 2nd century sage and mystic who is buried there.

Large crowds traditionally light bonfires, pray and dance as part of the celebrations.

This year, media estimated the crowd at about 100,000 people.

***

Israeli opposition politician Yair Lapid has been tapped to form a new government - a step that could lead to the end of the lengthy rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

President Reuven Rivlin announced the move on live television, a day after Netanyahu failed to cobble together a governing coalition by a midnight deadline.

Rivlin had spent the day consulting with all of the parties elected to parliament and eventually announced that he believed Lapid had the best chance of forming a coalition.

Lapid, the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, now has four weeks to reach a deal with potential partners.

He has received the backing of four smaller parties from across the political spectrum.

Elections held on March 23rd ended in deadlock for the fourth consecutive time in the past two years.

Despite repeated meetings with many of his rivals and unprecedented outreach to the leader of a small Islamist Arab party, Netanyahu was unable to close a deal.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has held the post for a total of 15 years, including the past 12.

But he has become a divisive figure in Israeli politics, with the last four elections all seen as a referendum on his rule.

He has been desperate to remain in office while he stands trial, using his position to lash out at prosecutors and seek possible immunity from prosecution.

Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and bribery in a series of scandals.

The trial has moved into the witness phase, with embarrassing testimony accusing him of trading favors with a powerful media mogul.

Netanyahu denies the charges, accusing law enforcement, the judiciary and the media of waging a “witch hunt” against him.

***

Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets toward Jerusalem on May 10th, setting off air raid sirens throughout the city, after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli police at a flashpoint religious site in the contested holy city.

The early evening attack drastically escalated what already are heightened tensions throughout the region following weeks of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem.

The Israeli army said there was an initial burst of seven rockets, one was intercepted, and rocket fire was continuing.

A spokesman for Hamas’ military wing said the rocket attack was a response to what he called Israeli “crimes and aggression” in Jerusalem.

He threatened more attacks if Israel again invaded the sacred Al-Aqsa compound or carried out evictions of Palestinian families in a neighbourhood of east Jerusalem.

***

Hamas militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on May 10th, including a barrage that set off air raid sirens as far away as Jerusalem, after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli police at a flashpoint religious site in the contested holy city.

The rocket fire drew heavy Israeli retaliation in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian health officials said at least 20 people, including nine children, were killed in fighting, making it one of the bloodiest days of battle between the bitter enemies in several years.

The fighting escalated already heightened tensions throughout the region following weeks of confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem.

Those confrontations focused around a disputed hilltop compound in Jerusalem's Old City, have threatened to lead to a wider conflict.

The Israeli military said well over 50 rockets were fired into Israel throughout the evening, most of them aimed at southern Israeli towns near the border.

***

Sirens blared in the coastal Israeli city of Ashkelon on May 11th as the Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted rockets in the sky.

Israel unleashed new airstrikes on Gaza early on May 11th, hitting the high-rise home of a Hamas field commander and two border tunnels dug by militants, as Hamas and other armed groups fired dozens of rockets toward Israel.

The escalation in the conflict was sparked by weeks of tensions in contested Jerusalem.

Since sundown Monday when the cross-border attacks began, 24 Palestinians - including nine children - were killed in Gaza, most by airstrikes, Gaza health officials said.

The Israeli military said 15 of the dead were militants.

During the same period, Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets toward Israel, injuring six Israeli civilians in a direct hit on an apartment building.

In a further sign of rising tensions, Israel signaled it is widening its military campaign.

The military said it is sending troop reinforcements to the Gaza border and the defense minister ordered the mobilization of 5,000 reserve soldiers.

***

Israeli airstrikes have demolished a 12-storey building in Gaza City that housed the offices of top Hamas officials.

May 11th's airstrikes shook buildings as far as three kilometers (two miles) away.

Witnesses said Israeli drones fired a series of warning shots at the roof to give people time to exit the building before it was destroyed.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. But the airstrike marked another escalation in Israel's offensive against Hamas.

Hamas earlier threatened to strike the Israeli metropolis of Tel Aviv if Israel continued striking buildings in Gaza.

The continued violence follows days of unrest which started with Palestinian protests over settlements in east Jerusalem.

***

Israeli airstrikes toppled a high-rise building in central Gaza City on May 12th, in the latest escalation in the violence.

Fighter jets dropped two bombs on the building, which housed businesses in addition to offices for Hamas' Al-Aqsa satellite channel.

It's located on the busiest shopping street of Gaza, in the Roman neighbourhood.

***

Israeli artillery pounded targets in Gaza on May 13th as airstrikes continued in the latest outburst of Mideast violence that has seen violence raging across Israel after weeks of protests in Jerusalem.

Israeli media are reporting the army is charting plans for a possible ground invasion of Gaza.

So far the fighting has seen barrages of rockets fired from Gaza and airstrikes, drone strikes and shelling from Israel.

In Israel, Arab and Jewish mobs have been rampaging through the streets, beating people and torching cars.

The last three wars between Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers were largely confined to the impoverished and blockaded Gaza and Israeli communities on the frontier.

But this round of fighting - which like the intifada, began in Jerusalem - seems to be rippling far and wide, tearing apart the country at its seams.

***

An Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets on May 15th, the latest step by the military to silence reporting from the territory amid its battle with the militant group Hamas.

The strike came nearly an hour after the military ordered people to evacuate the building, which also housed Al-Jazeera, other offices and residential apartments.

The strike brought the entire 12-storey building down, collapsing with a gigantic cloud of dust. There was no immediate explanation for why it was attacked.

The strike came hours after another Israeli air raid on a densely populated refugee camp in Gaza City killed at least 10 Palestinians from an extended family, mostly children, in the deadliest single strike of the current conflict. Both sides pressed for an advantage as cease-fire efforts gathered strength.

The latest outburst of violence began in Jerusalem and has spread across the region, with Jewish-Arab clashes and rioting in mixed cities of Israel. There were also widespread Palestinian protests May 14th in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces shot and killed 11 people.

The spiraling violence has raised fears of a new Palestinian “intifada,” or uprising at a time when there have been no peace talks in years. Palestinians on May 15th were marking Nakba (Catastrophe) Day, when they commemorate the estimated 700,000 people who were expelled from or fled their homes in what was now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. That raised the possibility of even more unrest.

U.S. diplomat Hady Amr arrived May 14th as part of Washington’s efforts to de-escalate the conflict, and the U.N. Security Council was set to meet Sunday. But Israel turned down an Egyptian proposal for a one-year truce that Hamas rulers had accepted, an Egyptian official said May 14th on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

Since May 10th, Hamas has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, which has pounded the Gaza Strip with strikes. In Gaza, at least 139 people have been killed, including 39 children and 22 women; in Israel, eight people have been killed, including the death May 15th of a man killed by a rocket that hit in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv.

The strike on the building housing media offices came in the afternoon, after the building's owner received a call from the Israeli military warning that it would be hit. AP's staff and others in the building evacuated immediately.

***

Three massive blasts shook Gaza City early on May 18th amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel.

Confirmation is being sought as to what caused the explosions.

The Israeli military had earlier unleashed another heavy wave of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, saying it destroyed militant tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders.

At least 212 Palestinians have been killed in the week of airstrikes, including 61 children and 36 women, with more than 1,400 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Ten people in Israel, including a five-year-old boy and a soldier, have been killed in the ongoing rocket attacks launched from civilian areas in Gaza toward civilian areas in Israel.

***

Drone footage over Gaza City on May 22nd showed the scale of the destruction following days of Israeli airstrikes.

Entire high-rise buildings were levelled, appearing from the air as piles of rubble.

Columns of cement were still standing, next to residential or office buildings that were slightly damaged from the impact of the explosion.

In al-Wehda street, three buildings were flattened, killing at least 42 people in the deadliest single attack since the fighting began on May 10.

In the footage, only a pile of rubble was visible.

Rescue workers spent days clearing bodies and survivors from under the buildings after the May 17th strikes.

Yellow Hamas flags were planted over some of the rubble.

Down the street on Gaza's busiest commercial avenue, another high-rise, al-Shorouk, was flattened, titling on one side after it was struck by Israeli warplanes, leaving the entire block devastated and covered in rubble.

Israel has blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties, accusing the militant group of operating from densely-populated areas and using the people living there as human shields.

It says it issues warnings in an effort to minimise civilian casualties.

But residential buildings were destroyed and children were killed in the strikes, as police stations and Hamas officials' homes were also targeted.

02:53:14

STORYLINE

Israel's rescue and search service, Zaka, deployed large refrigeration trucks and scores of vans April 30th to the site of a deadly stampede that broke out at a Jewish religious festival.

At least 44 people died and around 150 were injured when the stampede occurred during the celebrations of Lag BaOmer at Mount Meron, medical officials said.

The victims are to be buried April 30th before Shabbat begins in Israel, in line with Jewish tradition.

They are to be collected at a single location for identification prior to their burial.

The stampede was one of the deadliest civilian disasters in Israeli history.

Lag BaOmer draws tens of thousands of people, most of them ultra-Orthodox Jews, each year to honour Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a 2nd century sage and mystic who is buried there.

Large crowds traditionally light bonfires, pray and dance as part of the celebrations.

This year, media estimated the crowd at about 100,000 people.

***

Israeli opposition politician Yair Lapid has been tapped to form a new government - a step that could lead to the end of the lengthy rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

President Reuven Rivlin announced the move on live television, a day after Netanyahu failed to cobble together a governing coalition by a midnight deadline.

Rivlin had spent the day consulting with all of the parties elected to parliament and eventually announced that he believed Lapid had the best chance of forming a coalition.

Lapid, the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, now has four weeks to reach a deal with potential partners.

He has received the backing of four smaller parties from across the political spectrum.

Elections held on March 23rd ended in deadlock for the fourth consecutive time in the past two years.

Despite repeated meetings with many of his rivals and unprecedented outreach to the leader of a small Islamist Arab party, Netanyahu was unable to close a deal.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has held the post for a total of 15 years, including the past 12.

But he has become a divisive figure in Israeli politics, with the last four elections all seen as a referendum on his rule.

He has been desperate to remain in office while he stands trial, using his position to lash out at prosecutors and seek possible immunity from prosecution.

Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and bribery in a series of scandals.

The trial has moved into the witness phase, with embarrassing testimony accusing him of trading favors with a powerful media mogul.

Netanyahu denies the charges, accusing law enforcement, the judiciary and the media of waging a “witch hunt” against him.

***

Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets toward Jerusalem on May 10th, setting off air raid sirens throughout the city, after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli police at a flashpoint religious site in the contested holy city.

The early evening attack drastically escalated what already are heightened tensions throughout the region following weeks of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem.

The Israeli army said there was an initial burst of seven rockets, one was intercepted, and rocket fire was continuing.

A spokesman for Hamas’ military wing said the rocket attack was a response to what he called Israeli “crimes and aggression” in Jerusalem.

He threatened more attacks if Israel again invaded the sacred Al-Aqsa compound or carried out evictions of Palestinian families in a neighbourhood of east Jerusalem.

***

Hamas militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on May 10th, including a barrage that set off air raid sirens as far away as Jerusalem, after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli police at a flashpoint religious site in the contested holy city.

The rocket fire drew heavy Israeli retaliation in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian health officials said at least 20 people, including nine children, were killed in fighting, making it one of the bloodiest days of battle between the bitter enemies in several years.

The fighting escalated already heightened tensions throughout the region following weeks of confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem.

Those confrontations focused around a disputed hilltop compound in Jerusalem's Old City, have threatened to lead to a wider conflict.

The Israeli military said well over 50 rockets were fired into Israel throughout the evening, most of them aimed at southern Israeli towns near the border.

***

Sirens blared in the coastal Israeli city of Ashkelon on May 11th as the Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted rockets in the sky.

Israel unleashed new airstrikes on Gaza early on May 11th, hitting the high-rise home of a Hamas field commander and two border tunnels dug by militants, as Hamas and other armed groups fired dozens of rockets toward Israel.

The escalation in the conflict was sparked by weeks of tensions in contested Jerusalem.

Since sundown Monday when the cross-border attacks began, 24 Palestinians - including nine children - were killed in Gaza, most by airstrikes, Gaza health officials said.

The Israeli military said 15 of the dead were militants.

During the same period, Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets toward Israel, injuring six Israeli civilians in a direct hit on an apartment building.

In a further sign of rising tensions, Israel signaled it is widening its military campaign.

The military said it is sending troop reinforcements to the Gaza border and the defense minister ordered the mobilization of 5,000 reserve soldiers.

***

Israeli airstrikes have demolished a 12-storey building in Gaza City that housed the offices of top Hamas officials.

May 11th's airstrikes shook buildings as far as three kilometers (two miles) away.

Witnesses said Israeli drones fired a series of warning shots at the roof to give people time to exit the building before it was destroyed.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. But the airstrike marked another escalation in Israel's offensive against Hamas.

Hamas earlier threatened to strike the Israeli metropolis of Tel Aviv if Israel continued striking buildings in Gaza.

The continued violence follows days of unrest which started with Palestinian protests over settlements in east Jerusalem.

***

Israeli airstrikes toppled a high-rise building in central Gaza City on May 12th, in the latest escalation in the violence.

Fighter jets dropped two bombs on the building, which housed businesses in addition to offices for Hamas' Al-Aqsa satellite channel.

It's located on the busiest shopping street of Gaza, in the Roman neighbourhood.

***

Israeli artillery pounded targets in Gaza on May 13th as airstrikes continued in the latest outburst of Mideast violence that has seen violence raging across Israel after weeks of protests in Jerusalem.

Israeli media are reporting the army is charting plans for a possible ground invasion of Gaza.

So far the fighting has seen barrages of rockets fired from Gaza and airstrikes, drone strikes and shelling from Israel.

In Israel, Arab and Jewish mobs have been rampaging through the streets, beating people and torching cars.

The last three wars between Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers were largely confined to the impoverished and blockaded Gaza and Israeli communities on the frontier.

But this round of fighting - which like the intifada, began in Jerusalem - seems to be rippling far and wide, tearing apart the country at its seams.

***

An Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets on May 15th, the latest step by the military to silence reporting from the territory amid its battle with the militant group Hamas.

The strike came nearly an hour after the military ordered people to evacuate the building, which also housed Al-Jazeera, other offices and residential apartments.

The strike brought the entire 12-storey building down, collapsing with a gigantic cloud of dust. There was no immediate explanation for why it was attacked.

The strike came hours after another Israeli air raid on a densely populated refugee camp in Gaza City killed at least 10 Palestinians from an extended family, mostly children, in the deadliest single strike of the current conflict. Both sides pressed for an advantage as cease-fire efforts gathered strength.

The latest outburst of violence began in Jerusalem and has spread across the region, with Jewish-Arab clashes and rioting in mixed cities of Israel. There were also widespread Palestinian protests May 14th in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces shot and killed 11 people.

The spiraling violence has raised fears of a new Palestinian “intifada,” or uprising at a time when there have been no peace talks in years. Palestinians on May 15th were marking Nakba (Catastrophe) Day, when they commemorate the estimated 700,000 people who were expelled from or fled their homes in what was now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. That raised the possibility of even more unrest.

U.S. diplomat Hady Amr arrived May 14th as part of Washington’s efforts to de-escalate the conflict, and the U.N. Security Council was set to meet Sunday. But Israel turned down an Egyptian proposal for a one-year truce that Hamas rulers had accepted, an Egyptian official said May 14th on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

Since May 10th, Hamas has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, which has pounded the Gaza Strip with strikes. In Gaza, at least 139 people have been killed, including 39 children and 22 women; in Israel, eight people have been killed, including the death May 15th of a man killed by a rocket that hit in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv.

The strike on the building housing media offices came in the afternoon, after the building's owner received a call from the Israeli military warning that it would be hit. AP's staff and others in the building evacuated immediately.

***

Three massive blasts shook Gaza City early on May 18th amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel.

Confirmation is being sought as to what caused the explosions.

The Israeli military had earlier unleashed another heavy wave of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, saying it destroyed militant tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders.

At least 212 Palestinians have been killed in the week of airstrikes, including 61 children and 36 women, with more than 1,400 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Ten people in Israel, including a five-year-old boy and a soldier, have been killed in the ongoing rocket attacks launched from civilian areas in Gaza toward civilian areas in Israel.

***

Drone footage over Gaza City on May 22nd showed the scale of the destruction following days of Israeli airstrikes.

Entire high-rise buildings were levelled, appearing from the air as piles of rubble.

Columns of cement were still standing, next to residential or office buildings that were slightly damaged from the impact of the explosion.

In al-Wehda street, three buildings were flattened, killing at least 42 people in the deadliest single attack since the fighting began on May 10.

In the footage, only a pile of rubble was visible.

Rescue workers spent days clearing bodies and survivors from under the buildings after the May 17th strikes.

Yellow Hamas flags were planted over some of the rubble.

Down the street on Gaza's busiest commercial avenue, another high-rise, al-Shorouk, was flattened, titling on one side after it was struck by Israeli warplanes, leaving the entire block devastated and covered in rubble.

Israel has blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties, accusing the militant group of operating from densely-populated areas and using the people living there as human shields.

It says it issues warnings in an effort to minimise civilian casualties.

But residential buildings were destroyed and children were killed in the strikes, as police stations and Hamas officials' homes were also targeted.

02:53:14

People at scene after dozens killed in Israel stampede

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Mount Meron - 30 April 2021

1. Emergency vehicles, officers, paramedics at site of stampede

2. Various of paramedics,

3. Large group of people leaving the scene of stampede

00:11:19

Bodies moved in trucks from scene of Israel stampede

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Mount Meron - 30 April 2021

4. Mourners following truck with bodies of victims

00:15:19

Israel opposition leader asked to form government

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ARCHIVE: Tel Aviv - 23 March 2021

5. Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party leader, and his wife, Lihi, cast ballot

ARCHIVE: Tel Aviv - 16 January 2013

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Yair Lapid, head of Yesh Atid party:

"Jerusalem is not a place, Jerusalem is an idea, Jerusalem is the ethos this country was established by, and you don't, I don't think Americans would for any kind of agreement, give up Capitol Hill and I don't think Israeli should give up their own capital because this is the reason why we are here, and if we have to fight for it we will fight for it.

00:45:18

Rockets fired from Gaza City towards Jerusalem

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Gaza City - 10 May 2021

7. Various of rockets firing towards Israel, AUDIO: rocket in air

00:53:14

Rockets fired to Israel, explosion in Gaza City

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Gaza City - 10 May 2021

8. Rockets firing towards Israel, UPSOUND: rocket in air

9. Wide of explosion lighting up the sky with ball of flames after Israeli air strike

01:05:21

Iron Dome in action over Ashkelon as sirens sound

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Ashkelon, southern Israel - 11 May 2021

10. Iron Dome intercepting rockets in the sky, UPSOUND of siren

01:17:15

AP video of moment of destruction of Hamas building

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Gaza City - 11th May 2021

++NIGHT SHOTS++

11. Various of 12-storey building destroyed after being hit by Israeli airstrike

01:35:22

Gaza building collapses after Israeli airstrike

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Gaza City - 12 May 2021

12. Massive explosions as building hit by Israeli airstrikes

13. Building on fire, then collapses

01:53:18

Israeli tanks fire across border into Gaza Strip

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Undisclosed location, southern Israel border with Gaza - 13 May 2021

14. Wide of tank firing, UPSOUND of artillery fire

15. Israeli soldiers sorting tank shells

16. Military vehicle

02:07:08

Israel strike in Gaza destroys building with AP, other media

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Gaza City - 15 May 2021

17. Airstrike on building next to building housing various international media, including The Associated Press, plume of smoke rising

18. Airstrike on building housing various international media, including The Associated Press, building collapses, pull out to wide of smoke

02:24:22

3 massive blasts in Gaza City

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Gaza City - 18 May 2021

++NIGHT SHOTS++

19. Flash of light, rising balls of fire, rising plumes of smoke; UPSOUND: roaring sound and explosion

02:35:14

Drone captures scale of Gaza City destruction

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Gaza City - 22 May 2021

++MUTE++

20. Various aerials of destroyed buildings in Al-Wehda street where several people were killed in Israeli airstrikes last week

21. Various aerials of the destroyed Shoroq building

22. Various aerials of destroyed building housing the offices of The Associated Press and other mediaPeople at scene after dozens killed in Israel stampede

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Mount Meron - 30 April 2021

1. Emergency vehicles, officers, paramedics at site of stampede

2. Various of paramedics,

3. Large group of people leaving the scene of stampede

00:11:19

Bodies moved in trucks from scene of Israel stampede

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Mount Meron - 30 April 2021

4. Mourners following truck with bodies of victims

00:15:19

Israel opposition leader asked to form government

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ARCHIVE: Tel Aviv - 23 March 2021

5. Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party leader, and his wife, Lihi, cast ballot

ARCHIVE: Tel Aviv - 16 January 2013

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Yair Lapid, head of Yesh Atid party:

"Jerusalem is not a place, Jerusalem is an idea, Jerusalem is the ethos this country was established by, and you don't, I don't think Americans would for any kind of agreement, give up Capitol Hill and I don't think Israeli should give up their own capital because this is the reason why we are here, and if we have to fight for it we will fight for it.

00:45:18

Rockets fired from Gaza City towards Jerusalem

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Gaza City - 10 May 2021

7. Various of rockets firing towards Israel, AUDIO: rocket in air

00:53:14

Rockets fired to Israel, explosion in Gaza City

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Gaza City - 10 May 2021

8. Rockets firing towards Israel, UPSOUND: rocket in air

9. Wide of explosion lighting up the sky with ball of flames after Israeli air strike

01:05:21

Iron Dome in action over Ashkelon as sirens sound

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Ashkelon, southern Israel - 11 May 2021

10. Iron Dome intercepting rockets in the sky, UPSOUND of siren

01:17:15

AP video of moment of destruction of Hamas building

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Gaza City - 11th May 2021

++NIGHT SHOTS++

11. Various of 12-storey building destroyed after being hit by Israeli airstrike

01:35:22

Gaza building collapses after Israeli airstrike

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Gaza City - 12 May 2021

12. Massive explosions as building hit by Israeli airstrikes

13. Building on fire, then collapses

01:53:18

Israeli tanks fire across border into Gaza Strip

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Undisclosed location, southern Israel border with Gaza - 13 May 2021

14. Wide of tank firing, UPSOUND of artillery fire

15. Israeli soldiers sorting tank shells

16. Military vehicle

02:07:08

Israel strike in Gaza destroys building with AP, other media

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Gaza City - 15 May 2021

17. Airstrike on building next to building housing various international media, including The Associated Press, plume of smoke rising

18. Airstrike on building housing various international media, including The Associated Press, building collapses, pull out to wide of smoke

02:24:22

3 massive blasts in Gaza City

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Gaza City - 18 May 2021

++NIGHT SHOTS++

19. Flash of light, rising balls of fire, rising plumes of smoke; UPSOUND: roaring sound and explosion

02:35:14

Drone captures scale of Gaza City destruction

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Gaza City - 22 May 2021

++MUTE++

20. Various aerials of destroyed buildings in Al-Wehda street where several people were killed in Israeli airstrikes last week

21. Various aerials of the destroyed Shoroq building

22. Various aerials of destroyed building housing the offices of The Associated Press and other media

"Thousands of Palestinians thronged the perimeter fence between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on April 5th 2019 as the weekly, bloody demonstrations rolled into their second year.

The protest, occurring just days before Israel's April 9th vote, is the first since an Egyptian-brokered deal emerged to end the latest round of cross-border fighting between the enemies.

Hamas officials say the agreement promises to ease tight Israeli restrictions on Gaza and provide much-needed economic incentives in exchange for the group keeping border protests peaceful.

But demonstrations turned violent on April 5th. Dozens approached the barrier, setting tyres ablaze and hurling rocks and makeshift explosives at the fence. Israeli troops responded with tear gas and live bullets.

Gaza's health officials reported that 83 Palestinians were injured, one critically. It did not provide a breakdown of how the injuries were inflicted.

***

Israel's prime minister convened his cabinet April 14th after final election results showed Benjamin Netanyahu poised to win a fifth term.

In opening remarks, Netanyahu referred to the Israeli spacecraft ""Beresheet"" that crashed into the moon moments before touchdown.

A technical glitch triggered a ""chain of events"" that caused the spacecraft's engine to malfunction April 11th just 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) above the moon.

The Prime Minister added that Israel intend to launch a new mission named ""Beresheet 2"" soon.

Netanyahu's Likud party captured 36 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, compared to 35 seats for its main rival, the centrist Blue and White party lead by Benny Gantz.

He said the ""people's decision to renew"" the Likud's mandate was a result of his ministers' achievements in the past four years.

Altogether, Likud and its traditional Jewish ultra-Orthodox and nationalist allies command a 65-55 majority in parliament, putting Netanyahu in position to head the next coalition government.

While ballots were still being counted, the Blue and White leaders officially conceded defeat on Wednesday, and vowed to fight the prime minister from the opposition.

***

Palestinian militants on May 4th fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month.

***

Residents in Gaza began cleaning up in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on May 5th.

The Israeli military says it has launched some 220 airstrikes against militant targets in Gaza amid a massive wave of attacks, which also marked the first Israeli casualty from rocket fire since the 2014 war with Hamas militants.

The airstrikes, which were aimed at Hamas militant targets, also destroyed buildings, properties and roads.

Resident Um Alaa Abu Absa spent May 5th picking up broken glass and debris inside her property in the aftermath of the airstrikes.

""There was a lot of bombing, the neighbours were affected a lot, the street scene was indescribable, people were afraid and terrified and running, and everyone was looking for their children, nobody was able to see others,"" Abu Absa said.

At least six Palestintians, including a pregnant mother and her baby have been killed in the airstrikes.

Moshe Agadi, a 58-year-old father of four from Ashkelon, was struck in the chest by shrapnel in a residential courtyard from one of the 450 rockets fired from Gaza in less than 24 hours.

***

The night sky over Gaza City lit up orange late on May 5th after a suspected Israeli airstrike.

Two days of heavy rocket fire from Gaza towards southern Israel and retaliatory Israeli airstrikes on the blockaded territory have left at least 23 Palestinians and four Israelis dead.

In a statement late on May 5th, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the militant group was ready to ""return to the state of calm"" if Israel stopped its attacks ""and immediately starts implementing understandings about a dignified life.""

***

Some residents in Gaza City on May 6th returned to find their homes turned to a pile of rubble after a weekend of intense fighting that saw Palestinian militants firing hundreds of rockets into Israel, and the Israeli military responding with airstrikes.

The Ministry of Public Works in Gaza said that Israeli airstrikes on buildings destroyed 70 housing units.

During the violence, Israeli aircraft downed several multistory structures.

Residents rummaged through the rubble for their belongings after intense fighting over the past two days appeared to come to a sudden halt in the early morning hours and residents on both sides went back to their daily routines.

In Gaza, banks reopened for the first time in three days and residents started the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

There was no official cease-fire announcement from either side, but the Israeli military lifted protective restrictions on residents in southern Israel, while the Hamas militant group's radio station in Gaza reported a cease-fire, signalling a deal had been reached.

***

The wife of Israel's prime minister has been sentenced to pay a fine of roughly 15,000 US dollars for misusing state funds.

A Jerusalem magistrate court on May 16th accepted the plea bargain Sara Netanyahu signed with prosecutors to settle the allegations she misused some 100,000 US dollars in state money on lavish meals.

The State Attorney's office said the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will pay additional fines to close the case, which accused her of running up large tabs at luxury restaurants while the official residence employed a full-time chef.

Sara Netanyahu was indicted on charges of fraud and breach of trust last year.

The settlement saw her admit to more minor charges and reduced the overspending charge to 50,000 US dollars.

The prime minister faces an indictment on separate corruption charges.

01:06:21"

"00:00:00

Clashes by Gaza-Israel border, injured in hospital

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East of Bureij, near the border with Israel - 5 April 2019

1. Protesters gathering near the border and holding Palestinian flags

2. Protester throwing tear gas canister back

00:07:10

Netanyahu convenes 1st cabinet after election win

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Jerusalem - 14 April 2019

3. Pan from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to new cabinet ministers sitting at a table

4. Netanyahu and ministers posing for photographers with a framed and signed proclamation by US President Donald Trump ""recognising the Golan Heights as part of the State of Israel""

5. Proclamation

00:21:09

Rockets fired from Gaza towards Israel

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Gaza City - 4 May 2019

++NIGHT SHOTS++

6. Gaza City skyline, lights rising in sky in distance as rockets fired

00:31:01

Buildings drstroyed after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza

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Gaza Strip - 5 May 2019

7. Rubble of building destroyed by Israeli airstrike

8. People outside a damaged building

9. Damaged building

00:42:22

Large explosion lights up Gaza skyline

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Gaza City - 5 May 2019

++NIGHT TIME++

10. Skyline lights up orange after suspected Israeli airstrike, camera pans right

00:46:03

Damage in Gaza following Israeli airstrikes

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Gaza City, Gaza Strip - 6 May 2019

11. Rubble of building destroyed by Israeli airstrike

12. Damage inside one of the apartments

13. Rubble outside seen through hole in wall of apartment

00:57:20

Sara Netanyahu fined for misuse of state funds

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jerusalem - 16 June 2019

14. Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israel's Prime Minister, stepping out car, walking stairs into court accompanied by security

"

Between a myriad of concrete buildings with Arabic graffiti that are designed to simulate a typical Lebanese village, dozens of Israeli officers are gearing up for their next battle with Hezbollah guerrillas.

It's a mission the Israeli military has focused on intensely in the decade since its last inconclusive war with the Iranian-backed group sworn to its destruction.

But this drill at a base in northern Israel takes on added significance in the wake of rising tensions between the old adversaries, including a rare clash along the Syrian border in which Israel shot down an anti-aircraft missile fired at its planes as they were carrying out an airstrike on a suspected Hezbollah weapons convoy from Syria to Lebanon.

In the past month alone, Hezbollah's chief Hassan Nasrallah has also threatened to strike Israel's nuclear facilities and Israel has detailed a contingency plan to evacuate up to a quarter-million civilians from border communities to protect them from attacks from Hamas, Hezbollah or other Islamic militant groups.

In another sign of the escalating feud, Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, revealed intelligence that Hezbollah's top military commander was killed in Syria in May 2016 by rivals within the group - perhaps even on orders from Nasrallah himself.

Though officers taking part in the drill insisted their training was business as usual, the backdrop clearly offered a reminder of what could await.

Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 rockets on Israeli communities in the 2006 war, while Israel bombarded militant targets in southern Lebanon.

The month of fighting killed an estimated 1,200 Lebanese, most of them civilians, as well as 44 Israeli civilians and 121 Israeli soldiers.

Despite its military superiority, Israel ended the month-long war with a feeling that it had not delivered the type of crushing blow it had in its previous Mideast wars.

A commission of inquiry found the military to be inadequately prepared for the battle, and many troops acknowledged that they had underestimated Hezbollah's capabilities.

Still, the war was credited with re-establishing Israel's deterrence and ensuring more than a decade of calm on the northern front.

In recent years, Hezbollah has been bogged down in Syria's civil war fighting in support of President Bashar Assad.

They have suffered heavy casualties but also gained valuable battle experience that has worried Israel, which says Hezbollah has significantly built up its weapons stockpile since 2006 and upgraded its arsenal to about 150,000 missiles.

Israel has made it clear it will act to prevent Hezbollah getting advanced munitions and is widely believed to have carried out several airstrikes in recent years on weapons convoys destined for the militant group.

Just recently, it made a rare admission of such a strike after Syria fired missiles at its jets.

Still, Israel fears some advanced weapons like surface-to-sea weapons or anti-aircraft missiles might already have reached Hezbollah.

Israel, meanwhile, has been building up its missile defenses.

A system called "David's Sling" to intercept medium-range missiles from Hezbollah is due to become operational in early April.

That would mark the completion of a multilayer missile defense system that includes Iron Dome for short range projectiles and Arrow, designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles high in the stratosphere.

Israeli intelligence does not believe Hezbollah is interested in sparking war this year, but an unplanned escalation as a result of all the developments could happen.

In the mock village in Elyakim, the reserve officers focused on the type of urban warfare that their comrades struggled with in 2006.

Using paintball pellets to simulate battle, they raided structures featuring colourful murals of Nasrallah and others top Hezbollah figures and opened fire at fellow officers playing the roles of guerrillas.

Moving in swift formations, commanders hollered orders as the troops ascended the various structures firing yellow paint pellets toward their supposed adversaries.

Retired Lebanese brigadier Amine Hotait meanwhile told AP that he believed the drills are in line with usual training, but are this time "imbued with extra meaning" due to regional issues, including the situation in Syria.

Elyakim Base, Northern Israel - 29 March 2017

++PICTURES SHOW ISRAELI MILITARY DRILL++

1. Mural of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah painted on house in mock-up Lebanese village

2. Mural on house showing picture of Hezbollah member Samir Kuntar and reading (Arabic) "the martyr Samir Kuntar Hezbollah "

3. Various of soldiers raiding house, AUDIO: gunshots

4. Pan from graffiti on wall showing picture of Imad Mughaniyeh to soldier shooting

5. Various of soldiers shooting during training

6. Soldiers trying to enter house

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Cpt. Ofek Sinai, 26-year-old Israeli reserve platoon commander:

"All this facility is meant to give us a more realistic feeling. We are all as reserved forces as civilians so we are familiar with the urban landscape but once we put on uniforms we need to make it realistic as possible."

8. Soldiers walking up stairs inside house and shooting

9. Close up of soldier shooting

10. Soldiers during training in village

11. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Col. Kobi Valer, Elyakim Base Commander:

" Reserve units, like you see at the moment, need to train because it could be their last training before the war."

12. Various of training

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Cpt. Ofek Sinai, 26-year-old Israeli reserve platoon commander:

"Our job is to be there when they call us, it doesn't matter if you feel ready or not. Of course we try to make our best and bring everything, to be more prepared, but undoubtedly doing this few weeks every year makes people more confident about fighting in a real war"

14. Various of training

Beirut Lebanon - Friday March 31 – 2017.

15. Retired Brigadier Amine Hotait being interviewed

16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Amine Hotait, retired brigadier:

"I think the Israel drill which is going on right now is in line with normal training, but this time it's imbued with extra meaning because of regional developments, especially in Syria. The enemy camp (Israel and the US) are backtracking on their positions on Syria, and they've changed their targets of the war. They've given up on the primary aim of controlling Syria and the secondary aim of partitioning Syria. And now there is an important American shift, backtracking on toppling Bashar Assad to focus instead on fighting terrorism."

17. Close of Hotait's hand

18. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Amine Hotait, retired brigadier:

"We see this as psychological warfare. Israel is not ready for war against Lebanon nor Syria. It (Israel) needs the continuation of the terrorist attacks in Syria so it will feel at ease about the Syria threat"

19. Hotait during the interview

On January 8th 2017 four people were killed and 15 others were wounded after a truck rammed into a group of Israeli soldiers who were disembarking from a bus in Jerusalem, Israeli police and rescue services said.

A police spokeswoman said the truck veered off course and rammed into the group.

The attacker was shot dead, police said.

The attack comes amid a more than year-long wave of Palestinian shooting, stabbing and vehicular attacks against Israelis that has slowed of late.

January 8th's incident marks the first Israeli casualties in three months.

Israel says the violence is driven by a Palestinian campaign of incitement, while Palestinians say it's the result of nearly 50 years of Israeli occupation and dwindling hopes for an independent state.

***

Hundreds of Israeli Arabs demonstrated took to the streets of Kalansua on January 11th to protest the demolition of 11 homes in the city without proper permits by Israeli authorities.

Israeli Arab leaders also called for a general strike in all their towns and villages in response to the demolitions.

The leaders said that the source of the problem were longstanding barriers placed by the state that prevent Arabs from acquiring proper building permits.

Arabs make up some 20 percent of Israel's population and often complain about a second-class status.

The Israeli government has recently vowed to crack down harder on illegal Arab building.

It comes after criticism from Jewish West Bank settlers who faced a court-ordered evacuation of an illegally built outpost and who demanded the law be enforced equally.

***

Clashes between Israeli security forces and Arab Israelis ensued on January 18th in the vicinity of Umm al-Hiran, a village set for demolition under new government plans to crack down on illegal Arab construction.

Dr Ahmed Tibi, a member of the Arab Joint List, tried to enter the village to protest plans for its demolition, but was stopped by security forces.

Earlier in the day, an Israeli Arab rammed his vehicle into a group of police officers, killing one of them before he was shot dead, according to Israeli police.

***

Israeli forces continued their operation to evacuate settlers from the West Bank outpost of Amona on February 1st.

Unarmed police in blue sweatshirts and black baseball caps were seen forcibly remove several settlers who had refused to leave.

Minor scuffles broke out between some activists and police as protesters tried to block officers from progressing.

The Amona outpost is the largest of about 100 unauthorised settlements in the West Bank.

While readying to evacuate Amona, Israel late on Tuesday announced plans to build 3,000 homes in the West Bank.

***

Israel's military fired on Hamas installations in Gaza after a rocket launched from the territory exploded inside Israel on February 6th, with no reports of casualties on either side.

Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, has largely adhered to a ceasefire that ended a 50-day war with Israel in 2014, but other militant groups occasionally fire rockets or mortar rounds over the frontier. Israel holds Hamas responsible for all incoming fire.

Sirens wailed in parts of southern Israel warning of incoming rockets early on February 6th. The military said one exploded in an open field. Soon after the attack, it said a tank fired at a Hamas position near the frontier.

Hours later, Gaza residents said Israeli airstrikes targeted three Hamas-run militant training sites. The residents asked not to be identified for security reasons.

Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said the military "will not tolerate rocket fire toward civilians and will continue to ensure security and stability in the region."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility in Gaza for the rocket attack. Jihadists who support the Islamic State group have admitted similar attacks in the past.

***

Israeli police said authorities began demolishing buildings at a West Bank settlement on February 6th following an enforced evacuation the previous week.

Police said officers were securing Amona on February 6th to "prevent incidents."

In 2014, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that Amona was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished.

Settlers resisted the evacuation order and clashed with police, who were enforcing the legal ruling.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later announced the establishment of a new settlement - the first in two decades.

Most of the international community view settlements in Palestinian-claimed territory as illegal and a hindrance to a two-state solution in the region.

New US President Donald Trump is perceived as sympathetic to settlements, an issue that caused friction between Netanyahu and Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

***

Yehiya Sinwar made his first public appearance since being named leader of Hamas, the Islamist group in control of the Gaza Strip, on February 24th at the opening of a new mosque in Rafah.

The appointment of Sinwar, who was freed by Israel in a 2011 prisoner swap after two decades behind bars, solidifies the takeover of Gaza operations by the armed wing of the group from civilian leaders.

The military wing, which controls thousands of fighters and a vast arsenal of rockets, has battled Israel in three wars since Hamas seized Gaza a decade ago.

The militant wing tends to take more hard-line positions toward Israel, while the politicians, who are tasked with improving the difficult living conditions in Gaza, tend to be more pragmatic.

Sinwar replaces Ismail Haniyeh, who served as the prime minister of Hamas' government following the 2007 takeover of Gaza and remains a top figure in the movement.

Haniyeh on February 24th welcomed the naming of Sinwar as a sign that Hamas rewards loyalty and said Sinwar was a hero in the eyes of the Palestinians.

Haniyeh is now expected to take over as Hamas' supreme leader, replacing Khaled Mashaal, who lives in exile.

***

Israeli forces began evacuating nine homes in the West Bank settlement of Ofra on February 28th, following a Supreme Court decision that ruled they were built on private Palestinian land.

Dozens of settlers and their supporters were protesting as military and police forces handed the evacuation orders to settler leaders and asked them to cooperate peacefully and avoid confrontation.

One of the residents defiantly tore up the order while others were carried away by troops tasked with clearing the area.

Earlier in February Israeli forces uprooted Amona, a nearby West Bank outpost, removing residents and hundreds of their supporters in sometimes violent clashes.

Amona was also the scene of violent clashes between settlers and security forces during a partial demolition in 2006.

Such evacuations have created tension in the hard-line coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been caught between appeasing his pro-settler coalition allies and respecting the rulings issued by the Supreme Court.

The Palestinians and most of the international community consider both outposts and settlements illegal and see them as an obstacle to creating a Palestinian state.

The Palestinians want the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem - territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war - for their future state.

Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, and the territory was subsequently overrun by the Hamas militant group.

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas took over Gaza. Israel says the blockade is necessary to prevent Hamas from getting weapons while critics say it amounts to collective punishment

01:32:02

00:00:00

Scene of truck attack on Israeli soldier

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AP TELEVISION

Jerusalem - 8 January 2017

1. Various of Israeli emergency services personnel, security and investigators at scene

00:07:23

Israeli Arabs protest demolition of 11 homes

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AP TELEVISION

Kalansua - 11 January 2017

2. Woman holding toddler looking at rubble from a demolished house

3. Pile of rubble in foreground, women in background

00:15:23

Clashes in Israel over demolitions

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AP TELEVISION

Umm Al-Hiran - 18 January 2017

4. Israeli politician Dr Ahmed Tibi (wearing purple jacket) surrounded by Israeli security forces, who scuffle with several men

5. Israeli security preventing Tibi from entering village

6. Protestor being held by security forces

00:28:02

Israel troops remove settlers from outpost

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AP TELEVISION

Amona, Jewish outpost, West Bank - 1 February, 2017

7. Israeli security forces carrying a settler away

8. Another settler being carried away

9. Israeli security forces pulling settler resisting out of building and away from railing

00:40:02

Israel targets Hamas sites after Gaza rocket attack

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Gaza Strip - 6 February 2017

10. Smoke rising from Hamas military site after an Israeli air strike targeted the site

11. Smoke rises from the scene

12. Hamas police at the scene

00:51:12

Israeli forces demolish buildings in WBank settlement

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AP TELEVISION

Amona outpost - 6 February 2017

13. Bulldozer destroying house at illegal outpost, settlers and Israeli soldiers watching

14. Pan from caravan being put on top of truck to bulldozers and people near demolished house

15. Zoom out from Palestinian village to debris

01:08:19

New Hamas leader makes first public appearance

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Rafah - 24 February 2017

16. Newly-appointed Hamas leader in Gaza, Yehiya Sinwar (brown suit) hugging associates

17. Sinwar kneeling, flanked by Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh in chair

18. Close of Sinwar

01:20:03

Clashes as Israel evacuates WBank settler homes

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Ofra settlement, West Bank - 28 February 2017

19. Israeli forces carrying settler away

20. Police evacuating settler

21. Police carrying settler

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4326340

The Israeli military unleashed another heavy wave of airstrikes Monday on the Gaza Strip, saying it destroyed militant tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders.

The latest attacks destroyed the five-story building housing the Hamas-run Religious Affairs Ministry, a building Israel said housed the main operations center of Hamas' internal security forces.

Israel also killed a top Gaza leader of Islamic Jihad, another militant group whom the Israeli military blamed for some of the thousands of rocket attacks launched at Israel in recent days.

Israel said its strikes destroyed 15 kilometers (nine miles) of tunnels used by militants.

At least 200 Palestinians have been killed in the week of airstrikes, including 59 children and 35 women, with some 1,300 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Ten people in Israel, including a five-year-old boy and a soldier, have been killed in the ongoing rocket attacks launched from civilian areas in Gaza toward civilian areas in Israel.

Joe Federman who is The Associated Press' News Director for Israel, the Palestinian territories, said the news agency was now referring to the fighting as a "war."

Federman explained the conflict displayed the "heaviest fighting we've ever seen between these enemies" and the decision was also made based on "the type of weapons that have been used and types of the types of targets."

The war broke out on May 10, when Hamas fired long-range rockets at Jerusalem after weeks of clashes in the holy city between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police.

The protests were focused on the heavy-handed policing of a flashpoint sacred site during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers.

Since the fighting began, the Israeli military has launched hundreds of airstrikes it says are targeting Hamas' militant infrastructure.

Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired more than 3,200 rockets into Israel.

Gaza City, Gaza Strip - 12 May 2021

1. Wide of Israeli airstrikes, black plumes of smoke rising

Jerusalem - 17 May 2021

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Joe Federman, Associated Press  ++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY COVERED WITH BROLL++

"Israel and Hamas are now in the second week of heavy fighting. We don't see any slowdown in the fighting. Israel continues to pound Gaza with dozens and dozens of airstrikes around the clock. Hamas also firing dozens of rockets toward Israeli cities. No slowdown in the fighting. Yesterday was an especially bloody day with over 40 people killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. We don't see anything of that magnitude today. Israel did assassinate one of the leaders of the Islamic Jihad militant group in a targeted airstrike. But for the most part, Israel says it's focusing its airstrikes today on Hamas infrastructure. The main focus is Hamas's tunnel system."

Gaza City - 17 May 2021

3. Fire at cafe destroyed by Israeli airstrike

Gaza City - 15 May 2021

4. Airstrike on building housing various international media, including The Associated Press, building collapses, pull out to wide of smoke

Gaza City - 17 May 20021

5. Skyline, with smoke rising as explosions take place after airstrikes

Jerusalem - 17 May 2021

6 SOUNDBITE (English) Joe Federman, Associated Press ++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY COVERED WITH BROLL++

"The Associated Press has made the decision to call this current round of fighting a war. This was not an easy decision to make. It's something that we discussed over several days. But after much debate, we decided that the threshold had been crossed. We're talking about a lengthy conflict. We're now over a week into the fighting. It's very heavy fighting. In some ways it's the heaviest fighting we've ever seen between these enemies. We also see a change in the type of weapons that have been used and the types of targets. Israel is not only striking military bases and weapons and so forth, it's started to go after Hamas leaders, political leaders, military leaders, assassinations. So there's a major escalation here, the fighting is heavier, more weapons, more fighting, no end in sight when we add everything up together that felt like a war. And that's what we've decided to call it."

Gaza City - 17 May 20021

7. Injured man being treated at Gaza hospital

8. Cafe destroyed by Israeli airstrike

9. Emergency personnel, smoke debris after Israeli airstrike

Gaza, Gaza Strip 16 May 2021

10. Rescuers pulling man out of rubble of bombed building

Gaza City - 17 May 20021

11. Building debris and Gaza residents

12. Various of car after it was hit by airstrike

13. Various of ambulances arriving at hospital in Gaza

IRAN ISRAEL PROTEST

SHOTLIST:

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: NO ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/NO ACCESS VOA PERSIAN/NO ACCESS MANOTO TV/NO ACCESS IRAN INTERNATIONAL

LENGTH: 2:15

++The Associated Press is adhering to Iranian law that stipulates all media are banned from providing BBC Persian, VOA Persian, Manoto TV and Iran International any coverage from Iran, and under this law if any media violate this ban the Iranian authorities can immediately shut down that organisation in Tehran.++

ASSOCIATED PRESS - NO ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/NO ACCESS VOA PERSIAN/NO ACCESS MANOTO TV/NO ACCESS IRAN INTERNATIONAL

Tehran - 9 August 2022

1. Protesters waving Palestinian flag

2. Woman holding flag reading: "Death to America"

3. Protesters chanting, UPSOUND: "Death to Israel"

4. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Adm. Ali Fadavi, Deputy Revolutionary Guard Commander-in-Chief:

"Beware of the day that the hand of God will go out of the sleeve of the Revolutionary Guard. Some people think they know the Guard's capabilities to some extent, but they will learn the truth when they can no longer talk about it, because they are already dead, no matter which geographical location or how far from us they are."

5. Protesters waving Palestinian and Hezbollah flags

6. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Adm. Ali Fadavi, Deputy Revolutionary Guard Commander-in-Chief:

"(We keep) this old belief that the Zionists, because they are on the side of evil, will never see their 80th anniversary."

7. Protesters chanting, UPSOUND: "Oh Hussein" (calling name of revered figure, Imam Hussein)

8. Protesters beat their chests to mourn Imam Hussein

9. Wide of protesters

10. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Adm. Ali Fadavi, Deputy Revolutionary Guard Commander-in-Chief:

"This time around only one of the members of the righteousness front was fighting them (the Israelis). Islamic Jihad was the only Palestinian group in the battlefield. They (Israelis) couldn't even withstand a war against the Islamic Jihad group, and they suffered defeat and accepted conditions set by the Jihad."

11. Effigy showing missile pointed toward Star of David

12. Protesters chanting

13. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Bahareh Gholami, protester:

"Today, we have gathered here to support the Palestinians and we want the whole world to know that they (the Israelis) can't bring us to our knees. We stand against them."

14. Protesters chanting

15. Protesters chanting, UPSOUND: "Death to Israel"

LEADIN:

Iranian demonstrators gathered in Tehran to protest against Israel after the most recent fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants that ended with a cease-fire.

STORYLINE:

An anti-Israeli protest was held in Tehran on Tuesday, following the recent fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.

A cease-fire took effect late Sunday in a bid to end nearly three days of fighting.

Israeli aircraft had pummeled targets in Gaza since Friday, while the Iran-backed Palestinian Jihad militant group fired hundreds of rockets at Israel in response.

The deputy commander-in-chief of Iran's powerful revolutionary guards mocked Israel for what he described as "suffering defeat" at the hands of just one Palestinian group.

"They (Israelis) couldn't even withstand a war against the Islamic Jihad group, and they suffered defeat and accepted conditions set by the Jihad," said Admiral Ali Fadavi.

The recent flare-up was the worst fighting between Israel and Gaza militant groups since Israel and Hamas fought an 11-day war last year.

The latest violence killed dozens of Palestinians and disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis.

Fadavi also vowed that Israel will not survive to celebrate its 80th anniversary, which falls on the year 2028.

Iranian officials have repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel, their arch-enemy.

AP video shot by Saeed Sarmadi

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Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused the Israeli military of carrying out attacks that “apparently amount to war crimes” during an 11-day war in May against the Hamas militant group.

The international human rights organization issued its conclusions after investigating three Israeli airstrikes that it said killed 62 Palestinian civilians.

It said “there were no evident military targets in the vicinity” of the attacks.

The report also accused Palestinian militants of apparent war crimes by launching over 4,000 unguided rockets and mortars at Israeli population centers. Such attacks, it said, violate “the prohibition against deliberate or indiscriminate attacks against civilians.”

The report, however, focused on Israeli actions during the fighting, and the group said it would issue a separate report on the actions of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in August.

The Israeli military has repeatedly said its attacks were aimed at military targets in Gaza. It says it takes numerous precautions to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for civilian casualties by launching rocket attacks and other military operations inside residential areas.

Omar Shakir, Israel-Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, also criticised the US.

"Several of the munitions used by the Israeli army were actually U.S.-made," he said. "So it's incumbent upon the United States as well as other states, to condition military and security assistance and arms sales to Israel on steps they take to end these grave abuses. Human Rights Watch's research indicates that U.S.-made munitions were among the munitions used by the Israeli government in unlawful attacks that killed scores of Palestinian civilians."

The war erupted on May 10  after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets toward Jerusalem in support of Palestinian protests against Israel’s heavy-handed policing of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, built on a contested site sacred to Jews and Muslims, and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers in a nearby neighborhood. During the fighting, Hamas fired over 4,000 rockets and mortars toward Israel, while Israel has said it struck over 1,000 targets it says were linked to Gaza militants.

In all, some 254 people were killed in Gaza, including at least 67 children and 39 women, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Hamas has acknowledged the deaths of 80 militants, while Israel has claimed the number is much higher. Twelve civilians, including two children, were killed in Israel, along with one soldier.

The HRW report looked into Israeli airstrikes. The most serious, on May 16, involved a series of strikes on Al-Wahda Street, a central thoroughfare in downtown Gaza City. The airstrikes destroyed three apartment buildings and killed a total of 44 civilians, HRW said, including 18 children and 14 women. Twenty-two of the dead were members of a single family, the al-Kawlaks.

Israel has said the attacks were aimed at tunnels used by Hamas militants in the area and that the damage to the homes was unintentional.

In its investigation, HRW concluded that Israel had used U.S.-made GBU-31 precision-guided bombs, and that Israel had not warned any of the residents to evacuate the area ahead of time. It also found no evidence of military targets in the area.

“An attack that is not directed at a specific military objective is unlawful,” it wrote.

The investigation also looked at a May 10 explosion that killed eight people, including six children, near the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. It said the two adults were civilians.

In a statement Tuesday, the Israeli military said the casualties were caused by errant rocket fire launched by militant groups, not Israeli airstrikes. It released aerial photos of what it said was the launch site, some 7.5 kilometers (4 miles) away, and the landing area.

“This incident demonstrates the blatant disregard for civilian life on the part of terror organizations in the Gaza Strip,” it said.

But based on an analysis of munition remnants and witness accounts, HRW said evidence indicated the weapon had been “a type of guided missile.”

“Human Rights Watch found no evidence of a military target at or near the site of the strike,” it said.

The New York-based group said that Israel refused to allow its investigators to enter Gaza. Instead, it said it relied on a field researcher based in Gaza, along with satellite images, expert reviews of photos of munitions fragments and interviews conducted by video and telephone.

The third attack HRW investigated occurred on May 15, in which an Israeli airstrike destroyed a three-story building  in Gaza’s Shati refugee camp. The strike killed 10 people, including two women and eight children.

HRW investigators determined the building was hit by a U.S.-made guided missile. It said Israel has said that senior Hamas officials were hiding in the building. But the group said no evidence of a military target at or near the site and called for an investigation into whether there was a legitimate military objective and “all feasible precautions” were taken to avoid civilian casualties.

The May conflict was the fourth war between Israel and Hamas since the Islamic militant group, which opposes Israel’s existence, seized control of Gaza in 2007. Human Rights Watch, other rights groups and U.N. officials have accused both sides of committing war crimes in all of the conflicts.

Early this year, HRW accused Israel of being guilty of international crimes of apartheid  and persecution because of discriminatory polices toward Palestinians, both inside Israel as well as in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel rejected the accusations.

In Tuesday’s report, it called on the United States to condition security assistance to Israel on it taking “concrete and verifiable actions” to comply with international human rights law and to investigate past abuses.

It also called on the ICC to include the recent Gaza war in its ongoing investigation into possible war crimes by Israel and Palestinian militant groups. Israel does not recognize the court's jurisdiction and says it is capable of investigating any potential wrongdoing by its army and that the ICC probe is unfair and politically motivated.

ARCHIVE: Gaza City, Gaza Strip – 16 May 2021

++GRAPHIC VIDEO++

1.Tracking of men carrying body of child after Israeli military carried out attack on building

2. Tracking of men carrying body of child from rubble of building destroyed after Israeli military attack

3. Mid of rescue team aiding injured man under the rubble

4. Wide of injured man carried on stretcher after rescued from rubble

5. Tracking of rescue team carrying man into ambulance after rescued from rubble

6. Wide of body carried on stretcher

7. Pan of people standing near rubble

Amman, Jordan – 27 July 2021

8. Mid of Omar Shakir, Israel-Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), talking

9. Close of Human Rights Watch sign

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Omar Shakir, Israel-Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW):  

"This particular report focuses on Israeli strikes that killed Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Human Rights Watch found that Israeli strikes killed scores of civilians, wiping out entire families with no evident military target in those areas and amount to apparent war crimes that the International Criminal Court should probe. Human Rights Watch focused on three particular strikes that killed 62 civilians."

11.Close of Shakir's face

12.SOUNDBITE (English) Omar Shakir, Israel-Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW):

"The Israeli government should have taken precautions to minimize the clear risk to civilians from firing explosive weapons in heavily, densely populated areas. According to the United Nations, Israeli air strikes killed at least 129 civilians, many of them children. It is incumbent upon the International Criminal Court, as well as the commission of inquiry that was established by the UN Human Rights Council, to look into both Israeli air strikes that were apparently unlawful, as well as Palestinian rocket attacks that were indiscriminate and also unlawful."

ARCHIVE: Gaza City, Gaza Strip – 15  May 2021

13. Wide of destroyed building

14. Mid of smoke rising from ground

Amman, Jordan – 27 July 2021

15.SOUNDBITE (English) Omar Shakir, Israel-Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW):

"Several of the munitions used by the Israeli army were actually U.S.-made. So it's incumbent upon the United States as well as other states, to condition military and security assistance and arms sales to Israel on steps they take to end these grave abuses. Human Rights Watch's research indicates that U.S.-made munitions were among the munitions used by the Israeli government in unlawful attacks that killed scores of Palestinian civilians."

ARCHIVE: Gaza City, Gaza Strip – 15  May 2021

16. Wide of men searching from belongings in rubble

17. Mid of woman looking at destruction

18. Wide of people walking near rubble

19. Wide of destruction seen through a hole in the building

Thousands gathered on October 29th 2018 on the beach for a Hamas-led protest against the decade-old Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza.

Several threw rocks, firebombs and sound grenades at the fence near the beach in the northwest Gaza Strip.

The health ministry says a 27-year-old was shot dead during the protest.

Egyptian mediators are working to restore calm, and hope to bring about a national reconciliation between Hamas, which seized Gaza by force in 2007, and the West Bank-based administration of President Mahmoud Abbas.

Hamas says the blockade must be lifted first and has vowed to continue the weekly protests, in which more than 160 Palestinians have been killed since March 2018.

A Palestinian sniper killed an Israeli soldier in July 2018.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the large protests as cover to stage border infiltrations and attacks.

It says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of exploiting young protesters and encouraging them to risk their lives in order to increase pressure to ease the blockade.

***

An Israeli airstrike hit Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV station on November 12th in Gaza City.

The station went off the air after the airstrike.

Minutes earlier, it had halted its programming and was broadcasting a still image of its logo after the building was hit by a warning missile.

Shortly after, three loud explosions were heard and the screen turned black.

Witnesses say the blast destroyed the entire building, and explosions illuminated the night sky.

Workers evacuated the building after the warning shots.

It was not clear whether there were any casualties.

***

An Israeli airstrike hit Hamas' security building on November 12th in Gaza City.

Earlier in the evening, an airstrike destroyed the Gaza City headquarters of Hamas' Al Aqsa TV station.

Israel had fired warning shots ahead of the airstrike, prompting the station to halt programming and replace it with a logo.

Minutes later, the airstrike flattened the three-story building and the station went black.

Workers had evacuated the building after the warning shots, and there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Palestinian militants bombarded Israel with dozens of rockets and mortar shells on November 12th while Israeli warplanes struck targets throughout the Gaza Strip in what appeared to be the most intense exchange of fire since a 2014 war.

Palestinian officials said at least three people, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire and nine were wounded, and an Israeli airstrike destroyed the ruling Hamas group's TV station.

In Israel, the national rescue service said at least seven people were wounded, including a 19-year-old soldier who was in critical condition.

The fighting, triggered by a botched undercover Israeli military raid in Gaza, cast doubt over recent understandings brokered by Egypt and UN officials to reduce tensions.

***

Palestinian militants continued to bombard Israel with dozens of rockets and mortar shells, while Israeli warplanes struck targets throughout the Gaza Strip in what appeared to be the most intense exchange of fire since a 2014 war.

In all, well over 300 rockets were fired into Israel by midnight on November 12th, Israeli army said.

The Israeli military said it intercepted 70 rockets, and most of the others fell in open spaces.

Palestinian officials said at least three people, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire and nine were wounded, and an Israeli airstrike destroyed the ruling Hamas group's TV station.

In Israel, the national rescue service said at least 20 people were wounded, including a 19-year-old soldier and a 60-year-old woman who were in critical condition.

The fighting cast doubt over recent understandings brokered by Egypt and U.N. officials to reduce tensions.

The rocket fire was triggered by a botched Israeli military raid in Gaza on November 11th.

Undercover troops, apparently on a reconnaissance mission, were discovered inside Gaza on November 11th, setting off a battle that left seven militants, including a Hamas commander, and an Israeli military officer dead.

***

Israel destroyed the Gaza City headquarters of Hamas' Al Aqsa TV station on November 12th.

The station went off air follwing the airstrike.

Minutes earlier, it halted its programming and was broadcasting a still image of its logo after the building was hit by a warning missile.

Shortly after, three loud explosions were heard and the screen turned black.

Witnesses say the blast destroyed the entire building, and explosions illuminated the night sky.

Workers evacuated the building after the warning shots; however, it was not clear whether there were any casualties.

Gaza City resident Mamdouh Al-Shurafa said he fled with his children following the airstrike.

"When we returned, we found great destruction. They destroyed a residential neighbourhood completely, the building where I live, and all my furniture and my house were destroyed."

Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets at southern Israel early on Tuesday, warning they would escalate their attacks if Israel continues bombing targets in the Gaza Strip.

***

Thousands of Hamas supporters gathered at a memorial rally in Gaza on November 16th for Nour el-Deen Baraka, the Hamas commander killed by Israeli special forces last week.

Baraka was a mid-level commander for the Islamic militant group in charge of an area in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis, where the rally was held.

Yehiyeh Sinwar, Hamas leader in Gaza, told the crowd that Abu Obaida, Hamas' armed wing spokesman, had said the group will respond to any bombardment by Israel by expanding the range of its rocket fire.

An Egyptian mediation team to Gaza, headed by Ahmad Abdul-Kahliq, also attended the rally.

Earlier in the week, Hamas and Israel fought a cross-border battle of rocket attacks and airstrikes, triggered by a botched Israeli undercover raid in Gaza. An Egyptian-brokered cease-fire ended the two-day flare-up.

***

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on November 18th he would take on the defence minister portfolio, rejecting calls to dissolve his government even as early elections appeared increasingly likely.

Netanyahu said heading to elections now, amid repeated violent confrontations with Gaza militants, was "irresponsible" of his coalition partners, who have been pushing for early polls since the resignation last week of Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman over a Gaza cease-fire.

"Today, I take on for the first time the position of defence minister," said Netanyahu, speaking from Israel's defence headquarters in Tel Aviv in a statement broadcast live at the top of the evening newscasts.

"We are in one of the most complex security situations and during a period like this, you don't topple a government. During a period like this you don't go to elections," he said.

The sudden coalition crisis was sparked by the resignation of the hawkish Lieberman, who had demanded a far stronger response last week to the most massive wave of rocket attacks on Israel since the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.

He alleges the cease-fire agreement reached with Gaza's Hamas rulers will put southern Israel under a growing threat from the group, similar to that posed to northern Israel by Lebanon's heavily armed Hezbollah group.

The departure of Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party leaves the coalition with a one-seat majority in the 120-member parliament.

Netanyahu's other partners say that makes governing untenable and would leave the coalition susceptible to the extortion of any single lawmaker until elections scheduled for November 2019.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, of the pro-settler Jewish Home party, has already threatened to bring down the government if he is not appointed defence minister.

He and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, also of Jewish Home, are set to deliver a statement to the media on November 19th.

If the party leaves the coalition, it would strip Netanyahu of his parliamentary majority.

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, another senior partner, says another year of such instability will harm the economy. A meeting between him and Netanyahu on November 18th meant to convince Kahlon to stay ended with no results.

Netanyahu's Likud allies are already preparing to pin the blame on coalition partners if the effort to salvage the government fails.

No Israeli government has served out its full term since 1988. Since then, elections have almost always been moved up because of a coalition crisis or a strategic move by the prime minister to maximise his chances of re-election.

Most opinion polls show Netanyahu easily securing re-election, which would secure him a place in Israeli history as the country's longest serving leader. But several factors could trip him up, including a potential corruption indictment that could knock him out of contention.

***

On December 3rd a Hamas-controlled military court has sentenced six Palestinians to death for allegedly cooperating with Israel.

The court also delivered different prison terms against eight defendants in Gaza.

December 3rd's verdicts are the largest to be issued on a single day since the Islamic militant group took control of the territory from the internationally-backed Palestinian Authority in 2007.

Hamas has executed 28 Palestinians, the majority on charges of aiding Israeli security and intelligence agencies, since 2007.

Rights groups accuse Hamas of killing dozens of other suspected collaborators extra-judicially, especially during large-scale cross-border fighting with Israel.

December 3rd's verdicts were motivated by a botched undercover Israeli commando raid in November in which seven Palestinian militants and an Israeli officer were killed.

But the defendants were implicated in previous incidents, Hamas' military judiciary says.

***

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on December 11th condemned a shooting attack which wounded seven Israelis, including a pregnant 21-year-old whose baby was prematurely delivered by caesarean section.

In December 9th's attack, shots were fired from a Palestinian vehicle at a bus stop outside a settlement. Security camera footage from the scene showed a car speeding away after the shooting.

Israeli military forces carried out a series of raids in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday, bursting into stores and offices of the official Palestinian news agency in a manhunt for the gunmen.

Speaking at the opening of an interchange near an Israeli settlement, Netanyahu promised to "hunt down those responsible for the attack and make them pay."

***

A funeral was held in Khan Younis on December 12th for a four-year-old Palestinian boy who died after being injured by Israeli gunfire during a Gaza border protest.

Hundreds marched through the streets of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip to mourn for Ahmed Abu Abed.

Gaza's Health Ministry said Ahmed Abu Abed died days after he was injured by Israeli gunfire during a border protest.

He becomes the youngest of some 175 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the demonstrations since March.

The Hamas-led protests are meant to pressure Israel to ease a blockade imposed after the group seized power in 2007.

Israel accuses Hamas of endangering civilians by using the crowds as cover for attacks.

But the military has faced international criticism over the large number of unarmed people who have been harmed.

Local journalist Hassan Islaieh said December 11th the boy was with his father and dozens of other protesters when he was hit by shrapnel November 7th.

He says the boy was about 20 metres (yards) from the fence.

02:15:12

00:00:00

Thousands gather at beach for Hamas protest against blockade

4179647

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Beit Lahiya - 29 October 2018

1. Smoke rising from burning tyres along sea shore, protesters gathered

2. Israeli navy boats

3. Israeli jeep firing tear gas at protesters, tear gas smoke

4. Protesters running away from teargas

00:16:00

Israeli airstrike hits Hamas’ al-Aqsa TV station in Gaza Strip

4181844

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gaza City - 12 November 2018

++Night Shots++

5. Various of of skyline, huge explosion lights up horizon with ball of flames after Israeli air strikes targeted Al-Aqsa TV building, AUDIO: explosions

00:27:04

Israeli strikes in Gaza, including Hamas security building

4181859

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gaza City - 12 November 2018

++Night Shots++

6. Barrage of rockets fired from Gaza militants, tilt-up to Israel's Iron Dome air defence system intercepting

00:34:21

Rockets fired into Israel intercepted by Iron Dome

4181867

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gaza City - 13 November 2018

++Early Morning Shots++

7. Rockets fired from Gaza towards Israeli side of the border, intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defence system

00:42:21

Aftermath of Israeli airstrike that destroyed TV station of Gaza's Hamas rulers

4181907

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gaza City - 13 November 2018

8. Destroyed building(Hamas-affiliated TV station)

9. Various of damage

00:54:24

Thousands attend Hamas rally near Gaza border with Israel

4182682

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Khan Younis - 16 November 2018

10. Ahmad Abdul-Kahliq, head of Egyptian mediation team to Gaza, arriving at the Hamas rally and greeting Yehiyeh Sinwar, Hamas leader in Gaza, and other officials

11. Wide of stage

12. Masked militants among crowd

13. Sinwar greeting a young boy and the brother of killed Hamas commander Nour el-Deen Baraka who is holding a poster of Baraka

01:11:12

Israeli PM says he'll take over temporarily as defence minister

4182840

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tel Aviv - 18 November 2018

14. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"Today, I take on for the first time the position of defence minister, and I know that I am doing this while the defence policy of the state of Israel is under criticism."

01:23:02

Six Palestinians sentenced to death for cooperating with Israel

4185019

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gaza City - 3 December 2018

15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nasser Suliman, Head of Hamas military judiciary:

"We send a message to all of those who fell for the collaboration crime: you have to repent immediately and turn yourself in to any security agency. And the military judiciary will treat this attitude wisely, with lightened kinds of punishments. Death penalty by hanging is awaiting those who continue with this crime."

01:48:20

Netanyahu condemns attack on Israelis, as troops kill Palestinian

4186291

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Adam - 11 December 2018

16. Exterior of Adam settlement

17. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"This act of terror, like others, teaches us the depth of hatred of our enemies to us, Jews and Israelis, they simply have no moral inhibitions, they don't care about anything anymore when they come to harm innocent civilians."

02:08:08

GRAPHIC Funeral of 4-year old boy in Gaza

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

++PLEASE NOTE - THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES OF A DEAD CHILD++

Khan Younis - 12 December 2018

18. Various of relatives surrounding body of 4-year-old Ahmed Abu Abed, paying respects, putting flowers on his face

Thousands of mourners attended the funeral on Thursday of three Hamas militants who were killed by Israeli tank shelling.

Israel on Thursday intercepted a rocket fired at southern Israel from Gaza, the military said, a day after it shelled Hamas targets in the coastal strip, killing the three Hamas militants.

An army statement said nine rocket launches were identified overnight. One was intercepted and the rest landed in open fields.

Wednesday's shelling of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip was in response to sniper fire at troops on the border that moderately wounded an Israeli officer.

Khalil al-Hayya, deputy head of Hamas in Gaza insisted on his group's right to respond to Israel's actions.

Hours after Wednesday's incident, air raid sirens sounded across communities in southern Israel.

While meeting new military recruits in central Israel on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to defend its borders.

"We are very determined to defend our borders and we will do what it takes to protect the security not only of the communities surrounding Gaza but of the state of Israel."

The cross-border exchange took place a few days after Gaza's Hamas rulers agreed to a cease-fire with Israel to prevent weekend hostilities from escalating.

The Israel-Gaza border has seen an escalation in violence in recent weeks, following months of weekly protests organized by Hamas.

Over 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire since the protests began on March 30. A Palestinian sniper killed an Israeli soldier along the border last Friday.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars in the past decade.

++CLIENTS PLEASE NOTE: FOOTAGE INCLUDES DEAD BODIES++

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gaza City, Gaza Strip – 26th July 2018

1. Various of mourners carrying body of Hamas militants who were killed by Israeli tank shelling and marching, gunman shooting in the air

2. Various of Hamas top leader, Ismail Haniyeh leading prayer for three Hamas militants

3. Various of mourners carrying three bodies out of the mosque

4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Khalil al-Hayya, deputy head of Hamas in Gaza:

"The efforts are continuing, but we say in front of the blood of our people, to all those who are working to bring things back to the calm, to stop this deadly enemy, who kills our youth, our children and our women, it's our right to respond to this enemy and resistance will respond at the right time and place to achieve the goals of our people, in freedom, and to end the occupation and to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip forever."

5. Various of thousands of mourners carrying bodies and marching during funeral

East of Gaza, near the border with Israel – 26th July 2018

6. Various of site where Hamas militants were killed by Israeli tank shelling

Ramat Gan, Israel - 26th July 2018

7. Wide military officials and new military recruits

8. Cutaway of photos on wall

9. Media

10. Recruits standing

11. Various of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sitting for news conference

12 .SOUNDBITE: (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"We are in a campaign. It demands an exchange of blows but at the end it's a test of willpower. We are making use of all options, but we are very determined to defend our borders and we will do what it takes to protect the security not only of the communities surrounding Gaza but of the state of Israel."

13. End of news conference

SHOTLIST:

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gaza City – 7 August 2022

++DAY SHOTS++

1. Wide of Israeli airstrikes with large plume of smoke

HEADLINE: Israel, Palestinians agree on Gaza ceasefire

2. Various of rockets being fired toward Israel

ANNOTATION: The Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement has announced a deal with Israel to end three days of violence that has killed dozens of Palestinians.

3. Wide of rockets being fired towards Israel, Iron Dome intercepting them

4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dawood Shehab, Islamic Jihad official:

++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT++

"We, in the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, announce the entry into the ceasefire agreement as of 11:30 in the evening of this Sunday, 7 August 2022. And we confirm that we will abide by the ceasefire as long as the enemy adheres to it."

5. Zoom in of black smoke rising after Israeli airstrike

ANNOTATION: The flare-up has been the worst fighting between Israel and Gaza militant groups since Israel and Hamas fought an 11-day war last year.

6. Wide of ambulances in street

ANNOTATION: The latest violence has killed more than 40 Palestinians, including 15 children and four women.

++NIGHT SHOTS++

7. Various of rockets being fired from Gaza city and being intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome

ANNOTATION: Rocket fire and airstrikes continued until the scheduled start of the truce at 11:30 p.m.  

STORYLINE:

A cease-fire came into effect between Gaza militants and Israel late on Sunday to end three days of violence that has killed dozens of Palestinians.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement announced the deal, with a representative saying the group would keep to the truce if Israel also abides by it.

The flare-up has been the worst fighting between Israel and Gaza militant groups since Israel and Hamas fought an 11-day war last year.

The latest violence has killed more than 40 Palestinians, including 15 children and four women.

It had threatened to spiral into another all-out war but ended up being contained because Gaza's ruling Hamas group stayed on the sidelines.

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The Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement has announced a deal with Israel to end three days of violence that has killed dozens of Palestinians. (Aug 8)

The al-Kawlaks, a family of four generations living next door to each other in downtown Gaza City, were utterly unprepared for the inferno.

Like others, they were terrified by the heavy bombing in Israel's fourth war with Gaza's Hamas rulers that began May 10.

The explosions felt more powerful than in previous fighting.

At night, parents and children slept in one room so they would live or die together.

Yet the relatively well-to-do Rimal neighborhood where the family lived in a cluster of apartment buildings seemed somewhat safer than areas along Gaza's border with Israel, which had been devastated in this and past fighting.

Then one night disaster struck. Azzam al-Kawlak's four children had gone to bed, and he and his wife were preparing to join them.

At around 1 a.m. on May 16, a thunderous boom shook his top-floor apartment, followed quickly by a second and third.

"The floor cracked below our feet and the furniture was thrown to the wall," the 42-year-old engineer said.

The four-story building collapsed, with Azzam's apartment dropping to the ground. The family escaped through the kitchen balcony, now almost ground level.

It took a day for the full horror to emerge, as bodies and survivors were pulled from the rubble.

The family and neighbors used ropes to clear chunks of concrete, working alongside ill-equipped rescue teams.

By nightfall, the family's death toll stood at 22.

Eight bodies were dug out of Azzam's building and 14 from the one next door.

The dead included 89-year-old family patriarch Amin, his son Fawaz, 62, his grandson Sameh, 28, and his great-grandson, 6-month-old Qusai.  

Just a day earlier, Qusai's parents had celebrated a small milestone, his first tooth.

Azzam's two younger brothers were killed.

Three nieces — 5-year-old Rula, 10-year-old Yara and 12-year-old Hala — were found in a tight embrace, their bodies the last to be pulled out, said Azzam's surviving older brother, Awni.  

The bombing along several hundred meters (yards) of al-Wahda Street took just minutes.

In all, it brought down three houses — two in the al-Kawlak compound and one nearby — and killed a total of 43 people, making it the single deadliest air raid of the 11-day war.

Israel's military says the bombs targeted nearby Hamas tunnels and suggested it had miscalculated the firepower used in the strike, inadvertently killing large numbers of civilians.

The fighting began May 10 after Hamas fired rockets toward Jerusalem in support of Palestinian protests against Israel's heavy-handed policing of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a site sacred to Jews and Muslims, and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers.

In all, Hamas fired more than 4,000 rockets toward Israel during the war, while Israel said it struck hundreds of targets linked to militants in Gaza.

At Gaza City's main police compound, Capt. Mohammed Meqdad picked through pieces of bomb fragments in a cardboard box labeled "al-Wahda Street."

Two had serial numbers identifying them as fitted with Joint Direct Attack Munition kits manufactured by Boeing Co. at its factory in St. Charles, Missouri, to make them so-called "smart bombs," able to be guided to a target by GPS or lasers.

Boeing did not answer questions about the bombing, only saying in a statement: "In accordance with U.S. law, the U.S. government authorizes and provides strict oversight for all defense exports."

Meqdad said that based on the fragments, the bombs that brought down the al-Kawlak homes were likely GBU-31s, packed with 430 kilograms (945 pounds) of high explosives.

The bombs carry a powerful blast, meaning surveillance, intelligence-gathering, pre-planning and the correct choice and explosive punch of the weapon should be carefully considered before an attack, he said.  

The Israeli military did not respond when asked what bombs were used in the al-Wahda Street strikes.

Earlier this year, the International Criminal Court began investigating Israel and Hamas for possible war crimes going back to the previous 2014 war.

This includes random Hamas rocket fire toward Israeli communities — widely seen as a violation of the rules of war — and some of Israel's deadliest practices, such as the toppling of high-rises that killed entire families in pursuit of militants.  

Two Gaza rights groups — al-Mezan and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights — have been documenting Israel's strikes and incursions for years.

This time, they again interviewed survivors, including the al-Kawlaks, visited hospitals, took photos and collected death certificates, in preparation for possible new submissions to the ICC.

Samir Zakout of al-Mezan said he believes the al-Wahda Street bombings — along with other deadly airstrikes — violated the laws of war, arguing the value of any possible military target was dwarfed by significant harm to civilians.

Zakout accused Israel of intentionally using excessive firepower to sow fear, saying it "has violated the proportionality, distinguishing and the principle of military necessity."

The Israeli military does not recognize the ICC, but says its airstrikes are cleared by lawyers to make sure they comply with international standards.

In all, 254 people were killed in Gaza in this war, including 67 children and 39 women, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Hamas has acknowledged the deaths of 80 militants. Eleven civilians, including two children, were killed in Israel, along with one soldier.

The fear that justice will never come makes it harder for the al-Kawlaks family to deal with loss.

They worry that Gaza and its problems, including a suffocating blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007 to contain Hamas, will soon sink back into oblivion.

Gaza City, Gaza Strip - 31 May 2021

1. Various of destroyed houses in Gaza belonging to Al-Kawlak family, rubble

2. Azzam al-Kawlak standing in damaged street

3. Al-Kawlak talking with people

4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Azzam al-Kawlak, lost 22 relatives in deadliest airstrike during 11-day war:

"The third hit was the most powerful. The (building) was shaking. We felt we were shaking strongly and falling. We felt as if we were collapsing. After that, there were cracks in the ground underneath us. I saw the tiles broken. The floor cracked below our feet and the furniture was thrown to the wall, and the doors flung open."

ARCHIVE: Gaza City, Gaza Strip - 16 May 2021

5. Alaa Neaizy, rescue team member, asking a man under the rubble if he can hear him

6. Rescue team pulling out a body from under rubble

7. Rescue team putting body on stretcher, taking it to ambulance    

8. Various of people being taken out from under rubble ++INCLUDES JUMP CUT++

Gaza City, Gaza Strip - 31 May 2021

9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Azzam al-Kawlak, lost 22 relatives in deadliest airstrike during 11-day war:

"This thing (airstrike) had happened without any deadline, warning, or any phone call. This is very important. It happened suddenly. I demand the concerned sides to know why this has happened to us? What's our fault?"

Gaza City, Gaza Strip - 30 May 2021

10. Various of cardboard boxes with bombs fragments at the office of police bomb squad in Gaza City

11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammad Meqdad, Gaza City police bomb expert:

"The bomb is MK-84 weighing 2,000 pounds, the equivalent of 975 kilograms, with 430 kilograms of highly explosive Tritonal. The ferocity and force of bombing a street this way has caused large damage to the infrastructure and buildings due to the force of the explosions."

Gaza City, Gaza Strip - 27 May 2021

12. Setup shot of Samir Zakout, Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights

13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Samir Zakout, Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights:

"When the occupation authorities claimed they were targeting a legitimate target, they used force to deliberately cause heavy damage in the entire area. So, Israel has violated the proportionality, distinguishing and the principle of military necessity. In more than 90% of Israel's airstrikes, there was no wartime justification."

14. Various of excavator, trucks and people removing rubble

Dozens of Iranians including women and children rallied in Tehran on Tuesday to demonstrate their support for Palestinians as Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers continued to trade attacks.

Protesters gathered in Tehran's Palestine Square waving the flags of Palestine, Iran and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.

Flags of Israel's main backer and ally, the United States, were set on fire by protesters who shouted "death to Israel" and "death to America".

"To me, there is no difference between my kids and Palestinian children. There is no difference between a child whose dreams are being buried under tons of dirt and those of my child," said Maryam Kasiri who attended the protest.

Heavy fighting broke out May 10 when Gaza's militant Hamas rulers fired long-range rockets toward Jerusalem in support of Palestinian protests against Israel’s heavy-handed policing of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint site sacred to Jews and Muslims, and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers.

At least 213 Palestinians have been killed in heavy airstrikes since, including 61 children and 36 women, with more than 1,440 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not break the numbers down into fighters and civilians.

++The Associated Press is adhering to Iranian law that stipulates all media are banned from providing BBC Persian, VOA Persian, Manoto TV and Iran International any coverage from Iran, and under this law if any media violate this ban the Iranian authorities can immediately shut down that organisation in Tehran.++

ASSOCIATED PRESS - NO ACCESS IRAN/NO ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/NO ACCESS VOA PERSIAN/NO ACCESS MANOTO TV/NO ACCESS IRAN INTERNATIONAL

Tehran - 18 May 2021

1. Various of protesters burning US flag

2. Mid of protesters waving flags of Iran, Palestine and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group

3. Wide of protesters shouting (Farsi) "Death to Israel"

4. Pan of protesters shouting (Farsi) "Death to America"

5. Close of women holding Palestinian flag above their heads shouting (Farsi) "Down with Israel"

6. Pan of protesters holding up long cloth with several Palestinian flags painted onto it shouting (Arabic) "Death to Israel"

7. Pan to woman chanting (Farsi) "Death to Israel"

8. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Roya Esmaili, protester:

"We see heart-wrenching pictures and video from Gaza these days and feel a great pain. We are here to support them."

9. Wide of women protesters shouting (Farsi) "Death to America – death to Israel"

10. Wide of young boy holding up picture of Palestinian youths

11. Tilt-down of female protester and her two children

12. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Maryam Kasiri, protester:

"To me, there is no difference between my kids and Palestinian children. There is no difference between a child whose dreams are being buried under tons of dirt and those of my child. I wish from the bottom of my heart to be able to take a step toward the destruction of Israel."

13. Wide of protesters holding up long cloth with several Palestinian flags painted onto it

14. Wide of women shouting (Farsi) "May Israel be destroyed"

Residents of the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, where a woman was killed in a rocket attack on Tuesday, ran for cover as sirens once again warned of incoming fire from the Gaza Strip.

"We are used to this situation," said local resident Haim Amar, after the sirens sounded.

"We support each other, and God willing everything will turn out peacefully," he added.

Hamas has sent a heavy barrage of rockets deep into Israel in a matter of minutes and Israel pounded Gaza with more airstrikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited batteries of the Iron Dome missile defense system, which the military says has intercepted 90% of the 1,200 rockets that have reached Israel from Gaza so far.

The relentless escalation of hostilities Thursday came as Egyptian negotiators intensified efforts at conflict mediation.

Previous fighting between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers was largely confined to the impoverished and blockaded Palestinian territory and Israeli communities on the frontier. But this round seems to be rippling far and wide.

While some rocket attacks have reached Tel Aviv, Arab and Jewish mobs have rampaged through the streets, savagely beating people and torching cars.

Meanwhile, Israel carried out waves of bone-rattling airstrikes. Since the rockets began Monday, Israel has toppled three high-rise buildings that it said housed Hamas facilities after warning civilians to evacuate.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the death toll has climbed to 87 Palestinians, including 18 children and eight women, with 530 people wounded.

Islamic Jihad confirmed the deaths of seven militants, while Hamas has acknowledged 13 of its militants killed, including a senior commander. Israel says the number of militants dead is much higher.

Ashkelon, southern Israel - 13 May 2021

1. Haim Amar, local resident and others running for cover as sirens warn of incoming rocket fire from the Gaza Strip

2. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Haim Amar, local resident:

"We are used to this situation, the people of Israel are strong, and (we) thank God. We support each other, and God willing everything will turn out peacefully to finish this once and for all, God willing."

3. Various of hole in building and damage to apartment following Gaza rocket attack on Tuesday where a woman was killed

4. Cars parked

5. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) David Abutbul, local resident:

"We are with the army and the state, we trust them."

6. Pan from Ya'akov Abdu in his apartment to broken window

7. Broken glass on air-conditioning unit

8. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Ya'akov Abdu, local resident:

"We are being attacked, rockets are being fired at us without notice. Rockets are fired at me with no notice. We think twice, we want to attack a certain home we inform them - guys, leave your home, we are going to bomb please, please leave - this is who we are, the people of Israel are special. This is our country."

9. Abdu showing damage to door inside his apartment

Near Ashdod, southern Israel - 13 May 2021

10. Iron Dome batteries