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The Israel-Palestine conflict enters the fifth day, with no sign of it easing.

May 12, 2021

The conflict between Israel and Palestine has entered the fifth day and the situation seems to be getting only worse. 

The assault on Gaza by the Israeli forces have intensified as Hamas continues firing rockets into Israel. 

Israel’s Army said that both air and land forces participated in attacks on Friday, but did not invade Gaza.

A reporter from BBC witnessed heavy shelling involving fighter jets, gunboats, and helicopters.

Over a hundred people, including children, have been murdered in Gaza whereas seven Israelis have died since the conflict broke out on Monday.

In order to reduce the internal unrest that has resulted in over 400 Israelis being arrested, Benny Gantz, the Defense Minister of Israel ordered a massive reinforcement of the security forces.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement early on Monday morning, said that Israel would continue its military operation in Gaza against Palestinian militants for as long as needed. He further added that Hamas would have to pay a heavy price. 

A Hamas military spokesperson warned that the group is going to teach harsh lessons to Israel if it tries to invade Gaza by land.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine dates back to 1948 and the violence recorded this past week is the worst since 2014. Tensions between the two had been raising in East Jerusalem for weeks. Things turned ugly when Israeli forces repelled Muslim worshippers inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque a day before the Jewish nationalist’s Jerusalem Day Parade, reportedly because of rock and bottle throwing towards soldiers. This twisted into an incessant exchange of Israeli airstrikes and Palestinian rocket fire.

A few minutes after the Israeli Prime Minister’s statement, video footage was shared showing the sky over the Gaza city lit up with explosions.

In response, rocket barrages from Gaza attacked the Israeli cities Ashdod, Ashkelon, Yavne, and Beersheba among other areas.

Hours later, Israel called 7,000 reservists and deployed troops alongside its border with Gaza.

The Israeli military said it was considering a ground invasion into Gaza, but a final decision was yet to be made.

On the fifth day of the violence, António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations called for an immediate cessation and de-escalation of hostilities in Israel and Gaza.

Around 103 Palestinians have been killed, including 27 children since Monday and over 508 Palestinians have suffered serious injuries, said the health ministry of Gaza. 

Israel says that most of the people who died were militants while some of the deaths were caused by the misfired rockets from Gaza.

Various leaders have called in for the de-escalation of the tensions, including Israel’s ally the US. But so far, there is little to no sign of the situation easing up.

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