UPDATED: After 1 week of Israeli aggression, death toll among Palestinians rises to 209 including 55 children

CAIRO - 16 May 2021: Shelling and airstrikes by the Israeli army against Gaza Strip and clashes with civilians in the West Bank and Jerusalem since May 10 incurred 209 deaths and 4,363 injuries, according to Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA).

Speaking of Gaza Strip alone, casualties recorded 188 deaths, including 55 children and 33 women, and 1,238 injuries whereas dozens are in critical conditions.

The strikes also caused the destruction of more than 200 residential units and 31 educational establishments, including schools, colleges, and vocational training centers so as hundreds of families fled from the North to the South.

On the other hand, Magen David Agom announced that 10 Israelis got killed since the beginning of the "Fence Guardian" operation on Monday while 675 others got injured.

On Saturday, the Israeli forces struck a number of towers in Gaza Strip. One of those housed the offices of a number of media outlets.

Sky News Arabia reported earlier on Saturday that Israeli forces launched a raid against Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. That is in addition to getting engaged in clashes with Palestinians in Bethlehem city and Al Khalil city in the West Bank as well as Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The outcome of such clashes is 200 injuries among civilian Palestinians.

In response, missiles were launched from Gaza on Tel Aviv and Ashkelon as well as a number of Palestinian settlements and Lod Airport.

The Spokesperson of the Israeli army announced Friday firing 450 missiles by 160 warplanes – which took off from six bases - against 150 targets that allegedly belong to Hamas, mainly a tunnel network lying in the northern and eastern neighborhoods of Gaza Strip. He also stated on Saturday that 2,300 missiles were launched from Gaza against Israel.

It is noted that prior to the missile fire exchange, Israel was attempting to rip Palestinian families of their homes in Sheikh Jarrah giving them to settlers. In tandem, it assaulted worshippers in Al Aqsa Mosque while performing prayers in the Holy Month of Ramadan.

On Friday, Power went off in most areas of Gaza Strip since last night as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression not just from land and air but also from sea as Israeli battleships struck the shores of Shatea El Sudaneya northern Gaza. 

As reported by the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA), the Israeli airstrikes targeted residential facilities and homes in the town of Beit Lahiya, north of the Gaza Strip, resulting in at least four Palestinians killed and dozens injured. Over 20 wounded were moved to hospital, and dozens of families were displaced.

Another heavy barrage of Israeli bombing from the land, air and sea targeted the neighboring town of Beit Janoun, which caused significant damage and mass destruction of dozens of residential facilities.

Hundreds of families from the northern Gaza Strip were seen fleeing their homes towards the south as a result of the heavy Israeli bombardment.

The cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the south of the Strip also came under heavy artillery bombardment which caused significant damage to infrastructure and residential facilities.

All power lines that come from Israel in Gaza were broken as a result of the ongoing bombardment, while the only power generating plant in the central Gaza Strip ran out of fuel following Israel's shutdown of the only commercial border crossing with Gaza.

The blackout of electricity in Gaza threatens of a human disaster that may result from the imminent blocking of vital sectors, including the healthcare, water, sanitation, environment and public services sectors.

Israeli police also detained around 374 Palestinians holding the Israeli nationality against the backdrop of the ongoing protests in support of Jerusalem and Gaza.

Protests were held in Nazareth, Sakhnin, Reineh, Be'neh, Deir al-Asad, Kafr Qare, Qalansawe, Arraba, Baqa al-Gharbiya, Kafr Manda, Yafr Kanna, Tuba-Zangariyye, Yafa an-Naseriyye, Sha'ab, Shefa Amr, Lod, Ar'ara, Tamra, Haifa, and many other towns and villages.

In the city of Lod, clashes erupted between Palestinian citizens and hardcore settler groups who attacked a mosque and opened gunfire at many Palestinian-owned homes in the city.

In Jaffa, a group of Israeli settlers protected by a police escort opened gunfire at a mosque while several worshipers were inside. No injuries were reported.

In Haifa, Israeli police detained 30 Palestinian protesters, including a 10-year-old child, while demonstrating in support of Jerusalem and Gaza.

Hardcore settlers also broke into the Palestinian neighborhood of Wadi Jamal in Haifa and fired live shots and stun grenades at inhabited homes.

In the village of Kafr Manda, a 23-year-old youth was stabbed and moderately injured by Israeli settler at a road junction on the entrance to the village.

As for the West Bank, the total number of injuries among Palestinians eastern Nabuls due to clashes with settlers has amounted to 101 by Friday.