After a week of fighting, photos show destruction in Gaza, the world's largest 'open air prison' where Israeli airstrikes killed hundreds

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Sarah Al-ArshaniMay 18, 2021, 12:03 IST
After a week of fighting, photos show destruction in Gaza, the world's largest 'open air prison' where Israeli airstrikes killed hundreds

A boy looks on search and rescue works continued at debris of buildings after airstrikes by Israeli army hit buildings at Jabalia Refugee Camp in Gaza City, Gaza on May 17, 2021.Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

  • Israeli airstrikes have left more than 200 Palestinians dead in Gaza and thousands more displaced.
  • The airstrikes have gone on for a week after the militant group Hamas fired rockets into Israel.
  • Hamas's airstrike followed attacks by Israeli police on worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque.
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Israeli airstrikes have fallen on Gaza for the past week, killing more than 200 Palestinians and leaving thousands wounded.

Israeli airstrikes have fallen on Gaza for the past week, killing more than 200 Palestinians and leaving thousands wounded.
Firefighters try to extinguish fire broke out after Israeli warplanes hit coastland in Gaza City, Gaza on May 17, 2021. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

At least 212 people, including at least 61 children, have been killed in Gaza in airstrikes over the last week so far, The New York Times reported.

The Guardian reported that at least 1,230 people have been wounded so far.

On Sunday alone, an Israeli airstrike killed 42 Palestinians in Gaza.

On Sunday alone, an Israeli airstrike killed 42 Palestinians in Gaza.
Palestinian Al Deyri family's children are seen on the street after their home was demolished by Israeli army airstrikes in Gaza City, Gaza on May 17, 2021. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The death toll included 10 children, Reuters reported.

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The airstrikes follow several tense weeks in the Palestinian territories and Israel.

The airstrikes follow several tense weeks in the Palestinian territories and Israel.
Palestinian protesters run for cover from tear gas fired by Israeli security forces amid clashes at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound on May 10, 2021, ahead of a planned march to commemorate Israel's takeover of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Hamas began launching airstrikes at Israel last Monday in response to Israeli forces storming and attacking worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque during the last ten nights of the holy month of Ramadan.

More than 300 Palestinian protesters were injured after Israeli police fired stun grenades into Al-Aqsa last Monday.

Violence at Al Aqsa followed ongoing protests in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem.

Violence at Al Aqsa followed ongoing protests in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem.
Israeli security forces try to detain a Palestinian woman in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where looming evictions of Palestinian families have fuelled anger, on May 15, 2021, the day on which Palestinians mark the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba, the "catastrophe" of Israel's creation in 1948. EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images

Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah have been protesting ahead of a court ruling on the forced eviction of several Palestinian families from their homes in favor of a settler group.

Some of the families could have been expelled from their homes as early as May 6 but an Israeli court delayed making a decision.

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Rockets fired by Hamas have killed at least 10 people in Israel.

Rockets fired by Hamas have killed at least 10 people in Israel.
A Rabbi inspects the damage inside a torched religious school in the central Israeli city of Lod, near Tel Aviv, on May 11, 2021, following night clashes between Arab Israelis and Israeli Jews amid a dramatic escalation between Palestinians and Israelis sparked by unrest at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

The death toll includes a five-year-old boy and a soldier, the Guardian reported.

The airstrikes on Gaza have toppled buildings including one that housed the offices of news organizations.

The airstrikes on Gaza have toppled buildings including one that housed the offices of news organizations.
A man walks amid the rubble from buildings that were hit in Israeli airstrikes, on a street in Gaza City, Sunday, May 16, 2021. AP Photo/Adel Hana

Israeli airstrikes hit the Al-Jalaa tower which was home to outlets like the AP and Al Jazeera. The news organization was told hours before the building collapsed that it would be hit.

The Israeli government claimed that Hamas was operating in the building but the AP has pushed back on the assertion, saying there's no "indication" the militant group operated in the building.

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132 buildings in Gaza have been destroyed.

132 buildings in Gaza have been destroyed.
A satellite overview of a multistory building destroyed by airstrikes on Gaza City on May 12, 2021. Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies.

Palestinian officials said 2,500 people have been left homeless, the Times reported.

About 38,000 Palestinians have been displaced from their homes.

About 38,000 Palestinians have been displaced from their homes.
Firefighters try to extinguish a fire that broke out after Israeli warplanes hit the coastland in Gaza City, Gaza on May 17, 2021. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said many of those displaced are sheltering in 16 schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, CNN reported.

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Repairing from the destruction is going to be very difficult for those living in the Gaza strip, which has been described as the world's largest "open-air prison."

Repairing from the destruction is going to be very difficult for those living in the Gaza strip, which has been described as the world's largest "open-air prison."
People inspect a damaged car after Israeli warplanes hit coastland targets in Gaza City, Gaza on May 17, 2021. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

In 2010, John Holmes, the United Nation's humanitarian chief, visited Gaza and told Al Jazeera: "They're living in a kind of open-air prison. They're still suffering from this kind of collective punishment they've been suffering for three years now."

Holmes was speaking of the blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel since 2007.

A 2012 UN report said Gaza would be "unliveable" by 2020 if nothing was done to ease the blockade.

A 2012 UN report said Gaza would be "unliveable" by 2020 if nothing was done to ease the blockade.
A Palestinian man prays as he stands amid the rubble of buildings destroyed in deadly Israeli airstrikes waiting for possible survivors to be rescued, in Gaza City, Sunday, May 16, 2021. AP Photo/Khalil Hamra

More than 2 million residents in Gaza are living in a territory where more than 5,000 people live per square kilometer, according to the Norweign Refugee Council.

As many as 70% of the population in Gaza are refugees and 84% of those living there are in need of humanitarian aid. The vast majority, 98%, of groundwater is undrinkable, and more than 40% of people don't have enough to eat already.

The blockade has meant Israel controls imports and exports to the area and with limited medical supplies, Gazans have to apply for permission to travel outside of the territory for medical care. 45% are denied.

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Necessary infrastructure including health clinics have been hit and destroyed.

Necessary infrastructure including health clinics have been hit and destroyed.
Body parts were found at an Israeli bombing site near the Sea of Gaza, Gaza City, May 17, 2021. Momen Faiz/NurPhoto via Getty Images

CNN reported that a Gaza health clinic was damaged as a result of an airstrike intended for a nearby target.

That targetted building housed the Qatar Red Crescent office, which also reported damage.

The clinic was a main coronavirus testing center in the territory, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said.

Health officials are worried of an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the area.

Violence has also erupted in the West Bank.

Violence has also erupted in the West Bank.
Palestinians rescue a survivor from under the rubble of a destroyed residential building following deadly Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, Sunday, May 16, 2021. AP Photo/Khalil Hamra

The Times reported that 20 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers.

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