Palestinian Medics Report Several Deaths, Injuries Following Latest Israeli Strikes

GAZA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th May, 2021) Several people were killed and many others were injured as a result of the latest strikes launched by Israel against the Gaza Strip, director of the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, Mohammed Abu Selmia, said.

According to a media statement from Selmia, the number of injured taken to the hospital continues to rise.

The Palestinian health ministry says many people remain under the rubble as the Israeli strikes have destroyed several buildings.

Earlier, a local source told Sputnik that power supply was cut off in Gaza City, the largest city in Palestine, as a result of Israeli strikes against the Gaza Strip. The source said Israeli had launched a series of rocket attacks on several cities in the Gaza Strip, including Khan Yunis and Rafah.

The Israeli strikes came after the resumption of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip on the night from Saturday to Sunday.

According to Sputnik sources, the Israeli forces targeted a high-rise building in Gaza on Saturday, after warning its residents in advance. Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had struck a 15-story building that housed a number of international media such as the Associated Press and Al-Jazeera. The IDF said the building was used by Hamas as their intelligence headquarters, among other things. The Israeli forces said sufficient time was given to people to leave the building before the attack.

On Saturday evening, the military wing of Palestine's Hamas, Qassam Brigades, announced that the movement was going to stop airstrikes for two hours starting from 10 p. m. local time on Saturday (19:00 GMT).

Qassam Brigades said after midnight that it had resumed strikes, launching rockets in the direction of Israel's Ashkelon, Ashdod and Beersheba, in response to the Israeli forces having destroyed residential buildings in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF said on Twitter shortly after midnight that multiple rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.