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Amid escalating Israel-Palestine violence, UNSC to hold emergency meet today

Israel slammed the Gaza Strip with airstrikes in a dramatic escalation

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In the backdrop of surging hostilities between Israel and Palestine in the Middle East, the United Nations Security Council will hold a meeting to discuss ways to defuse the violence. The UNSC had held emergency consultations on Monday after reports of escalating violence in east Jerusalem and was considering a proposed statement calling on Israel to cease evictions and calling for restraint and respect for the historic status quo at the holy sites. The draft statement would express the Security Council's grave concern at escalating tensions and violence in the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, and serious concern over the possible evictions of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighbourhoods in east Jerusalem, many of whom have lived in their homes for generations. There have been weeks of mounting tensions and almost nightly clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops in the Old City of Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, already a time of heightened religious sensitivities.

Israel slammed the Gaza Strip with airstrikes, in a dramatic escalation that included bombing the home of a senior Hamas leader, killing a family of 10 in a refugee camp most of them children and pulverizing a high-rise that housed The Associated Press and other media. The Hamas militant group continued a stream of rocket volleys into Israel, including a late-night barrage on Tel Aviv. One man was killed Saturday when a rocket hit his home in a suburb of the seaside metropolis. With a US envoy on the ground, calls increased for a cease-fire after five days of mayhem that have left at least 145 Palestinians dead in Gaza including 41 children and 23 women and eight dead on the Israeli side, all but one of them civilians, including a five-year-old.

US President Joe Biden, who has called for a de-escalation but has backed Israel's campaign, spoke separately by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Still, Israel stepped up its assault, vowing to shatter the capabilities of Gaza's Hamas rulers. The week of deadly violence, set off by a Hamas rocket Monday, came after weeks of mounting tensions and heavy-handed Israeli measures in contested Jerusalem. Early Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck several buildings and roads in a vital part of Gaza City. Photos circulated by residents and journalists showed the airstrikes created a crater that blocked one of the main roads leading to Shifa, the largest hospital in the strip.

Since the conflict began, Israel has levelled a number of Gaza City's tallest office and residential buildings, alleging they house elements of the Hamas military infrastructure. On Saturday, it turned to the 12-story al-Jalaa Building, where the offices of the AP, the TV network Al-Jazeera and other media outlets are located, along with several floors of apartments. The campaign will continue as long as it is required, Netanyahu said in a televised speech on Saturday evening. He alleged that Hamas military intelligence was operating inside the building. Israel routinely cites a Hamas presence as a reason for targeting certain locations in airstrikes, including residential buildings. The military also has accused the militant group of using journalists as human shields, but provided no evidence to back up the claims.

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