Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies with rockets and airstrikes

Hostilities broke out between Hamas and Israel less than a week ago. But a swift escalation has left civilians on both sides trying to come to terms with the maddening unpredictability. By Uta Steinwehr

  • People move about Gaza with bags of belongings as crowds watch tractors clearing rubble
    Seeking new shelter: residents sought shelter as airstrikes by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) continued. One airstrike on Sunday killed 33 people. Israeli authorities say the attacks target Hamas officials and that the humanitarian tragedy is the result of party leaders' mixing with the civilian population. Gaza's Health Ministry reports 181 deaths, including 52 children; 10 people have been killed in Israel
  • Smoke rises as a building falls after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza
    Press building destroye: the IDF warned media such as the AP and Al Jazeera before destroying the 12-story building that housed their offices and several apartments, saying Hamas operated there. "We have called on the Israeli government to put forward the evidence," AP CEO Gary Pruitt said. "AP’s bureau has been in this building for 15 years. We have had no indication Hamas was in the building or active in the building"
  • A ball of fire engulfs the Al-Walid building, which was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike on Gaza city early in the morning
    Retaliatory strikes. on Thursday, Israeli fighter planes bombed the southern Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, the attacks targeted facilities that housed members of the Hamas organisation
  • A man with a walking stick passes by a destroyed building
    Destruction in Gaza City: this building, destroyed on Wednesday, was one of the first to fall when the IDF's strikes on the alleged offices of militant groups or their leaders began
  • Crying woman holds hands of children, fleeing for safety; a man follows carrying a child
    Locals flee for safety: residents of Gaza evacuated their homes on Tuesday, early in the conflict, which has only spiralled since
  • Dozens of rockets rise into the air in a long exposure that lets them be seen over Tel Aviv
    Rockets over Tel Aviv: Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, began firing rockets into Israel earlier in the conflict. Israel's missile defence system has protected Tel Aviv and other areas – destroying projectiles in the air or diverting them so they cause as little damage as possible
  • Six people and three dogs wait in a walled room with a low ceiling
    An anxious wait: but the Iron Dome missile defence system does not offer 100% protection. When the sirens go off, Israelis know that they have to find safety in shelters as quickly as possible. Even if it's three o' clock in the morning
  • Three people duck behind a car and under a tree, covering their heads with their hands
    Finding cover: people who fail to make it to shelters in time try to take cover as best they can, like these people in Ashkelon, about 10 kilometres north of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday
  • An Israeli soldier stands in the rubble of a building
    More danger: even if rockets can be repelled, falling debris is also dangerous. Here, a house in Yehud, just north of Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, has been destroyed. The Israeli army has claimed that more than 1,000 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since Monday
  • Smoke over a street with many men; one masked man gets ready to hurl an object
    Stones and tear gas: in recent days, there have been many clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli security forces in several cities, including here in Hebron, in the West Bank, which is occupied by Israel. Demonstrators threw stones and other projectiles
  • Israeli security forces position themselves against demonstrators with heavy weaponry
    Taking position: security forces have used stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets against Arab Israelis protesting forced evictions in east Jerusalem
  • Israeli soldiers check artillery shells in an area near the border with Gaza
    Israel mobilises reservists: meanwhile, the Israeli military has been amassing combat troops and tanks on the border with the Gaza Strip, recalling the conflicts in 2008/2009 and 2014
  • People of all ages sit in front of the UN building in Gaza city
    How long will it last? It doesn't look as if either side will de-escalate the tension any time soon. Some Palestinians in Gaza City have taken refuge at the UN compound for fear of further airstrikes