- Title: Palestinian families take shelter at UNRWA school
- Date: 14th May 2021
- Summary: BEIT LAHIYA, GAZA (MAY 14, 2021) (REUTERS) DAMAGE TO BUILDINGS SEEN FROM MOVING VEHICLE VARIOUS OF UNRWA SCHOOL WITH CHILDREN, ADULTS GATHERED OUTSIDE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MOTHER MOVED WITH HER FAMILY TO UNRWA SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE CONFLICT, REWAA MAAROUF, SAYING: "We stayed together at home with a group of children. Suddenly, we heard artillery hitting us from every side. Wherever we looked, it was hitting. We and our children are completely exhausted." (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MOTHER MOVED WITH HER FAMILY TO UNRWA SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE CONFLICT, REWAA MAAROUF, SAYING: "We did not find any shelter. We didn't find houses we could shelter in. The whole area was dangerous, ambulances did not manage to reach the area where the injured were." PALESTINIAN MAN MOVED MOVED WITH HIS FAMILY TO UNRWA SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE CONFLICT, MOHAMMED MAAROUF, SITTING IN FRONT OF SCHOOL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MAN MOVED MOVED WITH HIS FAMILY TO UNRWA SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE CONFLICT, MOHAMMED MAAROUF, SAYING: "They are targeting our homes." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE ARRIVING IN THE SCHOOL VARIOUS OF MEN AND CHILD PULLING CART WITH YOUNGER CHILD IN IT ALONG WITH BELONGINGS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MOTHER MOVED WITH HER FAMILY TO UNRWA SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE CONFLICT, FARIDA SHABAN, SAYING: "The children were screaming, we were stuck in one place. Then we started screaming too and the children stopped." GAZA CITY, GAZA (MAY 14, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AFTERMATH OF HOME DESTROYED IN GAZA CITY WITH PEOPLE SEARCHING FOR THEIR BELONGINGS THROUGH THE RUBBLE PEOPLE SEARCHING THROUGH RUBBLE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN OWNER OF HOME HIT BY ISRAEL, MOHAMMED ASHOUR, SAYING: "My home, I live in it, one flat is mine, one flat belongs to my brother. And on top, I have two sons that are married, and with their children. There were about four or five families in this house. SMOKE RISING OUT OF RUBBLE
- Embargoed: 28th May 2021 11:04
- Keywords: Gaza Israel Palestinians families schools violence
- Location: BEIT LAHIYA AND GAZA CITY, GAZA
- City: BEIT LAHIYA AND GAZA CITY, GAZA
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East
- Reuters ID: LVA001ECXO9QF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Palestinian families from Beit Lahiya have found refuge in a United Nations-run school after they fled their homes because of the conflict between Hamas and Israel.
In northern and eastern parts of Gaza, the sound of artillery fire and explosions echoed early on Friday (May 14).
"We and our children are completely exhausted," Rewaa Maarouf told Reuters at the school, as more families arrived.
Israel fired artillery and mounted extensive airstrikes on Friday against a network of Palestinian militant tunnels under Gaza that it dubbed "the Metro", amid persistent rocket attacks on Israeli towns.
An Israeli military spokesman said that while ground forces had taken part in the 40-minute, pre-dawn offensive, none had crossed into the Gaza Strip, as hostilities entered their fifth day with no sign of abating.
Health officials in northern Gaza said a woman and her three children were killed during the Israeli operation and that their bodies were recovered from the rubble of their home.
In Gaza, Mohammed Ashour was searching through the rubble of his home after it was heavily damaged. "There were about four or five families in this house", he said.
Rocket barrages against southern Israel swiftly followed the Israeli strikes, which the spokesman said included artillery and tank fire from inside Israeli territory.
The most serious fighting between Israel and Gaza militants since 2014 began on Monday (May 10) after the enclave's ruling Hamas group fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israeli police clashes with Palestinians near al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
At least 119 have been killed in Gaza, including 31 children and 19 women, and 830 others wounded in the current hostilities, Palestinian medical officials said.
The death toll in Israel stood at eight: a soldier patrolling the Gaza border, six Israeli civilians - including an elderly woman who fell on the way to a shelter on Friday and two children - and an Indian worker, Israeli authorities said.
(Mohammed Salem, Arafat Barbakh, Mustafa Abu Ganeyeh, Seham Eloraby, Charlotte Bruneau) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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