ISLAMABAD, May 15 (DNA): Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip with
air raids and artillery shells, as it stepped up the deployment of
troops and tanks near the besieged Palestinian enclave.

At least 137 Palestinians, including 36 children, have been killed and
over one thousand have been wounded since hostilities flared up on
Monday.

Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank said that the Israeli
forces had martyred 11 Palestinians and wounded about 600, during
violent confrontations that erupted in many cities and villages.

Another series of Israeli air assaults hit the Shati refugee camp in
Gaza killing at least two women, including six children, while burying
several others in the rubble.

Another air raid also reportedly hit a house in Khan Yunis.

Thousands of Palestinian families have taken shelter in United
Nations-run schools in northern Gaza to escape Israeli artillery fire
and relentless airstrikes.

The UN has said it estimates approximately 10,000 Palestinians have left
their homes in Gaza amid the Israeli offensive.

All the children are afraid and we are afraid for the children,” said
Kamal al-Haddad, who fled with his family to a UN-supported school in
Gaza City.

On the request of Saudi Arabia, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
(OIC) has decided to hold an emergency meeting on Sunday (May 16) to
discuss the issue of Israel and Palestine.

The Jeddah-based organization added that the online open-ended meeting
will be held on Sunday at the foreign ministers’ level to discuss the
Israeli attacks, particularly in Jerusalem, home to, one
of Islam’s holiest sites.

The meeting will be held at the request of Saudi Arabia, the president
of the Islamic summit, the 57-member OIC said.

Earlier this week, the OIC condemned Israeli attacks against
Palestinians in Jerusalem during this past Islamic month of Ramadan,
preventing worshippers from getting access to holy sites there, Israeli
forces’ storming of the compound and eviction of
Palestinians from their land.

The grouping also accused Israel of seeking to change the historical and
legal status of Jerusalem, warning that this policy would further
jeopardise the region and threaten world peace. DNA

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