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Gaza under fire, testimonies from under the shelling

Gazans find themselves homeless with no safe place to go as Israel continues to pummel the coastal enclave with heavy artillery shells and airstrikes, razing neighborhoods to the ground and destroying the already poor infrastructure.

Palestinians take refuge at Gaza school
Palestinian families are seen in school run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza City, Gaza, following Israeli strikes on the city of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza on May 14, 2021. — Fatima Shbair/Getty Images

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip intensified Friday as the military operation entered its fifth day. Defenseless civilians in populated areas with already rundown infrastructure lacking most necessities of life continue to suffer under heavy bombing by Israel, particularly at night when the shelling is most intense.

The attacks continued on Saturday, including an airstrike that destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed the offices of several media outlets, among them Al Jazeera and the Associated Press. Tenants evacuated after receiving a warning just before the strike decimated the 12 floor building.

On the fourth day of the escalation, May 13, the Israeli army deployed artillery batteries, which along with the military jets have been alternating in shelling several areas and razing houses without any warning to civilians. Attacks from the ground, sea and air continued to escalate with total disregard for the rights of civilians in war, while buildings and public facilities in the Gaza Strip lack shelters. 

As the military offensive intensified at midnight May 13, the residents of northern Gaza were hit by a barrage of missiles attacking them from all sides, terrorizing citizens after a long day of heavy artillery shelling and airstrikes. 

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