A father and his teenage daughter who were Palestinian citizens of Israel were killed early Wednesday in a rocket attack launched by militants in Gaza.
Vaccines have yet to arrive. Residents, fearing loss of income, continue to work while infected. And medical professionals including one of Gaza's few remaining heart surgeons have died from COVID-19.
"He was a ticking bomb," Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu said of Bahaa Abu el-Atta, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader killed Tuesday. Militants in Gaza have responded with rocket attacks of their own.
Gaza has been off-limits to tourists since Hamas took over in 2007. A veteran Palestinian tour guide leads NPR to see the sites, including a palace, a mosque and a bathhouse.
Violence stretches into a third day amid mounting casualties and fatalities, with no immediate end in sight. Three Israeli men and nine Palestinians have been killed thus far.
Despite these deaths, the day was calmer than expected, as Israel and Palestine work to negotiate a deal. "This was not something extraordinary," retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser told NPR.
As many as 75 Palestinians have needed a leg amputation after suffering Israeli gunshot wounds at Gaza border protests, according to the Artificial Limbs and Polio Center in Gaza City.
At least three people are reportedly dead and a dozen injured in the Gaza Strip, while at least 11 people reportedly were wounded when Hamas rockets landed in the southern Israeli city of Sderot.
The day after Israeli troops shot dozens dead during protests on the Gaza border, envoys traded barbs at the U.N., countries confronted ambassadors — and Guatemala readied an embassy move of its own.