Gaza reels under Israeli strikes as attacks enters second week

The death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip has risen to 212, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on May 17.

The grim figure includes 61 children, 35 women and 16 elderly people, the ministry said in a statement, while 1,400 people have been injured during the offensive.

The Israeli military has staged airstrikes across the Gaza Strip since May 10, leaving behind a massive trail of destruction across the seaside territory.

Ten Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza on May 18 damaged the Health Ministry building, Palestinian officials said.

Al-Rimal Health Center and the administrative building of the ministry, which are located near the region were targeted by Israel. They have been severely damaged, said the Gaza Health Ministry.

The statement said that some officers in the ministry building in the Rimal neighborhood were also injured.

Israeli missile attack on the Ghazi Al Shawwa building in the Rimal neighborhood killed two people including a child and injured 10 others, including health ministry officials, said the Gaza government information office.

Palestine urges UN to stop Israeli crimes against children

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki on May 17 urged the U.N. to stop Israel's crimes against Palestinian children.

In a message to Virginia Gamba, U.N.'s special envoy for children and armed conflict, Maliki said that Israel's intense and violent attacks on Gaza have caused the deaths of dozens of children, and Palestinian children did not have safe places to seek shelter.

"We call Gamba to protect Palestinian children, and urge Israel...