In photos: Jerusalem crisis escalates after Hamas and Israel trade rocket fire
11 May 2021
Nine children were among at least 20 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes after Hamas fired dozens of rockets at Jerusalem for the first time since 2014 Monday, per AP and Reuters. The fire exchanges continued into early Tuesday.
The big picture: The rockets come after escalating violence in Jerusalem has injured 250 Palestinians and several Israeli police officers during protests over the planned evictions of Palestinian families from their homes that began Friday.
Israel's Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepts rockets above the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, after they were launched from the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas, on May 10. Photo: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli security forces fire tear gas towards Palestinians throwing stones following a protest in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, on May 10. Photo: Hazem Bade/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinian medics evacuating a wounded person during protests in Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound on May 10. Photo: Ahmad Ghabarli/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinians respond to an Israeli intervention during a protest against attacks by Israeli police with tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades on Palestinians at Masjid al-Aqsa, in Nablus, West Bank early on May 11. Photo: Mamoun Wazwaz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Israeli forces intervene during a Palestinian protest at Masjid al-Aqsa, in Nablus, West Bank early on May 11. Photo: Mamoun Wazwaz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the latest exchanges and another photo.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.