UN Security Council meeting on Israel-Gaza as Netanyahu vows to continue strikes
16 May 2021
The United Nations Security Council was preparing to meet Sunday, as the aerial bombardment between Israel and Hamas between entered a seventh day.
The latest: Four Palestinians died in airstrikes early Sunday, as Israeli forces bombed the home of Gaza's Hamas chief, Yehya al-Sinwar, per Reuters.
The big picture: At least 149 people have died in Gaza and 10 others in Israel since the fighting erupted last Monday — including 41 Palestinian children and two Israeli children, Reuters notes.
- President Biden raised concerns with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday about civilian casualties in Gaza and the bombing of a building that housed media offices including AP and Al Jazeera.
- Netanyahu said in a televised address late Saturday that Israeli forces were "in the midst of this operation" and it "will continue as long as necessary," but try not to cause civilian casualties, Reuters reports.
- He accused Hamas of "hiding behind civilians."
In photos: Aerial bombardments in Israel, Gaza intensify
The Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system (L) intercepts rockets (R) fired by Hamas from Gaza toward Israel early on May 16. Photo: Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinian doctors rush to treat a wounded girl who arrived with her family at Al-Shifa Hospital after intensive bombardments in Gaza City on May 16. Photo: Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
Members of Israel's security and emergency services transport an injured woman from a site hit by a rocket in Ramat Gan, near the coastal city of Tel Aviv, on May 15. Photo: Oren Ziv/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinians carry one of survivors from under the rubble of a building, after it was struck by Israeli strikes, in Gaza, May 16. Photo: Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
A member of the Israeli emergency services works on a site hit by a rocket in Ramat Gan, following the launching of rockets from the Gaza. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images
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.