Middle East

Young Palestinians inspect the damage an Israeli attack inflicted on houses in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City. A man who lives in the middle of the Gaza Strip says his family is traumatized by the violence.

World News

Families Say The Gaza Violence Is Taking An Immense Mental Toll On Their Kids

1:21pm May 20, 2021

After shrapnel struck where his young son plays, a father in the Gaza Strip says his neighbors are traumatized by the violence: "We just don't want to die under the rubble of our houses."

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English Teacher Says Strikes On Gaza Put Pressure On Residents' Mental Health

9:28am May 20, 2021

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Gaza resident Bilal Shbair about the challenges he and his family are facing as the current conflict with Israel shows no end in sight.

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Israel-Palestinian Fighting Takes A Vast Toll In The Gaza Strip

7:49am May 20, 2021

by Jackie Northam

While pressure builds for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, strikes from both sides continue and the death toll mounts. Pressure builds on President Biden to get more involved.

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News Brief: Israel Pummels Gaza, Insurrection Probe, New Coronavirus Detected

5:56am May 20, 2021

Ten days of fighting take a big toll in the Gaza Strip. House passes bill to create a commission to probe Capitol insurrection. A new coronavirus is discovered in Malaysia, and it's coming from dogs.

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Former Israeli Ambassador Talks About The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

6:12pm May 19, 2021

by Mary Louise Kelly

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly discusses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with Ron Dermer, Israel's former ambassador to the United States and a close adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Why An Israeli-Palestinian Peace Deal Is No Longer A Top Priority For The U.S.

5:08pm May 19, 2021

by Greg Myre

There was a time when the U.S. believed an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal was critical to U.S. policy in the Middle East. These days, the goals are far more modest.

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Palestinian Official Discusses How The U.N. Can Help End Violence In Israel And Gaza

4:57pm May 19, 2021

by Mary Louise Kelly

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Feda Abdelhady, the Palestinians' deputy permanent observer to the U.N., about how the United Nations can help end the violence in Israel and Gaza.

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A patient rests at the COVID ward of the regional hospital in Leova, Moldova, on March 23. Moldova remains one of the poorest countries in Europe and has relied on vaccine donations from Romania and COVAX, a program that aims to distribute the world's vac

What Is This COVAX Program That The U.S. Is Pouring Millions Of Vaccines Into?

4:51pm May 19, 2021

by Jason Beaubien

President Biden said the U.S. is distributing them not to curry favor with allies, but to end the pandemic everywhere. And he's doing it through COVAX.

A fire rages at sunrise in the city of Khan Yunis following an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip early on May 12.

World News

Timeline: Israel-Hamas Fighting Takes A Dire Toll With No End In Sight

4:31pm May 19, 2021

Israel and the Palestinians are again locked in bitter fighting. Here is a look at some key events in the conflict over the past decade and a half.

Police arrest a man after a group of pro Israelis got into a fight with protesters and activists condemning Israel and supporting Palestinians on May 18, 2021 in New York City.

PHOTOS: Across The U.S., People Protest The Violence In Gaza And Israel

3:25pm May 19, 2021

by Jason Breslow

From Dearborn, Mich., to the gate of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, to the Federal Building in Los Angeles, protesters expressed their anguish and anger at the fighting and its toll.