[1]A doll lies on the rubble of a destroyed building on July 11, 2014, following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. Photo by Marco Bottelli. Copyright Demotix.
Israel took up its deadly bombing campaign [2] against Gaza again on Tuesday after the ruling Hamas rejected a proposed [3] ceasefire and launched dozens of rockets from the coastal territory into Israel.
So far, 193 Palestinians have been killed during the week-long bombardment, according to Gaza's health ministry [4], and at least 30 of those killed were 16 years old or under. More than a thousand people have been injured, and medicine and equipment are in short supply.
In Israel, a handful of people have been injured [5] by rockets launched from Gaza that were not picked off by the so-called Iron Dome missile defense system.
Not quite sure why this is all happening? AJ+ [6], the new San Francisco-based online news channel from Al Jazeera which soft-launched in June [7], offers a series of short explainer videos on the complicated conflict. The fast-paced reports cover the basics of the situation and address bias in Western media coverage [8], which has often characterized Israel and Gaza as evenly matched (they're not — this is a fight tipped in heavily armed and protected Israel's favor).
While it's always a smart idea to get your news from a variety of sources [9], this is a good place to start for those who haven't been keeping up with developments from day one. Take a look:
1. Three Dead Teens And Thousands Of Angry Israelis
2. What Happened In Israel & Palestine In June 2014?
3. Mother Of Dead Israeli Teen Speaks Amid Rising Tensions
4. Israel Vs Palestine – By The Numbers
5. Life in Gaza Explained