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GAZA/RAMALLAH, Palestine — Thousands of Palestinians marked on Wednesday the 46th anniversary of Palestinian Land Day in the cities of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Israeli and Egyptian officials held talks in both countries Sunday aimed at bolstering the Cairo-brokered ceasefire that ended the latest deadly flare-up of violence between the Jewish state and Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. is asking the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the possibility of using the ASEAN Response Fund to help the Palestinians address the reported spread of coronavirus cases in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken left Monday for a Middle East trip aimed at consolidating the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a modest objective as Washington expresses a commitment to advancing a two-state solution.

The Philippine government on Thursday placed Gaza under Alert Level 2 as it prepares to evacuate Filipinos who wish to return home due to the escalating conflict between the Israelis and the Hamas militants.

Disabled Palestinian Eyad Saleha, 33, was waiting for lunch Wednesday when a missile fell on his family home in Gaza, killing him, his pregnant wife and their three-year-old daughter, his brother and authorities said.

The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is seeking immediate access into Gaza to provide aid to children bearing the effects of escalating clashes between Israelis and Palestinians.

The UN Security Council was due to hold an emergency meeting Tuesday amid a flurry of urgent diplomacy aimed at stemming hostilities between Israel and armed Palestinian groups that have left over 200 dead.

Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said US President Joe Biden had “bloody hands” because of his support of Israel in the raging conflict in the Gaza Strip.

The protection of health workers and infrastructure is “imperative in all circumstances” the World Health Organization chief said Monday, condemning the escalating violence between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli air strikes hammered the Gaza Strip Monday, after a week of violence between the Jewish state and Palestinian militants left more than 200 people dead as international calls for de-escalation went unheeded.

Tens of thousands of protesters marched in support of Palestinians on Saturday in major European cities including London, Berlin, Madrid and Paris, as the worst violence in years raged between Israel and militants in Gaza.

In the Tel Aviv suburb of Givatayim, shell-shocked residents were assessing the damage Wednesday after a rocket shattered their district’s leafy calm for the first time in its history.

US President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Israel has a right to defend itself but after speaking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he hopes violent clashes with Palestinians will end quickly.

Calls grew on Wednesday for a de-escalation of violence after intense hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians that have left at least 72 dead and hundreds injured.

The Philippines on Wednesday joined the international community in expressing “serious deep concern” over the escalation of violence in parts of Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired more than 1,000 rockets towards Israel since Monday evening, when hostilities escalated dramatically following days of unrest in Jerusalem, the Israeli army said.

More than 100 rockets were fired Monday from Gaza towards Israel by multiple Palestinian armed groups, Hamas Islamists who control the blockaded enclave said.