Deal Deadlock
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ICRC says ‘extremely concerned’ by Rafah operation
A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross has said that the group will be unable to carry out its operations in Gaza if the military operation in Rafah continues.
“Our operations despite the challenges continue in Rafah and in the middle area,” Hisham Mhanna told Al Jazeera from Rafah.
“However, we are extremely concerned that we will not be able to maintain our operations if the military operation expands and the Rafah crossing remains closed.”
US decision to pause some weapons shipments is ‘very disappointing’: Israel’s UN Ambassador
Israel’s UN ambassador Gilad Erdan has said he did not believe the US would stop supplying arms to Israel but called Washington’s decision to hold up some weapons shipments “very disappointing”, even frustrating, Reuters reports.
US President Joe Biden “can’t say he is our partner in the goal to destroy Hamas while on the other hand delay the means meant to destroy Hamas”, Erdan said in an interview on Israel’s Channel 12 News.
Please, please have a ceasefire now: WHO
World Health Organisation (WHO) spokesperson Margaret Harris has warned that hospitals in Gaza only have fuel to operate for the next two to three days as Israel continues to block the Rafah crossing, Al Jazeera reports.
Harris said the entry of humanitarian and medical supplies to Gaza has “stopped completely”.
“We were expecting to have fuel delivered today. We don’t have it,” she told Al Jazeera. “So we’ve had to suspend some of our activities to the north because we want to reserve that fuel for the hospitals to ensure that they can continue their life-saving work.”
Hamas calls on international groups to document Gaza mass graves
The Palestinian group has said the recent discovery of another mass grave at al-Shifa Hospital is further evidence that Israel’s aim is to displace and exterminate Palestinians in Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.
The group said Israel’s conduct should compel the UN to take action to end the “barbaric” aggression against Gaza.
“We call on all rights groups and relevant organisations to document these crimes and submit them to the International Criminal Court and other courts,” the group said in a statement.
Main maternity hospital in Rafah stops admitting patients
The main maternity hospital in the Gaza Strip’s crowded southern city of Rafah has stopped admitting patients, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) told Reuters.
The UNFPA told Reuters that the hospital, Emirati Maternity Hospital, had been handling some 85 births each day out of a total of 180 births in Gaza before an escalation of fighting between Hamas and Israeli troops on Rafah’s outskirts.
South Gaza hospitals have only 3 days’ fuel left: WHO
Hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip have only three days of fuel left due to the closure of border crossings, AFP reports quoting the head of the World Health Organisation.
“The closure of the border crossing continues to prevent the UN from bringing fuel. Without fuel all humanitarian operations will stop. Border closures are also impeding delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
“Hospitals in the south of Gaza only have three days of fuel left, which means services may soon come to a halt,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
What do we know about the pro-Palestinian protests across Europe
Campus protests by pro-Palestinian activists spread across Europe on Tuesday as some called for a break in academic ties with Israel over the war in Gaza, while schools increasingly faced the question under debate in the U.S.: Allow or intervene?
German police broke up a protest by several hundred pro-Palestinian activists who had occupied a courtyard at Berlin’s Free University. Protesters occupied a university building in Amsterdam hours after police detained 169 people at a different campus location. Two remained in custody on suspicion of committing public violence.
Elsewhere in Europe, some student camps have been allowed to stay in places like the lawns of Cambridge. In recent days, students have held protests or set up encampments in Finland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, France and Britain.
Focus: Gaza war cools Israel's once red-hot business ties with UAE
The war in Gaza has cooled Israeli business activity with the United Arab Emirates, with the once-celebrated relationship now conducted away from public scrutiny amid anger in the Arab world over the conflict.
The UAE became the most prominent Arab state in 30 years to establish formal ties with Israel under a U.S.-brokered agreement in 2020, dubbed the Abraham Accords. It has maintained the relationship throughout Israel's more than six-month war in Gaza.
In the wake of the accords, Israeli entrepreneurs began flocking to the Gulf state on direct flights from Tel Aviv, establishing new business ties and expanding existing relationships that were once kept a secret. Deals announced before the war included investments in cyber security, fintech, energy and agri-tech.
Egypt police probe murder of Israeli-Canadian businessman
Egypt’s interior ministry says it has launched an investigation after an Israeli-Canadian businessman was shot dead in the coastal city of Alexandria. A police statement said the man was “a permanent resident of the country”, AFP reports.
The Israeli foreign ministry said the murdered man was a businessman with dual Canadian-Israeli citizenship.
“He had a business in Egypt. The Israeli embassy in Cairo is in contact with the Egyptian authorities, who are investigating the circumstances of the case,” the ministry said.
Switzerland plans $11m for UN agency for Palestinian refugees
Switzerland is proposing to give $11 million to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, specifically for tackling the humanitarian crisis in Gaza triggered by fighting between Israel and Hamas, AFP reports.
The government’s proposal, announced after weeks of procrastination, represents half of the amount initially set to be paid to UNRWA in 2024.
“Switzerland’s 10m Swiss francs contribution to UNRWA will be restricted to Gaza and will cover the most pressing basic needs, such as food, water, shelter, basic healthcare and logistics,” a government statement said.
In making its decision, the Swiss government said it “drew on the analysis of the Colonna report and coordination with other donors”. The government’s decision must still be submitted to parliament’s foreign affairs committees for consultation.
Police clear tent encampment at George Washington University, dozens arrested
Police have begun to clear a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University in Washington, DC, just hours after dozens of protesters left the site and marched to the university’s president, Ellen Granberg’s home.
According to GW Hatchet, the university’s independent student-run newspaper, “Officers gave their third and final warning to demonstrators to move at about 3.30 am (10:30 GMT), saying all who remained … in front of the plaza would be arrested.”
University officials had warned in statements of possible suspensions for students engaging in protest activities on University Yard.
Local media had reported that some protesters were pepper sprayed as police stopped them from entering the encampment, and nearly 30 people had been arrested, according to community organizers.
‘An Israeli offensive in Rafah will be catastrophic’: UK MP
The UK’s Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy has posted a video on X in which he directed several questions during a parliament session regarding Israel’s planned offensive on Rafah at the UK’s Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell.
He said Palestinians in Rafah were already experiencing air strikes in densely packed areas while northern Gaza was in “full-blown famine”.
“Half the children in Gaza are in Rafah; where can they go – I ask the deputy foreign secretary – to be safe?” Lammy said.
PLO rejects ‘any form of guardianship over the Rafah crossing’
Palestine Liberation Organization Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh posts on X: “We reject any form of guardianship over the Rafah crossing and attempts to undermine Palestinian sovereignty over it in partnership with our brothers in the Arab Republic of Egypt.”
Thirty Palestinians arrested in occupied West Bank in last 24 hours
The arrests took place during a familiar night of Israeli army raids across the occupied West Bank, with most occurring in the governorates of Hebron, Bethlehem, and Nablus, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
Those arrested include one woman and several former prisoners, the group said.
In total, Israeli forces have carried out 8,640 arrests of Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza.
Thousands of those arrested are held without charge under Israel’s mass use of “administrative detention”, where prisoners are held indefinitely and given no information about the charges against them or the ostensible evidence incriminating them.
Israel must comply with international law in Rafah: Moscow
The Russian Foreign Ministry says Israel must strictly observe international humanitarian law after its tanks entered Rafah.
At a briefing, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia sees the incursion as “an additional destabilising factor” in an area with more than a million civilians, and therefore “we demand strict observance of the provisions of international humanitarian law”, the RIA Novosti state news agency reported.
Moscow, she added, sees no prospect of a peace settlement in Gaza or the wider Middle East so far.
Israel’s Ben-Gvir cheers on home demolitions in Negev
Israeli bulldozers have begun tearing down 47 homes in the village of Umm Batin in the Negev, claiming they do not have the proper building permits.
That has led to protests in the local Bedouin community while police prevented a Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament from approaching the site.
In a post on X, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir praised the demolitions as “an important step towards restoring governance” and promised Israel would tear down more homes.
The Higher Steering Committee of the Arabs of the Negev called the demolitions an “unprecedented crime” against “Arab citizens of the Negev”.
Israel demolishes hundreds of homes belonging to Palestinians each year under the pretext they lack an Israel-issued building permit, in a policy decried as “forced displacement”.
Israeli military carries out more arrests in the occupied West Bank
The Israeli military has detained more Palestinians in raids across the occupied West Bank, adding to a spate of arrests in recent hours.
The Wafa news agency reports that Israeli forces have arrested two men in the town of Yabad, south of Jenin, while a third man has been arrested in the Jenin refugee camp.
Three more Palestinians have also been arrested in the city of Nablus, adding to two arrests made earlier in the village of Asira al-Qibliya, south of Nablus.
Earlier we reported that Israeli forces had arrested seven people in the city of Hebron, while six others were arrested in the city of Bethlehem.
Israeli forces arrest seven people in Hebron
Israeli forces have arrested seven people in the town of Hebron, adding to a string of overnight arrests across the occupied West Bank.
The Hebron arrests took place as Israeli forces searched homes, set up new military checkpoints, and closed roads throughout the governorate.
Earlier, we reported that Israeli forces arrested six people in Bethlehem, two people near Nablus, and one person near the Nur Shams refugee camp, where clashes broke out with Palestinian resistance fighters.
Israeli protesters block busy highway in Tel Aviv
Family members of captives along with protesters calling for a ceasefire deal with Hamas that will secure the release of all the remaining people held in Gaza have blocked an interchange on Ayalon highway in Tel Aviv, according to Israeli media reports.
The protesters are carrying a banner reading “Save who can still [be saved]”.
In Gaza, ‘suffering will be remembered by the generation that follows’
Martin Griffiths, the UN’s humanitarian aid chief, said decisions being made amid Israel’s incursion into Rafah and the “human suffering” that results will not be forgotten.
In a post on social media, Griffiths said more than 1 million people remain in Rafah, including 600,000 children, and Israel’s orders for people to flee the area “and their ground operation will bring more death and displacement”.
Israel’s closure of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt also cut fuel supplies and “shuts off the movement of aid and staff to and from Gaza”, he said.
“The decisions that are made today and their consequences in human suffering will be remembered by the generation that follows us. Let us be ready for their reproaches,” he added.
CENTCOM chief visits Egypt, discusses humanitarian aid
The senior commander of the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) has visited Egypt, where he discussed regional security and “alleviating humanitarian suffering in Gaza” with the country’s military leaders.
Erik Kurilla said that Egypt has been “instrumental” in enabling “humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza”.
“Meetings like today’s are crucial to building a deeper understanding of the regional challenges and maintaining the relationships necessary to improve security,” he said.
UN chief warns fallout from Rafah invasion will be felt ‘across the region’
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took to social media to warn of the “repercussions” from Israel’s incursion into Rafah and that a “full-scale assault” would amount to a “catastrophe”.
“Countless more civilian casualties. Countless more families forced to flee yet again – with nowhere safe to go,” he said.
“The repercussions will be felt far beyond, in the occupied West Bank, and across the region,” he added.
UN warns fuel running out in Gaza, hitting water, food, medical and aid operations
Critical diesel fuel supplies needed to power drinking water pumps, maintain communications and deliver humanitarian aid within the war-torn Gaza Strip will run out today, a senior UN official said after Israel’s closure of the two key border crossing points into the Palestinian territory
Andrea De Domenico, the head of the UN’s humanitarian aid office in the Palestinian territory, said Israel’s military incursion and order for people to leave Rafah has resulted in “the forced displacement of tens of thousands of people”.
De Domenico said the UN normally uses 200,000 litres of diesel fuel a day in Gaza. As of Tuesday night, the UN had 30,000 litres remaining.
Without a fuel delivery, the main water production facility in northern Gaza will be shut, “depriving the entire population of access to drinking water.” The same shutdown will happen in another day for the middle and south of Gaza, affecting 1.9 million people, the Associated Press news agency reports.
De Domenico also said the area that Israeli officials have told Palestinians to move to is mainly sand dunes and has no toilets, water points, drainage, shelter or health facilities.
Israeli authorities are also not on the ground providing humanitarian services, he said, adding that without fuel and more flour, the 16 bakeries supported by the UN throughout Gaza will be forced to suspend operations.
Biden administration to miss deadline for Israel weapons report: Sources
US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to miss Wednesday’s deadline to report to Congress on whether Israel is using US-supplied weapons to violate international humanitarian law in Gaza, four anonymous sources have told the Reuters news agency.
Biden issued a National Security Memorandum (NSM-20) in February, requiring the State Department to report to Congress by May 8 over the credibility of Israeli assurances that its use of US weapons has not violated US or international law.
The sources told Reuters that the Biden administration had informed congressional committees that it hoped to provide its findings within days, but it would not make the May 8 deadline. There are no indications the delay is politically motivated, the sources added.
Last month, four State Department bureaus submitted internal memos to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raising “serious concern over non-compliance” with international humanitarian law during Israel’s prosecution of its war on Gaza.
Mexico condemns assault on Rafah, calls for ceasefire
The Mexican government has condemned Israel’s assault on the city of Rafah and has called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the conflict.
In a statement published on Tuesday, it said that attacks on civilians represent a “serious violation of international humanitarian law”.
“The Government of Mexico condemns the military offensive of Israeli armed forces against Rafah and expresses its deep concern over the catastrophic consequences that the advance could have on the lives of thousands of civilians in the city,” the statement said.
It added that a two-state solution is the “only structural solution” to the conflict.
Several arrests as protesters march in New York City against Rafah incursion
Hundreds and hundreds of people have taken to the streets in New York City.
Initially, they gathered in Union Square downtown and they’ve been marching all across the city where, now, they are right in front of the New York Public Library.
They are demanding an end to the war, an end to the possibility of a [full] incursion in Rafah in southern Gaza.
They are [chanting], for example, ‘Israel bombs, US pays, how many kids have you killed today?” This is what people here have been chanting.
We’ve been seeing lots of tension.
Not only between protesters and counter-protesters that are carrying Israeli flags but also at least seven people that I have seen arrested.
There are hundreds of police officers. They are carrying zip ties.
[The] iconic 5th Avenue is filled with Palestinian flags of people gathering here to demonstrate against this war.
And this just adds to what we have been seeing this past few weeks here in New York City with students taking and occupying their campuses, [setting up] encampments, being suspended, expelled, and arrested for protesting against this war.
The students have moved the protests from their campuses – at least here in New York City – to the streets.
They have joined hundreds of other protesters and this is where they say they will remain to protest against the war, to protest an incursion [in Rafah], and they are demanding a ceasefire.
The Bahamas formally recognises the State of Palestine
The Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that it has formally recognised Palestine as a state, joining a growing number of countries doing so in recent weeks.
In a statement published on Tuesday, The Bahamas said it had joined the “Caribbean Community’s consensus on this matter”.
“The Bahamas became an independent nation in 1973 as an act of self-determination. Therefore, The Bahamas supports the legal right of the Palestinian people of self-determination,” the statement said.
Last week, the government of Trinidad and Tobago announced that it was officially recognising the State of Palestine, while several EU countries are set to recognise Palestine as an independent state by the end of May.
Israeli military bombs apartment building in Gaza City, killing 7
The Israeli military has bombed an apartment complex in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in the east of Gaza City, killing seven people, the Wafa news agency reports.
A family of seven was killed, a husband and wife and their five children, according to Wafa.
Two people have also been killed and more injured in Rafah after the Israeli military bombed a motorcycle at Salah al-Din Gate, south of the city in southern Gaza.
US optimistic revised Hamas proposal may break Gaza ceasefire impasse
CAIRO/WASHINGTON/RAFAH, Gaza Strip, May 8 (Reuters) - The United States believes the remaining differences between Israel and Hamas can be bridged in negotiations over the Palestinian militant group's latest ceasefire proposal, as talks resume in Cairo on Wednesday.
Israeli forces on Tuesday seized the main border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than one million displaced Palestinians have sought shelter during Israel's seven-month-old offensive. This cut off a vital route for aid into the tiny enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people are homeless and hungry.
