- Israeli forces intensify attacks on Gaza, killing at least 70 Palestinians since midnight, medics say. Victims include 50 people who were killed in north Gaza.
- Russia, China and the UK have rejected a US-Israeli plan for distributing aid in Gaza, instead urging Israel to lift its two-month blockade on Gaza.
- US President Donald Trump, who is visiting Saudi Arabia, says he is working to end the conflict in Gaza as soon as possible, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that “there will be no situation where we stop the war”.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 52,908 Palestinians and wounded 119,721, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
- An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Israeli ministers seek to withhold funds to universities over Nakba: Report
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper is reporting that Education Minister Yoav Kisch has asked Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to withhold funds from Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University because they have approved events on campus to commemorate the Nakba.
Smotrich has asked his ministry to move forward with the requested measures, the report said. The Budget Law allows the finance minister to strip universities of up to three times the amount of money they spend on activities seen as denying Israel’s identity as a Jewish and democratic state.
On May 15 every year, Palestinians around the world mark the Nakba, which means “catastrophe” and refers to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948. Palestinians continue to demand the right of return to the homes they were expelled from during the creation of the Israeli state that year.
Trump wants Syria to normalise relations with Israel
In his meeting with Syria’s interim President al-Sharaa, Trump said Syria should sign the Abraham Accords, normalising relations with Israel, the White House said.
Netanyahu accuses Macron of standing with Hamas
Netanyahu has accused France’s President Emmanuel Macron of standing with Hamas after he said Israel’s policy in Gaza was “shameful”, Reuters news agency is reporting.
He also said once again that Israel was sticking to its war aims of securing the release of its captives, defeating Hamas and ensuring Gaza poses no threat to Israel.
As Israel continues its attacks across Gaza, at least 70 Palestinians have been killed since dawn today.
Israeli army deploys to Tulkarem camps, carries out demolitions in Jenin’s: Report
Israeli forces have deployed military vehicles to Tulkarem and its two refugee camps in the occupied West Bank while obstructing the movement of residents and vehicles, Wafa news agency reports.
The report added that the army was deployed along the road connecting the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.
The army also continued demolitions inside the Jenin camp while preventing access to its residents. About 600 homes in the camp have so far been demolished and more than 22,000 people have been displaced, the report said.
Netanyahu requests to leave court to meet US envoy
Netanyahu has requested a break from his court testimony at noon (09:00 GMT) to speak with US envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kirya military base, as US officials pressure Israel to expand the mandate given to the negotiating team conducting talks in Qatar.
The team is currently authorised to discuss only Witkoff’s original framework involving the release of 10 captives, while the US wants expanded talks that include a comprehensive arrangement on a war-ending mechanism.
Pro-Palestine demonstrators at Israeli minister’s news conference in Tokyo
A news conference held by Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Tokyo was disrupted by pro-Palestine protesters, who surrounded the building and held signs labelling the minister a “war criminal”.
Saar said on X that some protesters attempted to break into the building where the meeting was being held. Videos posted on social media also show security personnel removing a protester shouting “genocide” while inside the building.
GCC-US summit marked by lack of urgency on Gaza
The lack of urgency that GCC leaders have brought to the war in Gaza stands in sharp contrast with the message the UN’s top humanitarian official has delivered to the UN Security Council, political analyst Sultan Barakat tells Al Jazeera.
“Achieving a deal in Syria was cast as the major achievement, even though it was already a low-hanging fruit,” Barakat, who lectures in public policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, said.
The lifting of sanctions on Syria and the meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa were “used to substitute for the failure to get anything substantive on Gaza”.
“We needed, as Arab countries, to tie stability and prosperity to the end of the conflict in Palestine,” he added.
If you’re just joining us
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
- US President Donald Trump has addressed Israel’s war on Gaza during a summit with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders in Saudi Arabia, saying he shares the “hope of so many in this region for a future of safety and dignity for the Palestinian people”.
- Mediated ceasefire negotiations are continuing in Qatar, where an Israeli delegation is attending with a limited mandate.
- At least 70 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza since dawn, including about 50 people killed in heavy Israeli bombardments on northern Gaza.
- The Israeli army has issued threats for people to leave three seaports in Yemen – Ras Isa, Hodeidah and as-Salif – or face attacks as it says it is targeting Yemen’s Houthis.
- Tom Fletcher, the UN’s top humanitarian official, has delivered a strong speech to the Security Council, pleading for decisive action to prevent genocide in Gaza.
Israel ‘normalisation’ takes back seat as Trump announces Saudi deals
United States President Donald Trump says that forging formal relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel would be a “dream”, but he wants the kingdom to do it on its “own time”.
This marks a departure from his predecessor Joe Biden’s approach, which analysts say focused heavily on the so-called “normalisation” drive between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
“The Trump administration has made it clear they are willing to move forward on key agreements with Saudi Arabia without the previous condition of Saudi-Israel normalisation,” said Anna Jacobs, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, a think tank.
“This probably reflects growing frustration in the Trump administration with Israeli military action across the region, especially in Gaza.”
Read more here.
Gaza death toll reaches 70
Since dawn today, at least 70 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza by Israeli forces, with 50 of those in northern Gaza.
Saudi foreign minister says Gaza war must come to an end
Speaking after the the GCC-US meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said all sides “agreed on the necessity to bring the Gaza war to an end and to ensure the release of captives and detainees and the delivery of aid, and work towards a lasting and comprehensive peace in the region”.
“The kingdom reiterated the principle of the two-state solution on the 1967 border,” he added.
Focus on Gaza, Palestinian state at GCC summit ‘very telling’
The extent to which GCC leaders brought up the war in Gaza and repeated calls for a Palestinian state during the GCC-US summit was “very telling” and shows that they are approaching this issue collectively, says Abdulaziz Alghashian, the director of research at Riyadh-based Observer Research Foundation Middle East.
“There seems to be an agreement of bringing up this issue as a collective,” he told Al Jazeera. “I think [that] this not only strengthens the position but avoids any kind of repercussions on the bilateral front.”
Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza hospitals killed at least 28 people
Israeli attacks on hospitals in Gaza on Tuesday killed at least 28 people, Gaza’s civil defence spokesman said.
As we’ve been reporting, Israeli forces bombed two hospitals in one day.
One strike hit the European Hospital complex near Khan Younis and left large craters in the ground. Israel’s army claimed it targeted a “Hamas command centre” under the hospital.
The other strike hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, killing two people, including a wounded journalist.
Two children killed by Israeli attacks in southern Gaza: Report
Two Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli attacks east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Quds News Network has reported.
At least 65 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the early hours of this morning, medical sources told Al Jazeera.
All captives have to be released from Gaza: Trump
In Riyadh, Trump has also addressed the war in Gaza, saying he shares the “hope of so many in this region for a future of safety and dignity for the Palestinian people”.
He took a shot at “Gaza’s leaders”, saying their attacks against “innocent people” are blocking progress. He said he “greatly appreciates” GCC leaders’ “constructive role” in “trying to bring an end to this terrible conflict”.
“Ultimately, all hostages of all nationalities have to be released. And I think it’s going to happen,” said Trump.
Israeli, US officials not delivering same message on Qatar talks
In the last 48 hours, US officials said there was a prospect for a wider deal with Hamas, but the Israelis are not communicating that same rhetoric.
Netanyahu agreed to send the negotiating team to Qatar because of US pressure. However, the mandate they are going with is pretty limited. He said he was willing to concede a pause in fighting but there would not be an end to the war.
Netanyahu has insisted that Israel would be operating on a different scale in Gaza after his cabinet approved an expansion of the operations last week. He said this would be a different kind of war altogether.
Saudi Crown Prince says need to end Gaza war, find ‘lasting solution’
In the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the GCC-US meeting has kicked off.
Addressing the gathering of Trump and GCC leaders, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed praised the Gulf states’ relationship with the US, which he hopes will reach even “higher levels”. He said he looks forward to opening “new horizons in all domains, in the interest of all our states”.
The crown prince also brought up the war in Gaza, which he said he looks forward to working with the US on to “end”, while “finding a comprehensive lasting solution” for the Palestinian people.
He referenced ongoing conflicts in Yemen and Sudan, which he said also required “diplomatic solutions”.
Horrific scenes in aftermath of Jabalia strikes
The Israeli army is continuing its attacks on northern Gaza. It launched air strikes targeting five residential buildings packed with civilians in Jabalia city and its refugee camp, killing at least 50 Palestinians.
Civil defence teams reported that the scene of the attack was horrific. Firsthand accounts say the Israeli army launched consecutive strikes without any prior warning and that many of the victims remain under the rubble.
We continue to get testimonies saying the morgue of the Indonesian Hospital has been flooded with bodies.
One killed in Israeli drone strike on Lebanon
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says one person has been killed in an Israeli drone strike this morning.
The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) is reporting that Israeli forces carried out a drone attack on a vehicle in the Nabatieh district. It happened at the entrance to the Wadi al-Hujeir reserve near the town of Qaaqaait al-Jisr.