Mazzaltov World News shares with you the latest live coverage of Current Affairs, Sports, Health, Weather, Entertainment, Business and Travel News from around the world.
Here is where things stand on Sunday 25 May 2025:
- At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn, including journalist Hassan Majdi Abu Warda and several of his family members.
- The Israeli military controls 77 percent of the Gaza Strip through “continued genocide [and] ethnic cleansing“, its Government Media Office says.
- Israel has allowed 100 trucks carrying aid into Gaza since Wednesday, officials say, an amount nowhere near what’s needed to help its two million people as they face famine.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 53,939 Palestinians and wounded 122,797, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated its 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 of October 7, 2023, and more than 200 taken captive.
Thanks for joining us
Gaza’s youngest influencer is among the children killed by Israel in the last two days – read more here.
What came of Spain hosting European and Arab nations to pressure Israel to halt its assault on Gaza? Find out here.
And for all of our coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict, go here.
Here’s what happened today
We’ll soon be closing this live page. Here are the day’s main developments:
- Israeli forces bomb a school-turned-shelter in Gaza, killing at least 19 people, after a day of bombardment that killed at least 30 Palestinians.
- The victims include two Red Cross workers who were killed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza in what a witness called a “targeted assassination”.
- The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said it verified the killing of thousands of Palestinian families in Gaza by the Israeli military.
- Israel’s army chief said the attack on Gaza is “not an endless war” and the military will “work to shorten it in accordance with the fulfilment of its goals”.
- A dual US and German citizen was arrested on charges that he travelled to Israel and attempted to firebomb the US Embassy in Tel Aviv.
- The Palestinian Authority welcomed Malta’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state.
ANew message from Hezbollah chief: ‘Let Israel stop its aggression’
Speaking on the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem reiterated the Lebanese group’s stance that it will not discuss giving up its remaining weapons until Israel withdraws from the five border points it occupies in southern Lebanon and stops its air strikes.
The speech came nearly six months after the latest Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a ceasefire. Under the deal, Israel and Hezbollah were supposed to withdraw forces from southern Lebanon.
Israeli officials have said they plan to remain at the five points indefinitely to secure their border. Israel has also continued to carry out near-daily air strikes in southern Lebanon and sometimes in Beirut’s suburbs.
“We adhered completely” to the agreement, Kassem said, adding: “Don’t ask us for anything else from now on. Let Israel withdraw, stop its aggression, release the prisoners and fulfill all obligations under the agreement. After that, we will discuss each new development.”
Five killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza City, Khan Younis: Report
Earlier, we reported on a late-night Israeli bombing in besieged northern Gaza.
At least four Palestinians were killed and an unknown number of others wounded when Israeli warplanes targeted a residential building on Revolution Street, west of Gaza City, according to the Wafa news agency.
It also reported that a child was killed and four family members injured by an Israeli drone strike that targeted a tent housing displaced people in Bani Suheila in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
Rally for Israeli soldier jailed for refusing to return to Gaza
In Israel, dozens of people have rallied around an army reservist sent to jail for refusing to return to duty in the war on Gaza.
Ron Feiner is among about 300 reservists who oppose Israel’s war and how their government has handled efforts to rescue captives. Feiner fought for 270 days. He’ll spend nearly three weeks in a military prison.
“It was very difficult for him to make this decision; he hesitated many times. He loves his soldiers, he loves the service and he’s loyal to them,” said his mother, Naomi Feiner.
“But things have simply crossed all the limits. How far can it go? Everything they’re doing in this country isn’t helping. They need to start listening to us already. I hope others will follow in his footsteps and take the same action.”
Nineteen killed in Israeli attack on northern Gaza shelter
Our correspondent in Gaza is reporting that an Israeli attack on a school where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in Gaza City’s Daraj neighbourhood has killed 19 Palestinians.
We’ll bring you more soon.
Aftermath of late-night Israeli bombing of Gaza City
Local activists have published video clips on social media documenting the first moments that followed Israeli bombardment targeting Revolution Street, located in the western part of Gaza City.
The footage, verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency, shows the efforts made to search for victims under the rubble and evacuate people from the bombing site.
The extent of casualties is unclear after another day of deadly Israeli strikes.
US rights group decries latest killing of Gaza journalist and family
Earlier, we reported that Israel’s military bombed the home of Gaza journalist Hassan Majdi Abu Warda, who was killed along with several family members in Jabalia.
“When American and international media outlets and journalists remain silent as their Palestinian colleagues are targeted for assassination by Israel, Israeli officials overseeing the genocide take that as tacit permission to continue the slaughter and systematic censorship,” said a statement by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“Journalists worldwide must speak out in defence of their colleagues in Gaza and for the right to expose Israel’s genocide to the world.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists found a record number of journalists were killed worldwide in 2024. Israel is responsible for nearly 70 percent of that total.
Nineteen killed in Israeli attack on northern Gaza shelter
Our correspondent in Gaza is reporting that an Israeli attack on a school where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in Gaza City’s Daraj neighbourhood has killed 19 Palestinians
Aftermath of late-night Israeli bombing of Gaza City
Local activists have published video clips on social media documenting the first moments that followed Israeli bombardment targeting Revolution Street, located in the western part of Gaza City.
The footage, verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency, shows the efforts made to search for victims under the rubble and evacuate people from the bombing site.
The extent of casualties is unclear after another day of deadly Israeli strikes.
US rights group decries latest killing of Gaza journalist and family
Earlier, we reported that Israel’s military bombed the home of Gaza journalist Hassan Majdi Abu Warda, who was killed along with several family members in Jabalia.
“When American and international media outlets and journalists remain silent as their Palestinian colleagues are targeted for assassination by Israel, Israeli officials overseeing the genocide take that as tacit permission to continue the slaughter and systematic censorship,” said a statement by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“Journalists worldwide must speak out in defence of their colleagues in Gaza and for the right to expose Israel’s genocide to the world.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists found a record number of journalists were killed worldwide in 2024. Israel is responsible for nearly 70 percent of that total.
Israel troop seriously hurt after fight with comrade
An Israeli soldier was severely injured in northern Gaza after a physical confrontation broke out with a fellow soldier.
The wounded troop was reportedly hit with a kettle in Beit Lahiya, according to the Walla news outlet. He was evacuated to Israeli for medical treatment.
An unnamed Israeli army officer told the Jerusalem Post the situation on the ground in Gaza is “very tense” because of “soldier fatigue”.
“Things can escalate very quickly and that’s why we need leadership at the front. A lot of conversations. Platoon commanders must be alert to what their soldiers are going through in the field,” the officer was quoted as saying.
The 11 children killed by Israel – including Gaza’s youngest influencer
Israeli forces have killed nearly a dozen Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip in the last 48 hours, while thousands more face the threat of imminent starvation during an intensifying humanitarian crisis.
On Sunday, Mohammed Yassine, 4, joined dozens of other children who have starved to death in recent days as the World Food Program (WFP) warned more than 70,000 children in Gaza face acute levels of malnutrition.
As well as causing starvation deaths, Israel has intensified its bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza, killing some 600 people in nearly a week.
Yaqeen Hammad, 11, a popular social media influencer, and nine of Dr Alaa Amir al-Najjar’s 10 children were also killed in separate Israeli air raids. Al-Najjar’s remaining child, 11-year-old Adam, is in critical condition in an intensive care unit.
Read the full story here.
PA welcomes Malta’s intention to recognise Palestinian state
The Palestinian Authority says Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela’s announcement “represents part of the political and international momentum to implement the two-state solution”.
The Foreign Ministry said on X it believes Malta’s move is a result of “its commitment to international law, principled stances, and consistent support for the rights of the Palestinian people and their just national struggle”.
Abela said earlier his country will recognise the state of Palestine next month, calling the move a “moral responsibility”.
Gaza’s seaport becomes living hell for displaced Palestinians
Many families in Gaza are sheltering in makeshift tent camps at its overcrowded seaport.
With no sanitation or safe drinking water, families describe living in “landfill-like” conditions, dumping waste into the contaminated sea and contracting skin diseases.
Their task is extermination’
Earlier we reported on an Israeli air strike killing two workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross in the latest deaths of aid workers in relentless attacks on Gaza.
“The were directly targeted in their little leisure time. They worked 16 hours a day and didn’t hesitate to serve people, and everybody knew they worked for the Red Cross,” said Ali Abu Hashem, a friend of one of the victims.
“What is the reason for assassinating them? Israel doesn’t have any red lines. The Israeli occupation is exterminating all of the Palestinian people. Their task is extermination.”
Man charged with trying to attack US embassy in Tel Aviv
A dual US and German citizen has been arrested on charges that he traveled to Israel and attempted to firebomb the branch office of the US embassy in Tel Aviv.
Federal prosecutors in New York said the man, Joseph Neumeyer, walked up to the embassy building on May 19 with a backpack containing Molotov cocktails but got into a confrontation with a guard and eventually ran away, dropping his backpack as the guard tried to grab him.
Law enforcement then tracked Neumeyer down to a hotel a few blocks away from the embassy and arrested him, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York.
The attack took place against the backdrop of Israel’s war in Gaza, now in its 19th month. Neumeyer, 28, made a series of threatening social media posts before attempting the attack, prosecutors said.
During his first term, President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite Palestinian objections and moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv.
Palestinian children continue to die in Israeli attacks on Gaza
A new strike on the tent housing displaced people killed a mother and her children in the central city of Deir el-Balah, according to al-Aqsa Hospital.
A strike in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza killed at least five, including two women and a child, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
In Friday air strikes, only one of Dr Alaa al-Najjar’s 10 children survived at their home near the southern city of Khan Younis. The 11-year-old and al-Najjar’s husband, also a doctor, were badly hurt.
The charred remains of the children were put into a single body bag, said a fellow pediatrician at Nasser Hospital, Alaa al-Zayan.
The home was struck minutes after Hamdi al-Najjar had driven his wife to the hospital. His brother, Ismail al-Najjar, was first to arrive at the scene.
“They were innocent children,” the brother said, with the youngest 7 months old. “And my brother has no business with [Palestinian] factions.”
Israel on Saturday said “the claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review”.
Four killed in Israeli attack on northern Gaza City
Four Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli air strike targeting a house and tents in Gaza City, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting.
At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn.
Israel’s 19-month war on Gaza has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead.
Photos: Palestinians continue to flee northern Gaza
Spanish FM José Manuel Albares talks to Al Jazeera
EU and Arab leaders have convened in Madrid for urgent talks on the war in Gaza with Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares telling Al Jazeera the priorities are “stopping the war” and ensuring aid access.
He said the European Union is reviewing its Israel association agreement over human rights violations, urging potential sanctions if attacks continue.
Spain pushes for two-state solution: Palestinians ‘have the right to hope’
The war on Gaza must end, Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares says after a meeting of the Madrid Group.
“The situation is inhumane and cruel. The Palestinian people have the right to hope,” Albares said.
“The two-state path, Palestine and Israel coexisting in peace and security, is the solution. Today in Madrid, 20 countries met to make progress.”
Spain hosted 20 countries as well as international organisations that gathered with the aim of ending Israel’s devastating war on Gaza, as well as holding discussions on recognising the state of Palestine.
What can countries do to stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza?
There’s a number of things they can do. Number one, block the flights from Tel Aviv to Europe and vice versa. That shouldn’t be too hard.
They can stop Israeli artists from performing at such events as Eurovision and Israeli athletes from playing in Europe. They can do a number of these things that are not exactly hurtful but they are annoying to the Israelis and Israeli society, which really needs to take action.
There’s a sense of desperation among certain segments of Israeli society, but if Europe takes some serious action in terms of sanctions and boycotts and so forth, I think Israeli society would be more responsive.
Pressure is building up on Prime Minister Netanyahu as he apparently enters the last chapter of this genocide, of this apocalyptic vision of Gaza emptied of its two million inhabitants. At the end of the day, the Palestinians need a state to protect them.
Germany deeply concerned over ‘unbearable’ human suffering in Gaza
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says Berlin has been in touch with Israeli, Middle Eastern and European peers to seek to broker solutions to end the war.
“Germany has a clear position: no expulsions [of Palestinians] from the Gaza Strip, an end to hunger. And the Strip as well as the West Bank belong to the Palestinians on the way to a two-state solution,” he said in an interview on ARD’s Bericht aus Berlin (Report from Berlin).
US Secretary Noem visits Israel after deadly DC shooting
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrived in Israel late on Sunday.
She met Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar after her arrival and is also expected to hold talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The visit follows last week’s deadly shooting attack on two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, and Noem is expected to attend a memorial service.
US President Donald Trump expressed condolences to the families of the victims and said the killings were “based obviously on anti-Semitism”.