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Here is where things stand on Monday 26May 2025:
- Sources tell Al Jazeera Hamas has agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal by the United States.
- The draft of the agreement includes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living captives along with the bodies of several more people in return for Palestinian prisoners over two stages, they said. Five Israeli captives will be released at the beginning, with the other five freed on the 60th day.
- Israeli forces bomb a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City, causing a fire and killing at least 36 Palestinians, including several children. Overall, more than 50 have been killed in attacks since dawn on Monday.
- The head of a controversial US-backed Gaza aid group resigns, citing concerns over independence and impartiality.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 53,977 Palestinians and wounded 122,966, 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 were taken captive.
What we know so far on Gaza truce proposal
- Sources told Al Jazeera that representatives of Hamas and US special envoy Steve Witkoff have reached a draft ceasefire agreement in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
- However, a US official told Al Jazeera that, according to Witkoff, Hamas has not agreed to a proposal currently on the table, and what he’s seen from the Palestinian group is “disappointing and completely unacceptable”.
- Al Jazeera’s sources said the draft of the deal included a 60-day truce, the release of 10 living captives, and the return of bodies of others in return for Palestinian prisoners over two stages.
- Five Israeli captives would be freed at the start of the agreement, with the other five released on the 60th day, they said.
- An unnamed Israeli official, quoted by Reuters news agency, dismissed the announcement by saying “no responsible government could accept such an agreement”.
Only UNRWA capable of delivering aid to Gaza: Ex-spokesman
Chris Gunness, a former spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), says the usage of the aid distribution model by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is meant “to justify the weaponisation of humanitarian systems” and “to justify ethnic cleansing and genocide”.
Speaking to Al Jazeera after GHF chief Jake Wood’s resignation, Gunness said the focus should be on how to “stop the slaughter” in Gaza.
“The latest pictures I have seen of babies and young children coming out of Gaza, they look like the emaciated survivors of Hitler’s and the Nazis’ death camps that were liberated in 1945,” Gunness said.
“So the question is, will the Europeans and Americans who were so crucially involved in those tragic events in World War II now actually take effective action?” he asked.
“Will they stop the supply of arms, in compliance with the International Court of Justice? Will they stop trading with Israel, in compliance with European and their own legislations on arms on commercial trading with Israel?”
Gunness likened the GHF to a group of “mercenaries”, saying that it is not qualified or experienced to distribute aid in Gaza.
He stressed that the only organisation that is capable of delivering aid is UNRWA.
Israeli group warns of efforts to change ‘rules of the game’ at Al-Aqsa compound
The Israeli NGO Ir Amim, which says that it focuses on issues concerning Jerusalem in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict, says that “Third Temple activists” have been active during today’s “Jerusalem Day” demonstrations.
The term refers to Israeli Jewish nationalists who hope to see the construction of a Third Temple on the current site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third-holiest site in Islam.
“Third Temple activists are everywhere, taking over light rail stations, handing out Third Temple flags, and leaving no doubt about the intentions of the participants in this parade: This is about a deep desire, and an action to change the rules of the game, to build the Third Temple, and to push everyone who is not connected to this vision away from the place,” the group said in a social media post.
“The next time someone tells you that this is all a struggle for equality and freedom of worship, so that Jews can also pray on the Mount, show them these pictures and remind them that this is what we stand against: against those who want to build the Third Temple.”
Hamas condemns Israeli strike on school sheltering families in Jabalia
The Palestinian group says targeting of the Fahmi al-Jarjawi School in Gaza’s northern city “confirms the occupation’s continued scorched-earth policy of emptying the Strip of its residents by bombing civilian facilities and safe displacement centres”.
Hamas said on Telegram that the attack resulted in dozens of deaths, most of them children and women with “charred and unidentified bodies”.
The escalation of attacks “reflects the fascist nature of” Israel and “confirms its exploitation of the absence of international deterrence”, it added.
Hamas urged Arab and Muslim countries to sever ties and withdraw ambassadors from countries that maintain relations with Israel, also calling for political, diplomatic and economic pressure on the country.
Very different messages’: Hamas hasn’t agreed to deal on the table, source says
A US official has told Al Jazeera – with regard to the acceptance of some sort of agreement by Hamas – that the exact opposite is true. The source described Hamas’s claims as “inaccurate”.
Instead, the source says, US envoy Steve Witkoff is on record as saying Hamas has not agreed to the proposal on the table, and what he’s seen from the Palestinian group is “disappointing and completely unacceptable”.
What we understand Israel has agreed to, according to the US side, is that it will agree to a temporary ceasefire deal that will allow for half the living and half the deceased captives to be returned. That agreement is what will lead to a diplomatic path forward for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
The recommendation of the US envoy is Hamas “should take that deal” that has been agreed to by Israel. So we’re hearing very different messages coming out.
Israel no longer has impunity and international support it once enjoyed
Israeli political commentator Ori Goldberg says there is a good chance that Israel will “find a way to accede to the deal” on a Gaza ceasefire after expressing denials for some time.
“The truth is Israel has absolutely nowhere to go but to continue killing Palestinians in the numbers we have seen over the past two weeks,” Goldberg said.
“I think right now, Israel is absolutely at the end of its military, strategic, political rope,” he told Al Jazeera, adding it’s beginning to feel “the international tides turning”.
The analyst said Israel no longer enjoys the impunity and the international support it has enjoyed for so many decades.
Any pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu coming from inside Israel would not have been effective in reaching a Gaza truce deal, including the families of the captives, Goldberg added.
The only effective pressure for an agreement could be from outside. “The reason I am cautiously optimistic now is because I think that pressure is beginning to accumulate,” Goldberg said.
Bank of Israel says inflation a concern as Gaza war continues
Accelerating inflation is worrisome for Israel’s economy despite a modest recovery during the ongoing war on Gaza, the central bank warns.
Officials said short-term interest rates would remain low.
“In view of the continuing war, the monetary committee’s policy is focusing on stabilising the markets and reducing uncertainty, alongside price stability and supporting economic activity,” the bank said.
“In the committee’s assessment, there are several risks for a possible acceleration of inflation or for it not converging to the target range: geopolitical developments and their impact on economic activity, supply constraints, worsening global terms of trade, and volatility of the shekel,” it added.
While the inflation rate was below the 3 percent level in the first half of 2024, it has been hovering between 3.2 percent and 3.8 percent since July 2024. The bank said the labour market remains tight.
‘Ultimately the Israeli government is the one that has the final say’: Analyst
Middle East analyst Hassan Mneimneh has expressed scepticism about the Gaza ceasefire announcement, noting Hamas is after a truce but the Israelis are not.
“Clearly the Israeli government has to deal with the hardliners within it that refuse even the illusion of a permanent ceasefire. We’ll wait and see what Israel says, but this is more of the same. We’ve seen this before,” said Mneimneh.
Despite media reports on a rift between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, the analyst said it’s unlikely the US would “switch to a position where Hamas survives”.
“The preliminary news is that Trump would guarantee the ceasefire beyond the 60 days, but it’s not clear what’s attached to that. Witkoff negotiates, but ultimately the Israeli government is the one that has the final say,” he told Al Jazeera.
‘Rather ambiguous’: Gaza truce deal lacks clarity
An analyst says it’s extremely unclear what is happening with what Hamas says it agreed on with the United States on a 60-day ceasefire proposal for Gaza.
“It is not surprising that the details so far are rather ambiguous because for any interim deal to pass, it has to be ambiguous given the positions of Hamas and Israel that cannot be reconciled,” said Hassan Mneimneh, an analyst on the Middle East and North Africa.
Mneimneh told Al Jazeera the outline of the deal appears to be about lasting 60 days but also being permanent at some point, “which are not the same”.
“The position of the Israelis at this point will be they’re always willing to engage in a temporary ceasefire as long as they can continue the war,” he said.
‘Fate of the captives does not seem to be moving’ Netanyahu’s government
“Israel has very little control over its international status over its role in the development of this genocidal campaign,” Israeli political commentator Ori Goldberg says.
“The only thing Israel can still do is kill Palestinians, which it appears to be doing. Other than that, nobody is talking to the Israelis because there’s nothing to talk about,” he told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.
He said Netanyahu and his government believe they cannot simply agree to a ceasefire concocted without their direct involvement, so it is unsurprising that they are trying to reject that it is happening.
Meanwhile, Goldberg said, the relatives of the captives still held in Gaza have been trying to put as much pressure as they can on the government.
“Nobody in Israel, even the official left, talks about the plight of the Palestinians,” he said.
“The captives are a good reason for calling for an end to the war, but the fate of the captives does not seem to be effectively moving anybody, including Netanyahu.”
White House quiet on possible Gaza ceasefire deal
The United States government has not said anything about this deal to reporters. In fact, it’s a bit of a ghost town at the White House North Lawn because it’s a federal holiday here.
We’re watching very carefully because the US president is set to speak at Arlington National Cemetery, where he will be for Memorial Day, honouring fallen soldiers and the sacrifices they have made in wars.
President Trump also made a lengthy social media post mentioning nothing about Gaza, in fact talking instead about domestic issues such as illegal immigration.
He did say he felt there is the possibility of ending things as quickly as possible in terms of the conflict in Gaza, telling reporters, “We want to see if we can stop it.”
But beyond that, Trump has been very quiet.
Israeli official ‘dismisses Hamas ceasefire proposal’: Report
Reuters is quoting an Israeli official as dismissing what it described as “the latest ceasefire proposal from Hamas”.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the news agency no responsible government could accept such an agreement and rejected the reported assertion by Hamas that the deal matched one proposed by Witkoff.
Palestinians in Gaza hold out hope for possible ceasefire
Reporting from Deir el-Balah, central Gaza
Palestinians, especially after the war resumed following Israel’s decision to break off a previous ceasefire deal, have been very desperate for any ceasefire deal, for any negotiations.
They have been following the news and hearing that Hamas agreed to this draft proposal and are waiting for any news of ceasefire negotiations because Palestinians have been attacked in their houses, attacked in every area they are sheltering in.
There has also been a blockade for nearly three months with the situation on the ground harsh and fast deteriorating – despite the fact in the last couple of days some aid trucks have been entering.
But Palestinians on the ground say they are not receiving anything. Palestinians are hopeful; they are waiting for positive news. But they do not trust the Israeli side.
Israeli officials ‘saying Israel not agreed to anything’
Several hours ago, when there were rumours circulating about the idea that Hamas has accepted some sort of ceasefire proposal that was brought forward to them by the US, Israeli officials said it wasn’t true.
And just in the last few minutes, Israeli officials are denying these reports, saying that while the negotiations are still ongoing, Israel hasn’t agreed to anything, and they’re not aware of Hamas agreeing to anything.
But it would be interesting to see how this all moves forward because this is something that has been negotiated and the US side, without the involvement of Israel.
Witkoff has worked hard to reach a deal between Hamas and Israel
We know US envoy Steve Witkoff has been trying to reach a deal between Israelis and the Palestinians in Gaza for months.
We have seen Hamas before offering acceptance of proposals put forward by Witkoff when it comes to releasing Israeli captives in Gaza.
We have also heard the Israelis rejecting those proposals earlier.
More on Hamas-US Gaza ceasefire proposal
Al Jazeera sources say President Trump will guarantee the deal as per the draft and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
The deal guarantees unconditional humanitarian aid from day one when it takes effect.
US envoy Steve Witkoff sent the draft to the Israeli government and is waiting for its reply, sources say.
US and Hamas reach draft Gaza ceasefire deal
Representatives of Hamas and US special envoy Steve Witkoff have reached a draft ceasefire deal in Qatar’s capital, Doha, sources have confirmed to Al Jazeera.
The draft of the agreement includes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living captives along with the bodies of several more people in return for Palestinian prisoners over two stages.
Five Israeli captives will be released at the beginning of the agreement, with the other five released on the 60th day.
Israeli lawmaker joins UNRWA facility occupation in East Jerusalem
Yulia Malinovsky, a Yisrael Beiteinu party member of the Israeli Knesset, has joined a group that stormed a UN Palestinian refugee agency facility in occupied East Jerusalem.
The Times of Israel reported she set up a makeshift “office” at the building and urged the government to seize control of it.
“Happy Jerusalem Day! Today we mark the day Jerusalem was liberated 58 years ago,” Malinovsky, who previously sponsored a bill to ban the UN agency, said in a social media post.
“And today I am proud to also liberate the former UNRWA headquarters in central Jerusalem. The Israeli government, we are here, you are invited to come and see how sovereignty is applied.”
WHO warns most Gaza medical equipment stocks have run out
The UN’s health agancy has said that stocks of medical equipment in Gaza are running low and that nearly half of basic medicines such as painkillers are out of stock.
“We are at stock zero of close to 64 percent of medical equipment and stock zero of 42 percent of essential medicines and vaccines,” Hanan Balkhy, the World Health Organization’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, told reporters in Geneva.
In remarks last week, Balkhy warned that health conditions in Gaza had reached “crisis levels” and that medical facilities were “barely functional”.
‘We are nothing but defenceless peaceful civilians’
Our colleague Ibrahim al-Khalili has spoken to survivors of the deadly attack on the Gaza City school housing displaced Palestinians earlier today.
Resident Ahed Sameeh said the blood on his T-shirt was that of his three-year-old daughter, who he was carrying on his shoulder.
“She had a fractured skull,” Sameeh said. “We are nothing but defenceless peaceful civilians. We have nothing to do with the fighters and the weapons.”
Bushra Rajab recalled waking up “to the sound of people screaming and panicking” after what sounded “like a big explosion”.
“Many people were killed and many were injured. Some of those killed were my relatives,” she said. “There were too many injured people for ambulances to reach. The remains of bodies were all over the place.”
Officials decry EU’s lack of ‘meaningful action’ on Gaza: Report
The European Union has taken “little or no meaningful action” in response to catastrophic humanitarian conditions created by Israel in Gaza, according to a letter by a group of officials that has been reported by The Guardian.
The EU Staff for Peace letter said “inaction” by the 27-member bloc has “contributed to the environment of unaccountability that resulted in the full-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip taking place at this moment”, the UK newspaper reported.
Officials working for EU bodies, including the European Commission, had written a similar letter a year earlier.
At the time, they said standing idly by as death and destruction unfold in Gaza would mean “failing the European project” as envisaged in the aftermath of the horrors of World War II.
The latest letter comes a week after EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc would review its trade agreement with Israel.
Ms Rachel meets girl from Gaza
Children’s YouTube star Ms Rachel has recorded a video with a three-year-old girl from the Gaza Strip who lost her legs in an Israeli attack on her home.
The aim was to raise awareness of the suffering of Palestinian children during Israel’s war on Gaza.
Gaza Civil Defence recovers bodies, transfers victims of Israeli attacks
The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza has released its latest daily update about its operations in the besieged territory.
It said crews carried out 24 missions from Sunday morning until Monday morning across Gaza, including four rescue missions, 15 ambulance missions and one firefighting mission.
Some of them were:
- In the North Gaza governorate, teams recovered the body of a person from the Abu Warda family home in Jabalia camp following an Israeli attack.
- In the Gaza governorate, crews recovered the bodies of 13 people and a large number of wounded from the Fahmi al-Jarjawi school, which houses displaced people in Daraj in central Gaza City, and the bodies of four people after the targeting of a residential building in western Gaza City.
- In the Khan Younis governorate, they recovered the bodies of people killed in an Israeli attack on displaced people’s tents in the Bani Suheila area and took the wounded to hospitals.
GHF another attempt to ‘use food as weapon’ during war: Gaza ministry
Gaza’s Interior Ministry says it is following with deep concern the developments around the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been propped up by the US and Israel to take over aid distribution in the territory.
It said in a statement that the circumvention of international aid organisations is “intended to replace order with chaos, adopt a policy of engineering the starvation of Palestinian civilians, and use food as a weapon in times of war”.
By controlling aid through GHF, which saw its director resign today due to a lack of independence, Israel “seeks to achieve its malicious goals of implementing displacement plans, in addition to ensnaring and blackmailing citizens for security purposes”, it added.
The ministry warned that GHF would make Palestinians walk long distances to several limited militarised distribution points, meaning it is “part of the occupation’s policies to redistribute the population within the Gaza Strip” and fulfil its displacement plan for Gaza.
Israeli attacks on Gaza no longer justified as fight against Hamas: Germany’s Merz
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Israel’s recent attacks on the Gaza Strip are taking a humanitarian toll on civilians that can no longer be justified as a military campaign against “terrorism”.
“Harming the civilian population to such an extent, as has increasingly been the case in recent days, can no longer be justified as a fight against Hamas terrorism,” he told broadcaster WDR in a televised interview.
“What the Israeli army is now doing in Gaza – I don’t understand, to say it openly,” Merz said.
He added he planned a call with Netanyahu this week to tell him “to not overdo it” although, for “historical reasons”, Germany would always be more guarded in its criticism than some European partners.
A reminder that Merz in February said he would make sure the Israeli prime minister could visit Germany despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
As a member state of the court, Germany is required to detain suspects facing arrest warrants if they set foot on its soil, but the ICC has no way to enforce that.
Israeli ‘Jerusalem Day’ march aimed at asserting authority
Videos show Israeli citizens inside the Old City of Jerusalem, attacking Palestinian shops and throwing objects at them. Meanwhile, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and others stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
There have also been protests in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, in the occupied East Jerusalem, where Israeli citizens stormed the compound of UNRWA. The organisation has already been banned, but nonetheless, its offices were stormed.
This is again a reminder that no one has immunity.
“Jerusalem Day” is when Israelis, in numbers reaching tens of thousands, carry out a march.
They start from the western side of the city, and they go through Damascus Gate, leading to the Old City inside East Jerusalem. They carry flags and chant anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian slogans.
The march ends at the Western Wall, a holy site in Judaism which is also in East Jerusalem.
These Israelis say Jerusalem is their undivided capital, whether it’s the eastern or western part, but the international community has not recognised Israel’s annexation of Jerusalem and considers this to be a negotiated issue in the final status negotiations.
Palestinians say there is no future Palestinian state without East Jerusalem as its capital.
Gaza death toll rises
Israeli military attacks since the start of the war have killed at least 53,977 Palestinians and wounded 122,966 others, according to the latest update by Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The Israeli army has killed 3,822 Palestinians and wounded 10,925 others since violating the ceasefire agreement on March 18.
The ministry added that 38 bodies and 169 injured arrived at Gaza hospitals in the past 24-hour reporting period.
Israel’s Saar hails ‘strong’ ties with US as security chief Noem visits
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has praised the Trump administration as he hosts US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Jerusalem.
After hosting a memorial for two Israeli embassy staff workers killed in Washington, DC, last week, Saar hailed “strong ties” between the two countries as well as the “commitment” of the Trump administration to combat anti-Semitism.
“We thank the president and his administration for the intensive investigation into the murder,” he said.
Israel systematically dismantling Gaza’s healthcare system: Aid group official
Israel has in effect dismantled Gaza’s healthcare system, according to Aseel Baidoun, deputy director of advocacy and campaigns at UK-based Medical Aid for Palestinians.
“Ninety percent of the 531 healthcare services points across Gaza have become completely nonfunctional, and we have more than 1,400 health workers killed,” she told Al Jazeera from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
“When I get in touch with doctors inside Gaza, they have no energy because they are starving and overwhelmed. Every hospital has been targeted in Gaza. Israel made sure that healthcare workers are detained or killed.”
Baidoun pointed to the bombing on Friday of the home of two Gaza doctors, which killed nine of their 10 children.
“These are not isolated incidents. They violate international humanitarian law, and they are a part of the systematic dismantling of Gaza’s healthcare system, which was fragile even before October 2023,” Baidoun said.
Israel orders expanded displacement in southern Gaza
The Israeli military has issued a new order to force the displacement of people in Khan Younis, Bani Suheila, Abasan and al-Qarara in southern Gaza.
In a statement on X, spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the military had launched “an unprecedented attack” to destroy the capabilities of “terrorist” organisations and told residents to leave for the al-Mawasi area along the coast.
The so-called safe zone of al-Mawasi has repeatedly come under Israeli fire with humanitarian organisations stressing that there is nowhere safe in Gaza.
Only 4.6% of Gaza’s cropland useable: UN assessment
A new geospatial assessment carried out by the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has found that less than 5 percent of Gaza’s cropland can be cultivated due to damage and access restrictions.
The “alarming” deterioration of the territory’s agricultural infrastructure is “further deteriorating food production capacity and exacerbating the risk of famine in the area”, FAO said in a statement.
The analysis found that as of last month, more than 80 percent of Gaza’s total cropland area has been damaged (12,537 hectares out of 15,053), and 77.8 percent is not accessible to farmers, leaving just 688 hectares (4.6 percent) available for cultivation.
The assessment also said 71.2 percent of Gaza’s greenhouses and 82.8 percent of its agricultural wells have been damaged.
“This level of destruction is not just a loss of infrastructure – it is a collapse of Gaza’s agrifood system and of lifelines,” said Beth Bechdol, FAO’s deputy director-general.
“What once provided food, income, and stability for hundreds of thousands is now in ruins. With cropland, greenhouses, and wells destroyed, local food production has ground to a halt. Rebuilding will require massive investment – and a sustained commitment to restore both livelihoods and hope.”
The findings come after the release of a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis earlier this month, which warned that the entire population of the Strip – some 2.1 million people – is facing a critical risk of famine following 19 months of war, mass displacement and severe restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Fast facts: Gaza hospitals under Israeli fire
Gaza’s healthcare system is on the brink of collapse as hospitals and medical facilities continue to come under Israeli fire.
- In the north, the Indonesian, Kamal Adwan, al-Shifa, al-Ahli and al-Awda hospitals have been repeatedly targeted.
- In central Gaza, Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah has also been hit.
- In southern Gaza, the Nasser Medical Complex and the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis have also come under attack.
- The World Health Organization says nearly 700 attacks have been carried out on healthcare facilities since the war started.
- More than 90 percent of Gaza’s hospitals have been damaged or destroyed.
Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya on January 19
Eighteen children among those killed in Gaza school attack: Media Office
The Government Media Office in Gaza has issued a statement condemning the “brutal massacre” at the school-turned-shelter in Gaza City, which killed more than 30 people.
In a statement, it said 18 children were among those killed in the attack, calling it “a direct extension of the crime of ethnic cleansing and genocide” that the Israeli army has been committing against Palestinians for nearly 600 days.
The office said Israel has been “deliberately and systematically” targeting shelters and centres for displaced people “in a flagrant violation of all international and humanitarian laws, and in a blatant attempt to inflict the largest possible number of civilian casualties”.
It added that these attacks take place amid the collapse of the healthcare system and the destruction of hospitals due to Israel’s war.
“Medical staff are under tremendous pressure, face a severe shortage of medical supplies, the closure of crossings to the wounded and sick, and the prevention of the entry of fuel, food, medicine, and treatment, exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip,” the office said.
Jordan condemns storming of Al-Aqsa compound by Ben-Gvir and Israeli settlers
The kingdom’s Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the storming of the holy Muslim site by “extremist” Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and other members of the government and Knesset, who led a large group of settlers.
The movements were accompanied by “provocative and unacceptable practices, in blatant violation of the historical and legal status quo, and of Israel’s obligations as the occupying power”, it said in a statement.
Ministry spokesman Sufian Qudah said the Israeli officials were trying to “impose new facts on the ground” and were committing a “blatant violation of international law and international humanitarian law”.
He reminded that Jordan and its Awqaf Department remain the legal entity with exclusive jurisdiction to administer affairs at the occupied site.
Public criticism of Israel has ‘zero’ effect: German official
Armin Laschet, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Germany’s lower house of parliament, has argued that public criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza by the country’s allies has had “zero” effect in protecting Palestinian lives.
In comments made to broadcaster ZDF, Laschet claimed a joint statement issued last week by the UK, Canada and France calling Israel’s escalation in Gaza “wholly disproportionate” had no impact in ending the conflict or ensuring humanitarian aid could reach the territory.
Laschet argued the new conservative-led government’s “quiet diplomacy” and “clear words” to Israel were “more effective than constant resolutions and pithy slogans”.
A staunch ally of Israel, Germany has faced accusations of silencing pro-Palestinian voices since the start of the war. Officials have moved to ban protests and cancel events, while cultural institutes have distanced themselves from artists who raise awareness about the Palestinian cause.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, meanwhile, has said he would make sure Netanyahu can visit Germany despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court.
Germany sees Israeli security as a “reason of state” due to its historic responsibility for the Holocaust.
However, Laschet insisted that the term “doesn’t mean you can’t criticise Israel, you can’t demand aid deliveries, you can’t criticise the prime minister”.
“You can do all that,” said Laschet. “You can also say that the government has right-wing extremist ministers, you can also say that the war aims are wrong.”
If you’re just joining us
Here’s a quick look at recent developments:
- Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 50 people since dawn on Monday; the worst was on a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, killing at least 36, including several children.
- The Israeli military claimed, without providing evidence, that it hit a “command and control centre” of Hamas and Islamic Jihad at the Fahmi al-Jarjawi school.
- The school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians was among 200 targets bombed by the Israeli army in the past two days alone.
- The US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) wants to start taking over aid in Gaza today despite losing its director over a lack of independence and strong opposition from international organisations.
- Large crowds of Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and surrounding areas to mark “Jerusalem Day” and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.
- Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called Israel’s blockade on Gaza “completely unacceptable”, but did not announce any action.
Israel surrounds Indonesian and al-Awda hospitals in northern Gaza
Satellite images reviewed by Al Jazeera show Israeli army vehicles surrounding the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.
The vehicles are stationed 60 to 100 metres from the hospital building, where a number of medical staff, patients and companions are still sheltering.
The Israeli army has also surrounded al-Awda Hospital in Tel al-Zaatar, close to the Indonesian Hospital.
The images showed a fire in the hospital’s medicine warehouse, which lasted for days until civil defence teams managed to get coordination to control it. This warehouse is the only supply source for the hospital.
Local reports confirmed that Israeli army vehicles are advancing in the vicinity of al-Awda, and the hospital area is under continuous attack. The Tel al-Zaatar area and its surroundings have been subjected to continuous Israeli bombing and incursions for at least two weeks.
How Israel’s attacks turned Gaza City into a refugee camp
Satellite images show how Israel has turned Gaza City into a massive camp amid its devastating ground and air offensives.
The images, captured between March 18 (when Israel broke the ceasefire in Gaza) and May 22, show the massing of thousands of displaced people in Gaza City. The tents cover streets, vacant land, civic centres and schools.
Israel’s Ben-Gvir ‘prays for victory’ in Gaza war after storming Al-Aqsa compound
Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and other politicians have been among thousands who stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and surrounding areas to celebrate “Jerusalem Day” and the occupation of the Palestinian territory.
Ben-Gvir released a video on his X account from the site – Islam’s third holiest – saying he “prayed for victory in the war, for the return of all our hostages, and for the success of the newly-appointed head of the Shin Bet – Major General David Zini”.
Negev and Galilee Minister Yitzhak Vaserlauf and Knesset member Yitzhak Kreuzer were among those accompanying the ultranationalist minister.
Backed by armed police, Ben-Gvir has carried out similar provocative moves in the compound before, often at sensitive junctures in the war, to advocate for increased military pressure and to block all humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
Israel says over 200 attacks carried out in Gaza over 48 hours
The Israeli military says its air force has attacked more than 200 targets in the Gaza Strip in the past two days.
The army claimed the targets were “terrorists, weapons depots, sniper and anti-tank positions, tunnel shafts, and other terrorist infrastructure”.
Below is verified footage of a child trying to flee the fires caused by Israeli bombs dropped on the Fahmi al-Jarjawi school in northern Gaza, which killed at least 36 Palestinians.
‘Gaza children walk the streets every day looking for food’
We have more lines from Rachel Cummings, humanitarian director with Save the Children, who is currently assisting people in central Gaza.
She described the situation as “desperate and dire” and said it is unimaginable how it feels to be a child in Gaza after more than 11 weeks of a total aid blockade.
“I see children every day walking the streets trying to find food with empty bowls, trying to find water with empty bottles in hand. We have mothers telling us how they are trying to keep their children alive, how they’re talking to bulk it out with grass or dirty water, knowing that could result in their child becoming sick,” she told Al Jazeera.
Cummings said the minuscule aid that has entered in the past 72 hours is welcome but “insignificant” in terms of the actual number of people it can help.
What is needed are the thousands of trucks carrying humanitarian supplies that are held up by Israel outside Gaza, carrying life-saving aid.
“This is a very active and complex war. Bombs are dropping on children every day,” Cummings said.
“So we need a definitive ceasefire in Gaza, we need to be able to access populations and children who are in the most desperate circumstances and we need humanitarian supplies to enter.”
Photos: The aftermath of the Israeli air attack on Fahmi al-Jarjawi school in Gaza City
‘Distressing, unbearable scenes’ as ‘chaotic’ Israeli attacks on Gaza escalate
The images coming out of the sites of Israeli strikes across Gaza are absolutely devastating and horrific.
The biggest attack over the past few hours was on a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City that killed at least 36 Palestinians, according to medical reports.
Most of them were children and women.
Civil defence crews told Al Jazeera they spent hours searching through the rubble to pull victims from under the rubble. They said they managed to recover the charred bodies of a number of mothers and children, describing very distressing, unbearable scenes.
The school did not receive any kind of warning ahead of the strike, and people said the strike caused massive destruction, leaving parts of the building engulfed in flames that took hours to be extinguished by the civil defence crews who have been working tirelessly, using very outdated tools and their bare hands.
But this was not the only attack. Witnesses described a night filled with fear, in particular in northern Gaza, where another residential house was targeted without any warning shots – at least 19 Palestinians were killed, all members of the same family.
The house was completely levelled to the ground, with multiple missiles leaving no one surviving the attack, in a sign that the momentum of the Israeli attacks is escalating chaotically here in Gaza.
Elsewhere, we have received confirmation that Israeli military tanks encroached into the residential zones in the city of Khan Younis but this was done under very intensive aerial cover from Israeli drones and fighter jets, accompanied with artillery bombardment of residential areas.
The sound of explosions continues to echo across the entire central area, leaving everybody here in a state of panic and fear.
‘We know very little’ about mechanics of GHF: Save the Children director
The local and international humanitarian organisations and aid workers currently active in Gaza are “very clear and united in our position” of not engaging with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to Rachel Cummings, humanitarian director at Save the Children.
The US and Israeli system to take over aid in Gaza does not correspond to the independent humanitarian principles based on which aid organisations operate, she told Al Jazeera from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
“We know very little about the mechanics of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. We’ve been running humanitarian operations and delivery of humanitarian supplies since the beginning of the war for about 18 months. It is very complex, but are able to do it and we’ve demonstrated that over time,” Cummings said.
She described the environment in Gaza as a very complex one that requires established organisations with demonstrated experience.
“We know how to do our jobs, we need to be allowed to deliver services and supplies to populations in need across Gaza,” Cummings said.