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Here is where things stand on Tuesday 27 May 2025:
- Thousands of Palestinians, desperate to get food to feed their families after nearly three months of a total Israeli blockade, have stormed a controversial US-Israeli aid distribution centre in southern Gaza.
- Our team in the Gaza Strip is reporting that security contractors lost control at the site shortly after it opened. Live ammunition was fired to disperse the large crowds.
- The Government Media Office in Gaza says the chaotic scenes are evidence of Israel’s “failure” to manage the crisis that it “deliberately created”.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 54,056 Palestinians and wounded 123,129, 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.
Chaos at Gaza aid site ‘endangers’ Israeli soldiers: Politician
The chaos at the humanitarian aid distribution site in southern Gaza “is a direct result of a failed government that promises ‘order in the distribution’ and once again endangers our heroic soldiers”, according to Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman.
“Israel needs real leadership,” he said in a social media post.
GHF is ‘armchair humanitarianism at its worst’, says ex-UNRWA spokesperson
Chris Gunness, former spokesperson for UNRWA, told Al Jazeera that the chaos at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) food distribution point in Rafah “speaks to the extraordinary naivety, amateurishness, and inexperience” of the joint Israel-US initiative, which is “armchair humanitarianism at its worst”.
He said that the lack of planning stands out to him, particularly a failure to consult with the community – something known in humanitarian sector as “the principle of no harm”.
“This was not done – this was imposed by the two powers in the world that are committing a genocide against these people,” he said.
He said that only UNRWA is the only organisation that has the infrastructure, aid warehouses, food distribution centres, vehicles, and the workers to effectively distribute aid to Gaza, but that international donors have allowed UNRWA to be sidelined based on a campaign of “lies, misinformation and propaganda” by Israel.
“We need to reestablish UNRWA, we need to get the international UNRWA staff back into Gaza, we need order restored, and we need proper, orderly food distribution – only UNRWA can do that,” he said, adding that otherwise there will likely be more mass killings such as the flour massacre in February last year, when more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces.
“Only [sanctioning Israel and re-empowering UNRWA] is going to see us pull back from this absolute catastrophe which is a stain on the conscience of the world,” he said.
Photos: Palestinians seeking aid gather near aid distribution site in Rafah
If you’re just joining us
Let’s bring you up to speed with the main developments of the past hour:
- Large crowds gathered west of Rafah in southern Gaza after the controversial, US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation opened its first distribution point.
- Thousands of Palestinians stormed past the barricades, desperate to get food to feed their families after three months of total blockade.
- Guns are reported to have been fired into the air to disperse the crowds.
- The UN and other aid groups had roundly criticised the organisation’s aid distribution model, saying it doesn’t abide by humanitarian principles and could displace people further from their homes.
Gunshots fired to disperse people from aid distribution area
While there is a lot of chaos going on in the Tal as-Sultan area of Rafah in southern Gaza, the situation remains extremely difficult in the northern part of the Strip as well.
It’s unlikely Palestinians there are going to see aid anytime soon. Today, we’ve seen what desperation can do to people, how hunger can lead to violence and chaos.
There are reports talking about the Israeli military trying to secure a safe corridor for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation employees out of the area as thousands of people surrounded it trying to get to food.
In response, forces fired machine guns in the air to disperse people. This highlights the risk Palestinians are taking right now just to feed their hunger.
Israel’s weaponisation of food ‘shameful and must stop’
Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor of public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, has said Israel’s weaponisation of food was behind the “horrific” and “tragic” scenes at the aid distribution site in Rafah.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, he denounced global inaction in the face of a “man-made disaster” unfolding in Gaza as the starvation crisis worsens.
“Aid used to be distributed in an organised manner once it was available in Gaza. But the moment [Israel] started weaponising food, weaponising aid, this is the outcome we get,” Qarmout said.
“There is still a paralysed international community that is watching this, that is allowing these scenes to happen … allowing a criminal state to experiment with people,” he added.
“In this modern century, this is shameful and it should stop.”
Aid points Israel’s ‘last card’ in expelling Palestinians from Gaza
The chaos at the aid centre is the result of the refusal to listen to people who have 80 years of experience at organisations such as UNRWA.
They are dealing with two million starved people. The civilians of Gaza are obviously trying to get just any piece of food for their children.
And how logical is this claim they are doing this aid distribution to separate civilians from Hamas?
Critics say Israel established these distribution points only in the south to encourage people – or even to force them – to flee from the north. This is a clear plan for the complete expulsion of the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip.
It didn’t work before. No amount of starvation, no amount of killing, no amount of bombing has convinced them or forced them to move from northern Gaza where their homes are.
Now this is the last card that Israel has, which is to force them by starvation to the south where the distribution is taking place. If Israel gets its way, we will end up with a real concentration camp in the south.
GHF parcels contain un-nutritious, meagre amount of food: AJ correspondent
While the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) says it has handed out some 8,000 food boxes today, supposedly amounting to 462,000 meals, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary says that the parcels she’s seen contain only a meagre amount of food that will not feed a family for long and is not nutritious enough.
She said had seen a food box that contained 4kg of flour, a couple of bags of pasta, two cans of fava beans, a pack of tea bags and some biscuits, while other food parcels contained lentils and soup in very small quantities.
“This is definitely not enough, and it is not enough for all the humiliation that Palestinians are going through to receive these food parcels,” she said, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
“We’re talking about nearly three months without chicken, without meat, without nutritious food, and that’s why most people coming to the hospital now are malnourished Palestinian children.”
Khoudary said that while these GHF food parcels might last a family a day or two, Palestinians used to receive packages from United Nations agencies that would last one to two weeks – until Israel imposed its total blockade on aid almost three months ago, and people increasingly became so hungry they could often not even cobble together one meal a day.
“[The GHF says] 8,000 Palestinians received parcels today. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of Palestinians squeezed into the area very close to Rafah [in southern Gaza], and all of these people said they were forced to go to these distribution points after weeks of not having even one meal a day,” she said.
Israeli tank and gunfire reported from aid distribution site
A reporter from The Associated Press says Israeli tank and gunfire could be heard as large crowds of Palestinians tried to reach an aid centre in southern Gaza.
There was no immediate word on whether there were any casualties.
The firing came as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians walked through Israeli military lines to reach the distribution hub set up on the outskirts of Rafah by a United States-backed group that Israel has slated to take over food distribution in Gaza. It was the second day of operations at the hub.
Palestinians in the war-battered territory are starving after Israel blockaded the Gaza Strip of all humanitarian relief for nearly three months.
Israel’s new distribution plan – backed by the US – has been widely criticised by established aid agencies such as the United Nations.
Contractors in charge of aid distribution sites ‘completely lost control’
Security sources who have been speaking to Israeli Army Radio say that the US contract workers who are in charge of securing the aid distribution sites completely lost control after people rushed to the area to try and get the much-needed food they have been deprived of for several months.
The contractors had reportedly fired shots in the air to try and disperse the crowds, which caused a lot of chaos.
The Israeli army was then sent in to try and evacuate these contractors, according to the reports.
We’re also hearing reports of military helicopters that were firing in the vicinity to also try and get the crowds to disperse.
But it’s worth noting how we got here in the first place: This was an incredibly controversial plan for humanitarian assistance after the Israeli government had blockaded any type of aid for nearly three months.
Throughout the war, there was very little aid going into Gaza to begin with, so people had been hungry, and there has been malnutrition among women and children.
Gaza aid distributor admits losing control of aid site in Rafah
The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says the volume of people seeking aid at its distribution site was so great its team had to pull back to allow people to “take aid safely and dissipate” and to avoid casualties.
It added that “Gazans experienced several-hour delays in accessing the site due to blockades imposed by Hamas”.
The foundation said it has so far distributed about 8,000 food boxes, totaling 462,000 meals. The claim could not be independently verified.
Chaotic scenes erupted as thousands of desperate people rushed the site after a nearly three-month total aid blockade by Israel led to mass hunger.
Chaotic scenes proof of Israel’s failure to manage crisis it created: Gaza Government Media Office
The Government Media Office in Gaza has issued a statement about the scenes at the aid distribution point in southern Gaza, saying Israel’s project to distribute supplies “in the so-called ‘buffer zones’ has failed disastrously”.
“Thousands of starving civilians – besieged and cut off from food and medicine by the occupation for nearly 90 days – rushed to these areas in a heartbreaking scene that ended with the storming of distribution centres and the seizing of food under the crushing weight of hunger,” it said.
It added that Israeli forced had responded “by opening fire and injuring several citizens, which clearly reflects the total collapse of the so-called humanitarian track that the occupation claims to uphold”.
The office said the scenes were evidence of Israel’s failure to manage the humanitarian crisis “it deliberately created through a policy of starvation, siege, and bombing”.
It added that the establishment of “buffer ghettos” to distribute limited aid “under the threat of death, bullets, and starvation does not indicate a genuine intention to address the crisis”.
“Rather, it represents a calculated political strategy to perpetuate starvation, dismantle Palestinian society, and impose politicised humanitarian tracks that serve the occupation’s security and military agenda.”
More than 90,000 tonnes of military equipment brought to Israel since war began
Israel’s Defence Ministry has announced the 800th flight bringing in military equipment and ammunition since the start of the war on Gaza has landed in the country.
In a statement, it said the military equipment and weapons airlift is being carried out in collaboration with the ministry’s mission to the US, Israel’s top ally, and other parts of the Israeli military.
“Throughout this operation, over 90,000 tons of military equipment have been delivered to Israel via 800 flights and approximately 140 maritime shipments,” it said. “The procured and transported equipment includes munitions, armored vehicles, individual protective equipment, and medical supplies.”
As we’ve been reporting, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians and wounded tens of thousands more.
The Democratic and Republican administrations of former US President Joe Biden and his successor, Donald Trump, have faced criticism over their policies of arming Israel, which critics say violate US laws prohibiting military aid and weapons sales to countries engaged in rights abuses.
‘Not the way to do it’: Israel’s new Gaza aid system criticised
Hardin Lang from Refugees International says it’s incomprehensible why Israel has set up its own Gaza aid distribution system when the UN and other international groups have decades of experience.
“Mounting the kind of operation to keep famine at bay is very complex and logistics-intensive. It is not something you turn the keys over to an operation that is just finding its feet. So if you’re trying to meet humanitarian needs, this is not the way to do it,” Lang told Al Jazeera.
He noted Jake Wood, executive director of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), announced his resignation because the organisation could not adhere “to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence”.
While the long-established UN-led distribution process had 400 sites throughout Gaza, the GHF has only four “mega” ones for its 2.3 million people, Lang said.
“If the point of the project is to meet the humanitarian need, then you go with distribution sites throughout the Gaza Strip – much like what the United Nations and international humanitarian community have established.”
‘Complete chaos’
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, says there was “complete chaos” as Palestinians in southern Gaza rushed to receive some of the first aid that entered the besieged territory in months.
Khoudary said that after the first Palestinians returned back to their shelters with some food parcels, more people started heading towards the aid distribution point in the south.
“The forces that were present in that area were shooting live ammunition to disperse the Palestinians who were going to receive the food,” Khoudary said.
She added that what needs to be underlined is that after months of a total blockade, Palestinians are “very desperate”.
“They are not having any food, and this is the only way to feed their children,” she said.
Shots fired at aid distribution point as controversial Gaza relief plan kicks off
Israeli media are reporting that shots have been fired at an aid distribution point in southern Gaza, hours after a US-backed aid mechanism became operational.
Videos of the scene showed large crowds running past a broken fence and rushing to receive some of the first parcels delivered in Israeli-controlled areas in coordination with the US government, a private US security company and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
It is not yet clear who fired the shots, and no injuries have thus far been reported.
Footage shows desperate Palestinians storming new Gaza aid site
Thousands of desperate Palestinians have swarmed an aid distribution site in Rafah in southern Gaza, and security contractors have lost control of the crowds and opened fire with live ammunition.
The incident happened after the centre was opened under an Israeli-backed plan to disperse humanitarian assistance.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was tasked by Israel and the United States with taking over the distribution of aid after Israel banned the UN and other international bodies from doing so.
Israeli army highlights ‘gradual opening’ of Gaza aid centres
The Israeli army says it has set up four aid distribution centres “in recent weeks” in Gaza.
Two began operations today “as part of the gradual opening of the distribution centers”, it said in a statement. The sites are giving out food packages, it added, without specifying how many were distributed.
The centres were set up “in coordination” with the US government, a private US security company and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been labelled “a distraction” by the United Nations.
The army’s statement comes as the UN announced it has no information on whether the GHF has actually distributed any aid in Gaza as famine looms.
‘Death traps’: PFLP warns people in Gaza against approaching GHF aid centres
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has warned that aid distribution centres set up by the US and Israel in the Gaza Strip represent “collective death traps”, and warned citizens not to approach them.
The leftist group said these centres are being used to arrest people and are “part of the ongoing war of genocide” against Palestinians.
It also said the centres, set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), are being used as tools of displacement, forcing Palestinians southwards.
The GHF has faced criticism, including from the UN, that it is using humanitarian relief as a political tool.
Israeli displacement orders ‘psychological and physical warfare’: MSF
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has denounced Israel’s ongoing use of last-minute displacement orders in Gaza as a form of ethnic cleansing, warning that Palestinians are being trapped in an endless cycle of suffering.
People are sometimes forced to flee in the middle of the night, only for their new “safe refuge” to be bombed again, the medical charity said in a statement.
The “unpredictable” orders are distributed through leaflets, social media or phone calls and come with “ridiculously short deadlines”, it added.
The NGO labelled the orders as a “violent tool, turning the Gaza Strip into hell on earth for Palestinians”.
Israel has issued 31 displacement orders since it broke the ceasefire on March 18, according to MSF. Together with no-go military zones, these cover about 80 percent of Gaza, it said.
“I don’t know what to answer when colleagues ask me where they can go with their children in the middle of the night,” said MSF’s Omar Alsaqqa. “We are running out of options to stay alive.”
Israel yet to back up its accusations against UNRWA: Lazzarini
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini says Israel has “continuously made unsubstantiated claims” against the UN agency, while refusing to provide evidence to back up its accusations.
“To date, UNRWA has not received any response, nor has the Government of Israel shared any sufficient evidence to back up these very serious claims,” he said on X.
The Israeli government had accused UNRWA staff of involvement in Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, and banned the agency from operating in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel.
Lazzarini said on X that the claims had put the lives of its staff at risk and harmed the agency’s reputation. “The minimum requirements are sufficient evidence and due process,” he said. “The absence of both more than one year later raises the possibility that the accusations were unfounded.”
Israeli attacks on West Bank’s exchange shops ‘dangerous escalation’: Palestinian Mujahideen Movement
The group says the raids are “part of the open war against our people, targeting their very existence and cause”.
“This new aggression is part of the policy of siege and starvation that targets the foundations of our people’s steadfastness and aims to break their will,” the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement said in a statement published on Telegram.
The group urged the Palestinian Authority to “defend” Palestinians from such attacks and “halt its policy of security coordination” with Israel.
Why is Israel raiding money exchanges in the occupied West Bank?
As we’ve been reporting, Israeli forces have carried out several raids on money exchanges across the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli army used live bullets and tear gas as they stormed the city of Nablus, killing at least one person and wounding more than 30.
The Israeli police and military have not put out any official statement about the raids, but one military official speaking anonymously to Israeli media said officials will release information about their findings at some point later today.
“But this official said earlier that Israel ‘believes’ – not that it has any evidence or proof – but ‘believes’ that these cash exchange places are funneling money to what they call terror organisations,” said Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, who has extensively reported from the West Bank but is currently in Amman, Jordan, because Israel has banned Al Jazeera from reporting from Israel and the West Bank.
“The people who own these shops say they were not given any sort of proof by the Israeli military,” she added.
Salhut noted this was the fourth time that such raids have taken place since the start of the war on Gaza.
“The first time was in December of 2023, when five different cash exchange places were raided by the Israeli military and they seized nearly $3m,” she said. “It happened again in August 2024 and again in September of that same year.”
Teenage Gaza gymnast who lost both legs dreams of walking again
Ahmed is a 16-year-old gymnast who lost both his legs in an Israeli attack on Gaza. His mother hopes to send him abroad for prosthetic limbs so he can once again practice the sport he loves.
Palestinian Foreign Ministry warns of ‘deliberate attempt’ to justify West Bank annexation
Israel is creating the impression of a flare-up in the occupied West Bank to justify its annexation, according to the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.
Its statement called for immediate action by the US and the international community to “halt the crimes of genocide, displacement, and annexation” and to compel Israel to abide by international law.
The ministry warned that failing to do so would have repercussions for the prospect of implementing a two-state solution and for the stability of the region.
US-made guided bombs used in Israeli attack on Fahmi al-Jarjawi School in Gaza City
Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking unit has obtained exclusive images of the remains of the weaponry used by the Israeli army in the bombing of the Fahmi al-Jarjawi School in the Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City on Sunday.
The fragments belonged to US-made GBU-39 SDB guided bombs, which have been identified in repeated attacks on Gaza. Trevor Ball, an American expert and researcher in munitions, confirmed Sanad’s results.
Israel imports these bombs from the US company Boeing, and multiple investigations have documented their use in targeting displacement camps in central and southern Gaza.
Once launched from an aircraft, the bomb deploys its wings and uses a GPS guidance system to precisely correct its trajectory towards its target. It is also equipped with a warhead designed to penetrate hard targets, such as reinforced concrete or fortifications, before detonation.
Analysed images from the site of the attack show the bomb broke through the school’s roof and first floor before detonating on the ground floor, killing at least 36 people.
The same type of bomb was used in a strike that hit the al-Tabin School in Gaza City in August, killing 100 people, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
In February, the US approved the sale of 2,166 GBU-39 SDB bombs to Israel in a deal valued at $6.75bn, according to the official website of the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
Iraq condemns ‘painful starvation’ faced by Palestinians in Gaza
In a new statement, the Iraqi government has slammed Israel’s “starvation policy” in Gaza and urged the international community to “exert maximum pressure” on the country to allow the delivery of aid into the besieged and bombarded territory.
The statement accused Israel of ignoring “all humanitarian and legal considerations” and of using “the denial of humanitarian and food aid as additional tools to perpetuate the killing of Palestinians”.
As Israel’s blockade that has choked off access to food, fuel, and medical supplies nears its three-month mark, the World Food Programme warned last week that more than 70,000 children in Gaza face acute levels of malnutrition.
Girl tells Al Jazeera how she escaped school inferno
Ward al-Sheikh Khalil, a young Palestinian girl, spoke to Al Jazeera after surviving an Israeli air attack on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City. Video showed her walking among the flames of the fires that broke out.
The attack killed more than 36 Palestinians, including her mother and siblings.
EU chief slams Israel’s ‘abhorrent’ attacks on Gaza civilian sites
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has denounced as “abhorrent” Israel’s deadly wave of attacks on civilian facilities in Gaza, during a call with Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
“The expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza targeting civilian infrastructure, among them a school that served as a shelter for displaced Palestinian families, killing civilians, including children, is abhorrent,” she said, according to a European Commission readout of the call.
Ireland’s cabinet to discuss banning imports from illegal Israeli settlements
The Irish government is set to discuss a bill that would make it illegal to import Israeli goods from illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin said there was an “urgency for the entire world to put pressure on Israel to bring this war to an immediate end”.
The UN has repeatedly stated that Israeli settlements, which lie outside Israel’s internationally recognised borders, are illegal under international law.
Germany will not be forced into solidarity with Israel: Top German diplomat
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul voices his shock at the Israeli campaign in Gaza, where people are unable to access food and medicine.
“Our committed fight against anti-Semitism and our full support for the right to exist and the security of the state of Israel must not be instrumentalised for the conflict and the warfare currently being waged in the Gaza Strip,” he said in an interview with the WDR broadcaster.
“We are now at a point where we have to think very carefully about what further steps to take,” Wadephul said, without giving further details.
UN calls for Gaza crossings opening, calls GHF ‘a distraction’
The UN says it has no information on whether the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) had actually distributed any aid in Gaza, as the US-backed group announced yesterday.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, the spokesperson of the UN humanitarian office labelled the reported operations of the GHF “a distraction”.
“What is actually needed,” OCHA’s Jens Laerke said, “is a reopening of all the crossings into Gaza, a secure environment within Gaza, and faster facilitation of missions and final approvals of all the emergency supplies that we have just outside the border and needs to get in.”
The spokesperson also called for an end to Israeli curbs on the kind of aid being allowed to enter Gaza, which he said was being “cherry-picked” and did not always match needs.
Separately, UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma told the same briefing via videolink that UN agencies do not “have any information” about the delivery of any supplies by the GHF into the besieged territory.
“We know what’s needed, we know what’s missing, and we are very, very far from that daily target,” Touma said.
“The needs are 500-600 trucks at a minimum that should go into Gaza, loaded with supplies. Not only food but also medicine, medical supplies, vaccines for children, fuel, water and other basics for people’s survival.”
Israeli attacks on West Bank’s exchange shops ‘new chapter’ of war: Hamas
Hamas has denounced Israeli raids on money exchange shops in the occupied West Bank.
“Escalating incursions in the West Bank and targeting money exchange shops are a continuation of the occupation’s war against the foundations of the steadfastness of our Palestinian people,” the group said in a statement.
The attacks “constitute a new chapter in the occupation’s open war against the Palestinian people, their lives, their economy, and all the foundations of their steadfastness and perseverance on their land”, it added.
Hamas urged the Palestinian Authority to take measures against the attacks.
Israel has stated, without evidence, that it is targeting the shops as they are used as a way to funnel money to Palestinian fighters and armed groups.
Gaza ceasefire agreement still lofty ‘optimism’
There is not enough evidence suggesting a breakthrough in ceasefire talks “despite some occasional optimism being aired from all sides”, says Dan Perry, an Israel affairs analyst.
“We remain where we have been tragically for 19 months now, which is that Hamas refuses to hand over all the hostages without being allowed to remain in power in Gaza … whereas Israel refuses to end the war without Hamas being gone,” Perry told Al Jazeera, speaking from Tel Aviv.
“There’s probably still a majority of people in Israeli society willing to end the war right now in exchange for all the hostages,” he added.
Perry said a “radical pressure” was needed on all sides to reach a permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas would need to disarm and relinquish power completely and Israel would need to accept that “it will not occupy Gaza and that it will withdraw in favour of the reformed version of the Palestinian Authority”.
“Now that is something that the Israeli opposition and the Israeli majority undoubtedly would support,” he said.
Germany, Finland urge aid pressure on Israel; Sweden summons ambassador
The leaders of Germany and Finland have urged the international community to ramp up pressure on Israel to allow immediate humanitarian aid into Gaza, as civilians in the besieged territory continue to face severe shortages of food and medicine.
“We must put pressure on Israel to ensure the aid truly reaches its target,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said during a visit to Helsinki, describing the suffering in Gaza as “excessive” and calling for urgent action.
“But it is also crucial that Hamas must not prevent humanitarian aid from arriving,” added Merz, a day after expressing unusually strong criticism of Israel.
“I no longer understand what the Israeli army is now doing in the Gaza Strip, with what goal,” he had told a forum organised by WDR television on Monday, adding that the effect on civilians in Gaza “can no longer be justified”.
For his part, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo echoed Merz’s appeal, also telling reporters in Helsinki that the situation in Gaza is a “terrible human catastrophe” that demands swift international response.
Sweden, meanwhile, summoned Israel’s ambassador to the country, urging Israel to allow aid into Gaza.
“The current way the war is waged is unacceptable,” the Swedish Foreign Ministry said in a statement, which also noted Israel’s right to defend itself.
If you’re just joining us
Here’s what you need to know:
- The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has released pictures of aid distributions taking place in Israeli-controlled areas of southern Gaza, amid criticism that the organisation is using humanitarian relief as a political tool.
- Hamas has called on organisations and institutions worldwide to “escalate all forms of global actions” as the war hits the 600-day mark.
- The Israeli army has raided several exchange shops in the occupied West Bank, injuring at least 19 people in Nablus.
- The UK trade envoy to Israel is meeting Israeli businesses and officials to promote trade, a week after the British government said it was suspending free trade negotiations with the country over its war in Gaza.
- Israeli attacks on displacement camps in Gaza have forced more than 180,000 people to relocate in just 10 days, the International Organization for Migration has said.
This picture, taken from a position in southern Israel, on the border with the Gaza Strip, shows an Israeli vehicle on patrol on May 27, 2025
Hamas condemns Israeli attacks, chants on ‘Jerusalem Day’
The Palestinian group has denounced the Israeli settlers’ march on “Jerusalem Day” yesterday.
Haroun Nasser al-Din, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, condemned the “barbaric incursions and provocative attacks” that took place during the parade with the participation of far-right Israeli ministers.
Al-Din said the march was a “failed attempt to break the will of our people and impose alleged Zionist sovereignty over our holy sites”.
“The occupation will come to an end, no matter how arrogant and intoxicated it may appear,” the official said.
He urged for “increased mobilisation, steadfastness, and resistance in all its forms”.
Some Israelis chanted “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn” as they marched through the alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday, going through the Muslim quarter to mark the commemoration of the Israeli occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem after the 1967 war.
Palestinian Mujahideen Movement slams US-backed aid delivery mechanism
The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement has rejected the US-backed aid distribution mechanism, saying it was “another ugly manifestation of the policy of starvation and siege aimed at breaking the will of our people and humiliating them”.
In a statement, it said the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was a “security institution” aimed at “tampering with [Gaza’s] social fabric”.
It called on Palestinians not to engage with the organisation, saying it promoted Israel’s goal of occupying Palestinian territory.
Yemen’s Houthis claim responsibility for missile attacks on Israel
We have reported earlier that Israel’s army claimed to have intercepted two missiles fired from Yemen earlier today in separate incidents.
The Houthi armed group confirmed those attacks, saying they came in response to the storming of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound yesterday by Israeli settlers.
The group’s statement, published on Telegram, said one of the missiles targeted Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport and the second one was directed towards “a vital Zionist enemy target” in eastern Israel.
“The operation successfully achieved its goal, thanks to God, and caused millions of usurping Zionists to rush to shelters, halting air traffic at the airport,” it claimed, contrary to the Israeli military statement, which did not report any impact.
“The genocide against our brothers in the Gaza Strip, along with the siege and starvation, is a crime unprecedented in human history. This necessitates that all free people from our nation and the world take action to uphold justice, defend humanity, and fulfil their duty towards the oppressed Palestinian people,” the Houthi statement concluded.
Israeli forces injure at least 19 Palestinians in West Bank’s Nablus: PRCS
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says 19 people have been wounded by live bullets in Nablus, as the Israeli army launched a series of simultaneous raids on money exchange shops in cities across the occupied West Bank.
Two people were shot, including a 15-year-old, while 15 people suffered tear gas inhalation.
As we reported earlier, Israeli forces have carried out raids in cities including Nablus, Jenin, Tubas, Qalqilya, Bethlehem and Hebron.
Gaza death toll tops 54,000
The Health Ministry in Gaza has just released its latest daily update on the number of casualties due to Israeli attacks on the besieged and bombarded territory.
In a statement, it said:
- At least 79 people were killed and 163 wounded, as reported by hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
- The update does not include hospitals in the North Governorate due to the difficulty of accessing them.
- The figures bring the number of people killed since the start of the war to 54,056, with 123,129 wounded.
- There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the streets, and ambulance and civil defence crews are unable to reach them.
Renewed Israeli offensive displaced 180,000 in Gaza: IOM
In just 10 days through to May 25, Israeli attacks on displacement camps in Gaza have forced more than 180,000 people to relocate, according to the Global Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster of the UN’s International Organization for Migration.
“The latest wave of displacement comes as direct attacks on sites have become common, including deadly airstrike on tents in the al-Mawasi area and a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City,” CCCM Cluster said in a statement.
“The Global CCCM Cluster unequivocally condemns attacks on displacement sites in the strongest terms. These sites serve to protect displaced civilians, in line with the enduring obligation under international humanitarian law to ensure the safety and dignity of civilian populations in all circumstances.”
Since March 18, when Israel renewed its war, more than 260 sites hosting some 125,000 individuals have been affected by forced evacuation orders, it said.
“The Global CCCM Cluster calls for an immediate end to attacks on displacement sites, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access, and the protection of civilians irrespective of their location,” the organisation stated.
Israeli raids on West Bank’s exchanges remind Palestinians who has ‘upper hand’
Israel is raiding several money transfer shops across the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli army has released a statement saying these money transfer shops are used for funding what they call “terrorism”.
Of course, Palestinians would deny that. There’s no way, they say, that Israel can prove this money is being given or funnelled to Palestinian fighting groups in the West Bank.
We should also remember that no matter how many fighting groups there are in the West Bank, they are still very small groups, very limited, and there has been a crackdown on them, specifically in Jenin and Tulkarem.
Palestinians will tell you this is the way that Israel reminds the community who has the upper hand, and who controls all aspects of their lives, including money.
Israeli violence in occupied West Bank ‘is not less serious’
Israeli forces have been raiding different cities like Hebron, Nablus, and Bethlehem.
These areas are part of Area A, according to the Oslo Accords that were signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority back in the ’90s. But as Palestinians would tell you, Israel disregards the fact that the PA should be controlling Area A – the Israeli military raids the cities day in, day out.
Israeli forces have been raiding Tulkarem, Nur Shams, and Jenin refugee camps since mid-January. Today, we’re seeing a large-scale raid all across the occupied West Bank, injuring people.
People can be going to their schools, can be going to their work when they are suddenly surprised by Israeli military jeeps raiding them.
We’ve seen Israeli forces raiding Nablus, but before that, they sent undercover units to the city. So basically, they are disguised in Palestinian clothing, Palestinian cars, and then they catch people off guard before the raid starts, which leads to violent confrontations. Yesterday night, a young Palestinian boy was killed in Jericho.
Because of the scale of the relentless bombardment in Gaza, eyes turn there, but what’s happening in the West Bank is no less serious.
Hamas calls for global action to stop Gaza war as it marks 600 days
The Palestinian group has issued a statement, calling for “voices to be raised loudly against the occupation and in solidarity with the Gaza Strip” as the war hits the 600-day mark.
Hamas called on organisations and institutions worldwide to “escalate all forms of global action, in cities and squares around the world, against the aggression, extermination, and starvation against our people”.
“May the coming days … be days of global rage marked by demonstrations, marches, and mass sit-ins in cities and squares around the world,” it added.
