LIVE UPDATES: Israel bombs Gaza kindergarten sheltering displaced people, killing 7

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Here is where things stand on Thursday 29 May 2025:

• Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 13 people so far today, including seven who were sheltering at a kindergarten in Jabalia in the north.
• Condemnation is growing over the killings of 10 Gaza aid seekers by Israeli troops in southern Gaza, with authorities in the Strip saying soldiers opened fire on hungry people.
• Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 54,084 Palestinians and wounded 123,308, 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.

Israel plans new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank: Report

Israel’s public broadcaster reports that the government has announced 22 new settlements in the West Bank, near the Jordanian border.

The ministers responsible for the decision are Defence Minister Israel Katz and right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Katz was quoted as saying by Israeli broadcaster Channel 14 that this is a “strategic move” that strengthens Israel’s grip on the West Bank and works towards the prevention of a Palestinian state.

Settlers have been particularly emboldened by Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, both of whom have pushed to expand settlements in the West Bank – which violate international law – since entering government in 2022.

‘Very good feeling’ about ceasefire agreement: Witkoff

The White House is optimistic a new proposal from US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff could result in a ceasefire agreement soon, US outlet Axios reported, quoting three sources involved in the negotiations.

“If each side moves just a bit, we could have a deal within days,” the outlet reported one source as saying.

Last night, Hamas said it had reached an agreement with Witkoff on a general framework for a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid.

Following that, Witkoff made an appearance alongside Trump in the Oval Office and announced he had drafted “a new term sheet” for the president’s approval, Axios reported.

“I have some very good feelings about getting to a temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution of that conflict,” Witkoff said.

Witkoff has been negotiating with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top adviser Ron Dermer, as well as with Hamas leaders in Doha through Palestinian-American businessman Bishara Bahbah.

Israel’s recent statements signal that it has no intention of ending its war on Gaza.

At least three killed in new attack on north Gaza

Our team on the ground is reporting that the three people were killed when Israel bombed a house in Jabalia al-Balad in north Gaza.

An unspecified number of people were also wounded in this attack, our colleagues report.

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Israel kills 10 Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza in 48 hours

At least 10 Palestinians desperately seeking aid from a contentious and heavily criticised United States-backed organisation have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza over the last 48 hours, according to the besieged enclave’s Government Media Office.

In a statement, the Government Media Office said Israeli forces “opened direct fire on hungry Palestinian civilians who had gathered to receive aid” at the distribution site, wounding at least 62 people.

Harrowing video showed thousands of starving Palestinians rushing to get aid, with many of them herded into cage-like lines, from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution point in Rafah in southern Gaza.

The initiative has been widely condemned by UN officials and the humanitarian community, who have repeatedly said that life-saving aid could be adequately and safely scaled up in Gaza if Israel would allow access to aid and let those organisations that have decades of experience handle the flow.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, said Israel was using “aid as a weapon of war”.

At least 13 people killed in Gaza today

Israeli attacks have taken 13 lives since the early hours of this morning, medical sources tell our colleagues on the ground.

In today’s most significant attack, at least seven people sheltering inside a kindergarten were killed by Israeli bombs in Jabalia, north Gaza.

A recap of recent developments

Here’s what you need to know:

• The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor stated that 10 percent of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been killed, injured, are missing, or have been arrested since the war began.
• The White House believes it is steps away from reaching an agreement that could ultimately end the war in Gaza, Axios reported.
• 221 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate stated, following the death of journalist Moataz Muhammad Rajab on Wednesday evening.
• 22 new Israeli settlements will be built in the occupied West Bank, along the Jordanian border, ministers Israel Katz and Bezalel Smotrich announced, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported.
• At least 13 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombings of the Gaza Strip since dawn today, according to medical sources.

Welcome to our live coverage

Hello, and thank you for joining our live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, as well as its attacks on the occupied West Bank and the wider region.

Follow this page for round-the-clock updates and analyses of the latest developments.

You can read about key events from Wednesday, May 28, here.