- Israeli forces continue bombarding Gaza, attacking the so-called “safe zone” of al-Mawasi and killing at least 36 people.
- Attacks come as Israel mobilises for a new and expanded ground assault on Gaza and resumes ceasefire talks with Hamas in Qatar.
- Arab leaders in Baghdad call for an end to Israel’s war on Gaza and appeal for global action to get humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 53,272 Palestinians and wounded 120,673, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
- An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.
What’s Israel’s Operation Gideon’s Chariots?
Well, the Israeli Security Cabinet unanimously approved these plans just a couple of weeks ago in a meeting, saying that this was in order to achieve an absolute victory in Israel’s war on Gaza, but also an effort to release the remaining Israeli captives.
They say that military pressure is the best way to do that.
These new combat plans were presented by the Israeli army chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, who took his position back in March, during the ceasefire deal. But it’s also worth mentioning that the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, just within the last few days, has been saying that Gaza is going to see war unlike anything it has seen before, within the last 19 months.
Other members of his government were saying that the gates of hell are going to be opened on the Gaza Strip, and these intensified air strikes that have been killing hundreds of Palestinians within the last several days are part of that new plan.
So, there’s initially going to be this intensified air campaign, and remember that the military has called up 60,000 reservists in an effort to try and reinvade on the ground, first from the north, pushing Palestinians towards the south.
And they’re going to occupy what they call strategic areas in the Gaza Strip. They say they’re going to take over parts of the Palestinian territory, if not all of it.
This is something that members of the right-wing government were promised by Netanyahu several months ago, saying that there would be this complete takeover of the Palestinian territory.
Two killed in Israeli attack on central Gaza
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that Israeli forces have attacked a house in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, killing at least two people.
The victims include a child.
A series of Israeli air raids were also reported in the Tel al-Zaatar area of northern Gaza. But there was no immediate report on casualties.
Death toll from Israel’s attacks since midnight rises to 59
Medical sources say the victims included those killed in the Israeli bombardments of northern, central and southern Gaza since midnight.
Earlier, we reported that at least 36 people were killed following Israeli attacks on Gaza’s al-Mawasi, which is a designated “safe zone” for displaced Palestinians.
We will bring you more updates as soon as we can.
Israeli attacks kill 19 in Gaza’s Jabalia and az-Zawayda
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that at least 10 people have been killed and several others wounded in an Israeli strike that hit a house in the Jabalia al-Balad area in northern Gaza.
We are also getting reports that nine other people were killed while several more were wounded in a separate Israeli bombing in the town of az-Zawayda in central Gaza.
Several children were reportedly among the casualties in the latest strikes.
![Scores of people have been killed since Saturday as Israel stepped up its attacks across the Gaza Strip [Al Jazeera]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-35-1747529165.png?w=770&resize=770%2C441&quality=80)
Gaza war tops Arab League agenda as leaders gather in Baghdad
The Arab League Summit has convened in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, with leaders from 22 member states and UN officials in attendance.
The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and Israel’s ongoing military offensive have dominated the summit’s agenda.
Delegates also addressed Iran’s nuclear program and Syria’s return to the regional fold.
Israel’s main airport suspends flights after missile attack from Yemen: Report
According to Israel’s Channel 12 broadcaster, the Ben Gurion International Airport has temporarily halted landings and takeoffs following the latest missile launched from Yemen.
It is unclear how long the suspension will last.
The Israeli military has said that it has intercepted that projectile.
Earlier this month, a ballistic missile launched by the Iran-allied Yemeni rebel group hit the perimeter of the same airport, damaging a road and a vehicle and causing air traffic to stop for hours.
Israel says it intercepted missile from Yemen
The military says it shot down one missile launched from Yemen.
In a statement on X, it said sirens were activated across central Israel following the launch of the projectile.
Israel’s Channel 12 also quoted the military as saying that a second missile from Yemen was attempted but failed to launch.
Yemen’s Houthis have continued to fire missiles at Israel in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, although they have agreed to a ceasefire with the US to halt attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
US Embassy in Tripoli denies report of plan to relocate Palestinians to Libya
The US Embassy in Libya denied NBC News’s report that the Trump administration is working on a plan to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya.
In a brief post on X, the embassy said: “The report of alleged plans to relocate Gazans to Libya is untrue.”
On Thursday, NBC News said the Trump administration was working on a plan to permanently relocate as many as 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya.
NBC News cited five people with knowledge of the matter, including two with direct knowledge and a former US official.
The Tripoli-based internationally recognised Government of National Unity has yet to issue a comment on the report.
It’s worth noting that Trump has previously said he would like the US to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its Palestinian population elsewhere. Palestinians vehemently reject any plan involving them leaving Gaza, comparing such ideas with the 1948 Nakba, or “catastrophe”, when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed of their homes in the war that led to the creation of Israel.
Death toll in Israeli attacks on al-Mawasi rises to 36
We are getting reports from our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that the death toll in the attacks on the tent camp sheltering displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza has risen to 36.
Earlier, we reported that at least 24 people were killed in the attacks.
The dead and wounded were taken to the Kuwaiti field hospital and to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
We’ll bring you more as soon as we get more details.
A recap of recent developments
- Israeli forces have bombed the so-called “safe zone” of al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, killing at least 24 people.
- The intensified attacks come as Israel mobilises for a new and expanded ground assault on Gaza, and as it resumes ceasefire talks with Hamas in Qatar.
- UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini says Israel’s stepped-up bombing campaign has killed at least 250 Palestinians in Gaza over the last two days alone.
- Arab leaders in Baghdad have urged the international community to “exert pressure to end the bloodshed and ensure that urgent humanitarian aid can enter without obstacles all areas in need in Gaza”.
- Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused Donald Trump of lying after the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.
- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says that if news reports of the Trump administration’s plan to transfer 1 million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya are true, then it “would represent an unprecedented act of ethnic cleansing unseen in modern history”.
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 analysis on the latest developments.
You can read about the key events from Saturday, May 17, here.
