LIVE UPDATES: Israel kills 78 in pre-dawn attacks on Gaza, resumes talks with Hamas

• Israeli forces continue bombarding Gaza, killing at least 78 Palestinians in pre-dawn attacks, including 36 in the so-called “safe zone” of al-Mawasi.
• The intensified attacks come as Israel mobilises for a new 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.

Al-Mawasi has become a killing box for desperate families

It has started to feel like, given the large number of entire Palestinian families being wiped out across Gaza, the Israeli army is at war with these families.

We count more and more families in multiple generations being wiped out in one instant.

In particular, al-Mawasi in the west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza has evolved into a killing box, a death trap for the already displaced and traumatised people.

We have 36 people killed in that area, where people were seeking shelter and protection.

That shelter and protection have been non-existent for the past 19 months, but out of desperation, many families keep moving to the area, which has been largely designated as a safe zone by the Israeli military.

We have seen documented cases in which people were killed just a short period after they arrived in this area.

Iran denounces ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza

Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, has “strongly condemned” the Israeli attacks that have killed hundreds of Palestinians in the last 72 hours, according to the semiofficial Mehr News Agency

Baghaei also called for “an end to impunity” for Israeli leaders, who are directly involved in the military operation that has killed at least 53,200 people since October 7, 2023.

The statement comes as Israel steps up its bombardment and launches a new ground offensive in Gaza.

French rabbi gets death threats for criticising Israel’s war in Gaza: Report

A Paris-based rabbi, Delphine Horvilleur, who leads a Reform congregation, has received death threats for criticising the far-right Israeli government, which is justifying the humanitarian blockade in Gaza, according to the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz.

In an article published last week in the quarterly magazine, Tenou’a, Horvilleur wrote, “Without a future for the Palestinian people, there can be none for the Israeli people either.”

Haaretz reported that since the publication of the article, Horvilleur faced “a torrent of online abuse”, including calls for her execution.

“There are petitions against me, and 90 percent of the messages I receive are misogynistic,” Haaretz quoted her as saying. “They comment on my appearance, insist that a woman shouldn’t speak, shouldn’t be in a position of religious authority.”

Israel targeting north Gaza’s Indonesia Hospital: Health Ministry

The hospital has come under intensified strikes since the early hours of the day, according to a ministerial statement on Telegram.

“A state of panic and confusion has prevailed among patients, the wounded, and medical staff, hindering the provision of emergency healthcare,” the Gaza Health Ministry said.

It added that two patients were injured while trying to leave the hospital, adding that the Israeli siege prevents wounded people from reaching the hospital amid ongoing killings.

Israel is intensifying its systematic campaign to target hospitals, the statement said, reminding that the attacks have also put the European Hospital in Khan Younis out of service.

Death toll from Israeli attacks hits 101

Sources in Gaza tell Al Jazeera that a total of 101 people have been killed in Israel’s attacks across the Strip since dawn on Sunday.

At least 44 of the casualties were in southern Gaza, while 42 were in the north of the enclave and 15 in central Gaza, according to the sources.

We will keep you updated as soon as we get more details.

Almost 100 killed in Israeli strikes since dawn

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the death toll from Israeli strikes across the besieged territory since dawn on Sunday has risen to 97.

The ministry said that 45 Palestinians were killed in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip area.

We will keep you updated as soon as we receive more details.

Hamas slams Israeli attacks on displaced Palestinians

The Palestinian group says “brutal” air raids by the Israeli army targeted tents of displaced people in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis.

Israel continued its bombardment of Gaza, killing at least 78 Palestinians since the early hours of the day, including 36 people sheltering at the al-Mawasi tent camp.

Hamas said on Telegram that targeting the tents of the displaced and burning them with civilians inside is “a brutal crime that embodies the fascism of the war criminal Netanyahu’s government and its flagrant violation of all humanitarian laws and norms”.

“By granting the terrorist occupation government political and military cover, the US administration bears direct responsibility for this insane escalation in the targeting of innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip, including children, women, and the elderly,” it said.

The group renewed its call to all “Arab and Islamic countries to assume their responsibilities and urgently intervene” to stop the genocide in Gaza.

Injuries reported in Israeli shelling in Khan Younis

We are getting reports from our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues that there were injuries in an Israeli shelling of the Abasan al-Kabira area east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Israel also reportedly conducted air raids on Batn as-Sameen south of Khan Younis, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

We will bring you more updates on this latest development as soon as we can.

Houthis say they struck Israel’s Ben Gurion airport

The Yemeni rebel group says it hit Israel’s main airport near Tel Aviv with two ballistic missiles in “a qualitative military operation”.

“The operation achieved its goal,” a statement on Telegram said.

The Israeli army said a ballistic missile fired at Israel was successfully intercepted at about 2am local time (23:00 GMT yesterday), with sirens sounding across central Israel.

The Houthi rebels have continued to fire missiles at Israel in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, although they have agreed to halt attacks on US ships.

Israel has also carried out strikes on Yemen, including one on May 6, which damaged the country’s main airport in Sanaa and killed several people.

Israeli captives’ mothers urge Trump to put pressure on Netanyahu: Report

Anat Angerst, Vicky Cohen, and Herut Nimrodi have denounced Netanyahu’s government, saying it has no concrete plan to return their sons to safety, according to the Israeli daily Maariv.

The three women are the mothers of Israeli soldiers Matan Angerst, Nimrod Cohen and Tamir Nimrodi, respectively, who are among some 58 captives who remain in Gaza.

“We are all anxious and worried about our loved ones who are still in captivity, and are very frustrated that the Israeli government has no plan for how to return them,” they told Maariv.

The three women urged Trump to put more pressure on Israel “to end the war and reach an agreement” that will free the captives.

“This is a political war, a war that was very justified at the beginning, but right now it has no

If you’re just joining us

Let’s bring you up to speed:

• Israeli forces have intensified the bombardment of Gaza, killing at least 78 Palestinians since the early hours of this morning, including 36 people sheltering at the al-Mawasi tent camp.
• The US Embassy in Tripoli has denied a report by NBC News that the Trump administration is working on a plan to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya.
• Israeli protesters have rallied in Tel Aviv, calling on Netanyahu’s government to end the war on Gaza and bring back the captives remaining in the enclave.
• The Israeli military says it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen.
• A top Hamas official tells Drop Site news that Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, personally promised to convince Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza in exchange for US-Israeli captive, Edan Alexander.

Continuing war on Gaza ‘a disaster for Israel’, protester says

As we’ve been reporting, family members and supporters of Israeli captives have held a rally in Tel Aviv, urging their government to end the war on Gaza and secure the release of those remaining in Gaza.

Here’s what some of them said.

“We’re coming every Saturday to demand the government to stop the war and bring back our brothers and sisters from captivity in Gaza,” said Noa Alon, 42.

“I came to support the families of the hostages and to protest against the war continuation because I think that it is a disaster for Israel,” said Tami Dvir, 60.

Pictures from the protest showed the protesters holding banners that said, “58 more to go”, “Trump make us whole again”, “government betraying its people”, and “Bibi is a traitor”.

Israel must prepare to protect its interests, even in the face of US objections, Jerusalem Post says

The Israeli newspaper has published an editorial saying that despite the strong alliance between the US and Israel, Netanyahu’s government must recognise that there may be moments “when [Israel] will need to act to protect its core interests, even in the face of American objections”.

Trump “may feel a strong affinity toward Israel”, the publication said. “But his overriding priority is clear: he is looking out for what he defines as America’s interests – and increasingly, those are transactional in nature. So Israel must do the same.”

The editorial comes as Israel expands its military offensive in Gaza, ramping up bombings that have killed hundreds of people over the past 72 hours, including at least 78 people since midnight today.

‘No soap, no morphine’ – Gaza volunteer describes life under intensified bombing

An aid worker in Gaza who has witnessed Israel’s increased bombardment of the enclave calls it “shocking”, as Palestinians struggle with a lack of food and medical supplies.

Afeef Nessouli with Gila International tells Al Jazeera that Israel is also keeping medical workers from coming in or out.

Trump envoy personally promised to lift Gaza blockade in exchange for US-Israeli captive, Hamas official says

Basem Naim has told Drop Site, a US news outlet, that the Palestinian group received a direct commitment from Steve Witkoff that the Trump administration would compel Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza two days after the release of US-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander.

Naim, who is a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said that Witkoff also promised that Trump would make a public call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for negotiations aimed at achieving a “permanent ceasefire”.

Naim said the agreement was: “If we release [Alexander], Trump will speak out thanking Hamas for its gesture, obliging Israel on the second day to open the borders and allow aid to come into Gaza, and [Trump would] call for an immediate ceasefire and to go for negotiations to end the war.”

“He did nothing of this,” the official added. “They didn’t violate the deal. They threw it in the trash.”

There was no immediate comment from the White House.

Alexander, who is a US citizen and an Israeli soldier, was released on Monday.

Since then, Israel has intensified its air raids on Gaza, killing more than 300 Palestinians since Thursday. It has launched a new ground offensive, dubbed Gideon’s Chariots, aimed at seizing and controlling the Strip.

What’s happened in Gaza since Israel abandoned truce deal?

• March 2: Israel blocks the entry of all aid into Gaza after Hamas rejects its effort to change the terms of the ceasefire deal agreed to in January.
• March 18: Israel abandons the ceasefire and bombards Gaza, killing more than 400 Palestinians, many of them children, in a single day.
• April 25: The World Food Programme (WFP) says its food stocks in Gaza are completely depleted.
• May 3: Authorities in Gaza say at least 57 Palestinians have starved to death since Israel imposed its total blockade.
• May 5: Netanyahu announces the expansion of the Gaza war and says Palestinians in the enclave will be moved, as the military plans to call up tens of thousands of reservists.
• May 9: The US says a new body – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – is being established to distribute aid in the enclave, bypassing the system run by the UN and other agencies.
• May 12: Hamas frees US-Israeli captive Edan Alexander after direct talks with the US, while the world’s leading hunger monitor warns that the entire population of Gaza is facing critical risk of famine.
• May 16: Medics say Israeli forces have killed 250 Palestinians in Gaza in less than 48 hours as the Israeli military begins its expanded operation, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots”.
• May 17: A new round of ceasefire negotiations begins between Israel and Hamas.

Death toll in Gaza rises to 78

Medical sources said that the death toll from Israel’s attacks since midnight has now risen from 74 to 78.

This comes as the death toll from Israel’s attack on a home in central Deir el-Balah also rose from three to four.

Palestinians in north Gaza flee as Israel intensifies air raids

Israeli forces killed 115 people in north Gaza within 12 hours on Friday: Report

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor says Israel’s latest offensive in Gaza marks one of the “most extensive and lethal assaults” since the beginning of the war.

It accused Israeli troops of committing new massacres and “adopting a scorched-earth policy involving the total destruction of remaining neighbourhoods and infrastructure”.

The group said its field team documented the killing of more than 115 Palestinians in northern Gaza alone in less than 12 hours since dawn on Friday. The casualties followed Israeli air attacks on at least 10 residential homes in Tal az-Zaatar in Jabalia and al-Salatin in Beit Lahiya.

“These homes were completely destroyed with residents inside, resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians, including women and children, in what amounts to a series of mass killings reflecting an escalating pattern of systematic violence against civilians in the Strip,” it added.

Death toll in Gaza rises to 74

Medical sources say the death toll from Israel’s attacks since midnight has now risen from 72 to 74.

Families, supporters of Israeli captives rally in Tel Aviv

Death toll from Israel’s attacks on Gaza soars to 72

Medical sources say the number of people killed in Israel’s predawn attacks has now risen to 72.

At least 10 killed in Israeli attack on Gaza’s Jabalia

We’ve been covering a deadly Israeli attack on northern Jabalia an-Nazla.

We are now getting reports that at least 10 people were killed in that bombing.

The death toll from Israel’s strike on central Deir el-Balah has also risen from two to three.

Trump’s moment in the Middle East

Trump’s tour of the Middle East this week is his first international trip since he started his second term. Conspicuously absent from his itinerary, however, was Washington’s closest ally in the region: Israel.

In the US and Israeli media, the apparent snub has fuelled talk of a growing rift between Trump and Netanyahu.

Several killed, wounded in Gaza’s Jabalia

We are getting reports of more deadly Israeli attacks in northern Jabalia.

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that Israeli forces attacked a house there, killing and wounding several people.

We’ll bring you more information as soon as we have it.

Earlier, medical sources said at least 59 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli attacks since midnight. The victims include 36 people who were killed in al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.

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.