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Here’s where things stand on Saturday, May 31 2025:
- Hamas says it has submitted to the mediators its response on a United States proposal for a Gaza ceasefire deal.
- Under the deal, 10 living Israeli captives held in Gaza will be freed and 18 bodies returned in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners, according to the group.
- The United Nations says the besieged Gaza Strip is the “hungriest place on Earth”, adding that the territory’s entire 2.3 million people face “catastrophic hunger”.
- Condemnation after Israel confirms blocking a delegation of ministers from five Arab countries from completing a planned visit to Ramallah, occupied West Bank.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 54,381 Palestinians and wounded 124,054, 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.
Israeli army targeting high-rise residential buildings in Gaza City
While people are trying to hear more about the response from Hamas and a potential ceasefire agreement, they’re keeping their eyes up to the sky, trying to hide from the unpredictable falling bombs.
The Israeli military, since the early hours of this morning, is carrying out deadly attacks.
Bombs are being dropped on residential buildings in the eastern and northern parts of Gaza City.
They’re clearing the city from any of the high-rise buildings around here. Almost 10 of these buildings have been completely destroyed from the early hours of this morning.
Also, a vehicle was targeted in the past few hours in the northern part of Gaza City around a medical complex.
Three people inside the vehicle were killed.
Netanyahu’s insistence not to end war could kill captives: Israeli families
The families of Israelis still held captive in Gaza are organising another large rally calling for the release of all captives and to express their opposition to the government’s approach.
Einav Zangauker, whose sun Matan is being held in Gaza, said Netanyahu is only seeking a partial deal that does not end the war for the release of all captives – something that, he added, could spell a “death sentence” for them.
Speaking in Tel Aviv, where thousands of demonstrators are expected to gather in the coming hours, Zangauker said she has learned that her son has “miraculously” survived Israeli military bombings in Gaza and almost suffocated to death from toxic gases in a tunnel that was bombed and collapsed.
“Matan and the other living hostages will not survive the continued military pressure.”
Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is being held captive, pointed to the outline put forward by White House envoy Steve Witkoff, and said the partial deal could leave his son behind.
“He may pay the price for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s insistence on not ending the war. Netanyahu is abandoning my son in captivity and crushing the Israeli ethos, for political reasons,” Cohen said.
Israeli forces launch raids into West Bank’s Tubas, Tulkarem
Israeli soldiers and armoured vehicles have stormed the city of Tubas in the occupied West Bank. Israeli troops raided a neighbourhood in the western part of the city, but no arrests have been confirmed so far.
In Khirbet Yarza village, also in Tubas, Israeli forces told a Palestinian citizen to remove a tent he set up for his family several days ago, according to the Wafa news agency.
Israeli soldiers also launched an incursion into Tulkarem for a 125th consecutive day, setting up more military checkpoints and patrolling the streets in armoured vehicles.
Israeli settlers backed by soldiers also reportedly assaulted Palestinians during a raid in Khirbet al-Tuba, located south of Hebron.
‘Will take far more than words’ to restore West’s credibility: Amnesty chief
Agnes Callamard, the secretary-general of Amnesty International, has commented on recent remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said this week that the “credibility” of Western nations will be harmed if they don’t act on Ukraine and Gaza.
“Seriously?” Callamard wrote in a post on X. “Credibility was lost 19 months ago, the result of the West complicity or inaction to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. And it will take far more than words for it to be restored.”
In a second post, the rights advocate added that “strong actions to end Israel’s genocide, humanitarian blockade and starvation, and unlawful occupation” are needed if credibility is going to be restored.
That includes several measures, Callamard said, such as ending all weapons transfers to Israel, withdrawing from a trade pact between the European Union and Israel, and ensuring that International Criminal Court arrest warrants are implemented.
Last year, the ICC issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, on accusations that they committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.
‘Too little, too late’ – Sudden surge of Gaza genocide critique
More than 600 days into its genocidal war in Gaza, some of Israel’s closest allies have begun to condemn its actions.
Alongside the changing global narrative, growing opposition in Israel to the Netanyahu government’s war methods has seeped into the media coverage – fracturing a consensus that dates back to October 7, 2023.
No reaction yet from Israel, US
There has been no immediate reaction yet from either Israel or the US to Hamas’s statement a few minutes ago.
As we just reported, the Palestinian group said it had submitted its response to the mediators, adding that the deal would see the release of 10 captives and 18 bodies in return for Israel’s release of a number of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas also said the proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, a comprehensive withdrawal of Israeli forces, and to ensure the flow of aid into the territory.
Hamas statement includes three ‘unequivocal’ demands
These [demands from Hamas] seem to be the cornerstone of any agreement … that will bring an end to the ongoing genocidal acts on the ground. The press release by Hamas made it unequivocally clear that these three things are important.
Their response to the mediators was within a framework that will ensure a permanent ceasefire, a full and comprehensive withdrawal of the Israeli military from across the Gaza Strip, and then the free flow of humanitarian aid.
Gaza is in need of a flood of aid just to make up for the lack of many of the basic supplies.
The full withdrawal of the Israeli military from the Gaza Strip and the free flow of aid, these were the main two issues in the first phase of the [previous] ceasefire.
During the 42 days of the agreement in January, the Israeli military failed to live up to the terms of the agreement, did not allow the free flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, including much-needed heavy machinery and equipment, and other basic necessities needed for hospitals.
There was also no attempt by the Israeli military to withdraw from areas that it occupied after October 7, 2023. Many people were unable to return to their homes in the eastern and northern parts of the Gaza Strip, and in the city of Rafah.
We’re seeing these three conditions strongly visible in the response of Hamas, and the hope now is that Israel will give a positive reaction to this.
Hamas says it responded to US envoy Witkoff’s proposal
The Palestinian group says it has replied to US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s latest proposal through mediators.
“This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people,” a Hamas statement on Telegram said.
“As part of this agreement, 10 living Israeli prisoners held by the resistance will be released and 18 bodies will be returned, in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners.”
Israel’s barring of Arab delegation ‘dangerous escalation’: Palestinian VP
Hussein al-Sheikh, the vice president of Palestine, calls the decision to bar a Middle Eastern ministerial delegation from visiting the occupied West Bank a move “that reflects arrogant, provocative, and unprecedented behaviour”.
“We are examining, along with our Arab brothers, how to respond to this decision,” he said on X.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said earlier that a planned visit to Ramallah by an Arab ministerial delegation has been called off today due to Israeli obstruction.
In a statement, the ministry said the delegation – including ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – was forced to cancel after Israel denied access through the airspace over the occupied West Bank, which it controls.
If you’re just joining us…
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
- Israeli attacks have kept hammering Gaza, killing at least 14 people since dawn, report our colleagues on the ground.
- Among the victims are three children killed in a strike on their family’s tent camp, says the Wafa news agency.
- Seventy-seven trucks with flour entered Gaza overnight and early today, but they were stopped by people trying to feed their starving families, according to the UN’s food agency.
- “People say they are willing to do anything for one bag of flour or one food parcel,” says Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary from central Gaza. “They are very desperate.”
- Jordan says Israel forced an Arab ministerial delegation to cancel a planned visit to Ramallah by denying it access to airspace over the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian family says relative missing after trying to get food aid
There are still missing Palestinians who had gone to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) point when they opened and delivered food.
Families are saying that their family members are still missing. One of these cases is a man from the al-Mughari family.
The family is appealing to the ICRC, OCHA, the civil defence teams, to go and search for him in that area – very close to the Netzarim Corridor [in central Gaza].
But the Israeli authorities are rejecting all these requests.
Drone attack kills 6 in tent camp near Khan Younis: Report
Wafa reports another Israeli drone attack on a tent camp – this time in the southern town of al-Qarara near Khan Younis.
At least six people were killed, including four relatives, the agency says.
Earlier, as we reported, an Israeli attack on a tent camp in the Shati area killed five members of the same family, among them three children.
Israeli military launches dozens of Gaza strikes over past day
Israeli warplanes launched dozens of air strikes across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, with the army claiming all were “terrorist” targets, including military structure, sniper posts, and gunmen.
The army said in a statement soldiers with its paratrooper brigade killed four Palestinian fighters, and located and destroyed planted explosive devices.
Israeli aircraft killed the head of a Hamas weapons production workshop in the Sabra neighbourhood in western Gaza, it said.
As we reported earlier, the Health Ministry said 60 bodies and another 284 wounded Palestinians were brought to hospitals, excluding those in the north, during the past day.
Students stage graduation walkout at New York’s Hunter College in support of Gaza
Dozens of students walked out of a graduation ceremony at New York’s Hunter College on Friday, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans during the dean’s speech.
Footage shows the group exiting the hall to a mix of cheers from some in the audience.
Outside, the students were joined by a larger group of pro-Palestinian protesters demanding the school sever financial ties with Israel-linked companies.
Last year, a series of pro-Palestinian protests, starting at New York’s Columbia University, swept colleges across the country.
The Trump administration has since launched a campaign against pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses, including by revoking the visas of foreign students critical of Israel.
Western criticism of Israel ‘no big epiphanies that mass slaughter of Palestinians is wrong’
Yara Hawari, the co-director of Al-Shabaka: the Palestinian Policy Network, says that as Gaza’s hunger crisis deepens, even some of Israel’s staunchest Western allies are now coming out with words of criticism over “its starvation campaign”.
“It’s not because they’re having these big epiphanies that mass slaughter of Palestinians is wrong,” she told Al Jazeera.
Hawari added that as pressure on Netanyahu increases, other Israeli and foreign leaders “will be happy to scapegoat” Israel’s prime minister “as the perpetrator of this genocide in Gaza rather than face the reality that this was a genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian people by the state itself.
“So this moment presents an opportunity to put all the blame on Netanyahu, both internally and internationally,” she added.
Four killed in Israeli strike on southern Gaza
Medical sources at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis say four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire as they attempted to reach an aid distribution centre in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Since Israel broke the ceasefire on March 18, at least 4,117 Palestinians have been killed and 12,013 injured in attacks.
More than 54,381 people have been killed and 124,054 wounded since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023.
Situation in Red Crescent’s Gaza medical facilities ‘worsening by the minute’
Medical facilities run by the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Gaza are nearly out of supplies, including medicine and fuel, forcing nearly half of them to shut down, according to Tommaso Della Longa, spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
The situation is especially critical for patients with chronic illnesses, many of whom are no longer being treated, he said. “This leads to severe suffering for patients with cancer, diabetes and those needing kidney dialysis.”
“The situation is worsening minute after minute,” Della Longa added, noting that shortages persist even as tonnes of aid sit stalled at the border.
Humanitarian aid needs to enter “at scale immediately”, said Della Longa. “The time for words finished months ago. Now we need to see actions.”
Western leaders trying to ‘future-proof reputation’ with criticism over Gaza attacks
As we’ve been reporting, a number of Western leaders have in recent days spoken out against Israel’s military actions in Gaza, where the number of confirmed deaths in 19 months of Israeli attacks has exceeded 54,000.
Commenting on such statements, Natasha Lennard, a contributing writer to The Intercept, told Al Jazeera there is a great liberal centrist tradition of standing on the right side of history only when the relevant moment to do so has significantly passed.
Lennard said this tradition is being repeated now by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and other leaders, “who are willing to condemn but not stop Israel’s activities at this point”.
She said the leaders are trying to “future-proof their reputation” so they can claim they spoke up.
“But those of us who have been paying any attention at all for more than the past year and a half are all too aware that these governments have been funding and ideologically enabling Israel’s actions,” Lennard noted.
She pointed out that experts in genocide studies and humanitarians are using terms like “final solution” for what is happening in Gaza.
“That shouldn’t lead any viewers to think that this is because there’s been some sort of dramatic aberration by the Israeli military. This is a continuation and escalation in Gaza after so many months of this kind of genocidal warfare.”
Qassam Brigades reports close-quarters combat with Israeli forces in Gaza
The military wing of Hamas says that after returning from the field, its fighters reported engaging in a shootout with an invading Israeli infantry force on May 27.
The Qassam Brigades said in a short statement that Palestinian fighters ambushed Israeli soldiers and engaged them at point-blank range with light weapons, killing and wounding them.
The group said the incident took place in the al-Atatra area of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. The Israeli military has not commented on the incident.
‘Blatant violation’: Arab ministers forced to cancel Ramallah visit over Israeli curbs
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry says a planned visit to Ramallah by an Arab ministerial delegation has been called off today due to Israeli obstruction.
In a statement, the ministry said the delegation – including ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – was forced to cancel after Israel denied access through the airspace over the occupied West Bank, which it controls.
The delegation condemned the move as a “blatant violation” that “reflects the arrogance of the Israeli government” and its “disregard for international law”, according to the statement.
Earlier, as we reported, an Israeli official told Reuters that Israel would “not cooperate” with the planned visit, fearing it would promote the establishment of a Palestinian state.
People ‘desperate for one bag of flour’
Not much food is coming into the Gaza Strip. The number of trucks entering is very limited and what they are carrying is also limited.
Most Palestinians say they have not received any food because there have not been any normal distribution points.
People say they are willing to do anything for one bag of flour or one food parcel.