Here is where things stand on Thursday 29 May 2025:

• Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 37 people so far today, including 19 killed in an intense wave of strikes on central Gaza’s Bureij.
• 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 54,249 Palestinians and wounded 123,492, 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

As Israel continues to besiege the Gaza Strip, it’s also putting pressure on the occupied West Bank, ramping up both raids and illegal settlements.

Israeli media is reporting that the government has approved 22 new illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.

The UN says Israeli forces demolished more than 1,700 Palestinian buildings and homes and seized 24sq km (9sq miles) of land last year. Palestinians need Israeli military permits to build any structure in 61 percent of the occupied West Bank – which are rarely approved.

Israel’s mass displacement campaign is ‘erasing’ Gaza: Oxfam

Global advocacy group Oxfam International has accused Israel of “erasing Gaza itself” through its relentless military campaign and mass displacement orders, and called on world powers to apply real pressure on Israel to lift the siege.

The UK-based charity said Israel’s military offensive and use of displacement orders have squeezed civilians into five zones that make up less than 20 percent of Gaza’s territory.

Along with its blockade of supplies into the territory, it appeared that Israel’s strategy was not about targeting fighters, but “a deliberate campaign to dismantle and depopulate Gaza”, the group said in a statement, adding that the process of forced displacement was a war crime.

“For over 600 days, Israel has been saying it’s targeting Hamas, but it is civilians who have been corralled, bombed and killed en masse every day,” said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead in the occupied Palestinian territory.

She said the displacement orders followed a “clear and calculated pattern: using the threat of violence to herd civilians into ever-shrinking zones of confinement”.

Oxfam described the areas where Palestinians are being driven as dust-choked encampments that offered no real protection, and were often hit by Israeli strikes. Meanwhile, Israel had expanded its military presence along five “security corridors” which cut across Gaza, slicing the territory into zones.

“This isn’t counterterrorism, as Israel alleges – it’s the systematic clearing of Gaza through militarized force into enclaves of internment.”

Hamas says settlement expansion ‘a blatant challenge to international will’

Hamas has reacted to reports of Israel approving 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying the move is a “blatant challenge to international will and a grave violation of UN resolutions”.

“We call on the international community to take practical measures to confront the policies of annexation and settlement expansion, which constitute a war crime,” the group said in a statement.

The International Court of Justice last year ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible”.

Visual guide to how the Gaza aid distribution turmoil unfolded

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, thousands of starving people made the long journey to south Gaza, many walking tens of kilometres in the scorching summer heat to reach a newly established aid distribution centre run by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Among them was Walaa Abu Sa’da (35), mother of three children who decided to go to Rafah by herself.

“My children were on the verge of starving. No milk, no food, not even baby formula. They cried day and night, and I had to beg neighbours for scraps,” Abu Sa’da told Al Jazeera.

While the previous United Nations-led distribution network operated about 400 sites across the Strip, the GHF, guarded by armed private security contractors working for a US company, has set up only four “mega-sites” for Gaza’s population of about two million Palestinians.

Chaos has erupted as troops fired on desperate aid seekers near several of these sites over the past few days, killing at least 10 people.

Click here for a visual guide to the turmoil.

Israeli military raids occupied West Bank as settler attacks continue

Israeli forces have stormed the town of Duma, south of Nablus, in preparation for home demolitions, our colleagues have reported.

The Palestinian Wafa news agency said the Israeli military also blocked roads in Tulkarem and its camp, as well as the Nur Shams camp. Residents of 58 buildings in Tulkarem camp received immediate demolition orders on Wednesday and were forced to leave their homes.

Several attacks by Israeli settlers were also reported across the West Bank. Residents in the village of al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, told Al Jazeera that Palestinian farmers and shepherds were attacked in the Marj Sa’i plain.

Settlers also vandalised Palestinian agricultural land east of Yatta, south of Hebron.

Israel used internationally banned weapons in Bureij camp attack: Hospital spokesperson

Israeli forces used internationally prohibited weapons to bomb the Bureij refugee camp, says the spokesperson of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, the facility where victims and the wounded were taken to after the attack.

Bodies arrived to the hospital charred, the spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

The spokesperson also sounded the alarm on Gaza’s destroyed healthcare system, stating that 22 hospitals are completely out of service, with 70,000 children at risk of death due to malnutrition, and 11,000 patients in need of immediate treatment while there is a shortage of supplies and medicine due to Israel’s blockade.

Gaza death toll rises

At least 54,249 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza and 123,492 wounded, according to the latest update by Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The Israeli army has killed 3,986 Palestinians and wounded 11,451 others since resuming hostilities in Gaza on March 18.

The ministry added that 67 bodies and 184 injured people arrived at Gaza hospitals in the past 24 hours.

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Approval of new settlements aims to thwart two-state solution

Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim has said Israel’s decision to approve 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank aimed to cement Israel’s hold over the area and thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“They are retroactively recognising illegal settlements that already exist [to fill] in the gaps of places remaining for the Palestinians in the West Bank,” she said.

“More Western governments are now discussing recognising a Palestinian state, that’s why we have seen settler leaders pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to … cement their control.”

According to the UN, Israel demolished more than 1,700 Palestinian homes last year and seized 24 square kilometres of land. Palestinians need Israeli permits to build infrastructure in 61 percent of the occupied West Bank, which are rarely approved.

Israel’s Defence Ministry stated that the goal was “to strengthen the Israeli hold on the territory, to avoid the establishment of a Palestinian state, and to create the basis for future development of settlement in the coming decades”.

Israeli opposition leader says PM must accept ceasefire deal

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire framework mediated by a US envoy.

He said he is willing to give political support to Netanyahu to accept the deal, even if hardliners in the Israeli cabinet reject it.

“Israel must publicly and immediately accept the outline published this morning by American mediator Steve Witkoff,” Lapid posted on X.

“I remind Netanyahu: He has a full safety net from me to accept the outline, even if [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir and [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich try to torpedo it.”

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.

Limited humanitarian aid a ‘strategy’ to distract from ongoing violence: Doctor

Emergency physician James Smith, who spent several weeks working in Gaza since Israel launched its war, has criticised the Israeli-led and US-backed mechanism that began distributing some aid in Gaza this week.

“This is a strategy to distract from ongoing violence and ongoing ethnic cleansing,” the British doctor told Al Jazeera. “This strategy has long been used, it has a name, it’s called the ‘humanitarian alibi’, whereby so-called humanitarian provision distracts from the acts perpetrated by genociders and other belligerents.”

Smith said the distribution of dry food posed a question of how Palestinians would be able to find water to cook it with. The distribution of much-needed medicine has also not been addressed.

Such conditions leave medics largely unable to respond to emergencies. “I’ve worked with medics who had spent the previous day and night looking for food for themselves and their family, living in tents, being subjected to the same conditions as everyone else,” Smith said. “Everyone is collectively traumatised by Israel’s violence in Gaza.”

Almost 700 attacks on medical facilities and personnel have been documented, but Smith said the figure was likely to be “a gross underestimation”.

What’s happening in the occupied West Bank?

Here are the latest updates:

• Israeli forces are currently storming the village of al-Mughair, northeast of Ramallah, to carry out home demolitions, our colleagues report.
• Israeli forces have been raiding the city of Nablus for the last few hours, with an intense deployment of soldiers and military vehicles. Troops have forced dozens of residents living near the slain Jafar Muna home to vacate their homes. Muna’s house is being demolished by Israeli forces, as authorities claim he was responsible for a bombing in Tel Aviv in 2024. Local sources reported that the Israeli forces fired sound bombs during their storming of the old town in Nablus.
• Israeli settlers destroyed Palestinian agricultural land east of Yatta, south of Hebron, sources told Al Jazeera.
• Israeli forces stormed the town of Ceres, south of Jenin, and surrounded a house, alongside an intense army deployment in the vicinity of the town.
• Israeli forces arrested five Palestinians during a raid on several homes in the town of Zeita, north of Tulkarem, before withdrawing, following a 24-hour assault on the town. Sources reported that troops carried out a campaign of raids and searches of several homes. They also set up military checkpoints at the town’s entrances, preventing residents from moving, detaining a few, and interrogating them on the spot.

Gaza Health Ministry says cancer treatment in ‘catastrophic’ condition

The Health Ministry has said intravenous chemotherapy and medical follow-up services for cancer patients in the Gaza Strip have been suspended, while 64 percent of cancer medications are out of stock.

The evacuation of the European Hospital and the Gaza Cancer Centre exacerbated the situation, the statement said, adding that 11,000 cancer patients are without adequate treatment and healthcare.

“Cancer patients are trapped in catastrophic health, social, psychological and economic conditions,” it said. “[We call] on all parties to pressure [Israel] to enable patients to travel for treatment abroad and bring in the necessary medication.”

Third US, Israeli aid centre to begin operating today: Israeli Army Radio

The third US and Israel-backed aid centre will open today in central Gaza, south of the Netzarim Corridor, Israel’s Army Radio has reported.

The new distribution centre, like the two that have already opened, will be able to provide food and humanitarian aid to 300,000 Palestinians every week, the army-operated station stated.

The location of the new centre is intended to push people from Gaza City and the northern part of the Strip to evacuate south, it added.

“The mission is to break the barrier of fear. We are already recognising the beginning of Hamas’s deterioration and loss of control over the population,” security officials were quoted as saying by the station.

The aid centres, run by an organisation called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, have faced international criticism, including from the UN and humanitarian groups.

At least 10 Palestinians desperately seeking aid from the organisation have been killed by Israeli forces in the past three days.

More on deadly Israeli attack on Bureij refugee camp

Israeli military warplanes have launched a series of deadly air strikes on a residential neighbourhood in the Bureij refugee camp. Three houses were consecutively targeted without any prior warning.

The death toll is shocking – 19 Palestinians were killed in the attack. Casualties were transported to both al-Awda Hospital and Al-Aqsa Hospital.

There has been a state of alert in the emergency department as emergency services said they spent at least 30 minutes recovering casualties from the site of the strike. They have been going back and forth from the site of the attack, saying they have left behind a trail of destruction.

Three civilians were also killed in a new air strike on a residential house in Jabalia town, while Gaza’s Health Ministry confirmed that since dawn today, 37 Palestinians have been killed as Israeli military operations on the ground continue to ramp up.

Gaza’s healthcare system has been dismantled by Israeli blockade, attacks

The United Nations Security Council has held a briefing focused on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Speakers condemned Israel’s actions of denying aid to Palestinians and attacking them in displacement camps.

Dr Feroze Sidhwa, a US-based physician who has volunteered at Gaza hospitals over the course of the war, says Israel is carrying out “the deliberate destruction” of the healthcare system in the enclave.

Major strikes on central Gaza kill 19, Health Ministry says

A series of Israeli attacks on residential buildings in the Bureij refugee camp have killed 19 people, the ministry confirmed.

This brings today’s death toll to at least 37 people killed by the Israeli army.

We will bring you more on this shortly.

Another journalist killed by Israel

The Gaza Journalists Syndicate says that Moataz Raja was “assassinated” by the Israeli army while covering its war on the Strip.

It said that an Israeli aircraft targeted a civilian vehicle he was riding on al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City, killing him instantly.

At least 221 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to syndicate figures.

Israeli forces kill two in Gaza

Our team on the ground says that another Palestinian seeking aid has been killed near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid point in Khan Younis.

As we reported yesterday, at least 10 other starving people seeking aid have been killed near one of the US and Israeli-sponsored aid points in the southern Strip in recent days.

Elswhere in the south, our correspondent says that a body was recovered from under the rubble of a home in Abasan al-Kabira, struck earlier by Israeli bombs.

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.

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.

UK and Irish writers pen open letter calling for Gaza ceasefire

Nearly 380 writers from the UK and Ireland have signed an open letter demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, labelling Israel’s actions in the enclave a “genocide”.

The letter, signed by high-profile writers including Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan and Jeanette Winterson, called on the world “to join us in ending our collective silence and inaction in the face of horror”.

The letter also called for the immediate distribution of food and medical aid in Gaza, as well as sanctions on Israel.

“This genocide implicates us all,” it concluded. “We bear witness to the crimes of genocide, and we refuse to approve them by our silence.”

The letter comes a day after 300 French-language writers, including Nobel Literature prize winners Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio and Annie Ernaux, put their names to a similar letter decrying Israel’s actions.

On Monday, more than 800 UK-based legal experts, including former senior judges, wrote to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling for sanctions on Israel, and warning that “urgent and decisive action is required to avert the destruction of the Palestinian people of Gaza.”

PFLP urges global action to stop Israel’s war on Gaza

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has put out a statement regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip.

Here are its translated comments:

• As the 600th day of the war of extermination passes, we call for an escalation of global and Arab popular anger to stop the aggression.
• The priority is to stop the aggression and break the siege on Gaza.
• This is the responsibility of the international community and humanity as a whole.

Gaza death toll rises

Israeli military attacks since the start of the war have killed at least 54,084 Palestinians and wounded 123,308 others, according to the latest update by Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The Israeli army has killed 3,924 Palestinians and wounded 11,267 others since violating the ceasefire agreement on March 18.

The ministry added that 28 bodies and 179 injured people arrived at Gaza hospitals in the past 24-hour reporting period.

Pope Leo laments deaths of children in Gaza, appeals for ceasefire

The pope has called for an end to the onslaught in Gaza during a weekly general audience in Saint Peter’s Square.

“In the Gaza Strip, the intense cries are reaching Heaven more and more from mothers and fathers who hold tightly to the bodies of their dead children,” the pontiff, who was elected on May 8 to replace the late Pope Francis, said.

“To those responsible, I renew my appeal: stop the fighting,” he added. “Liberate all the hostages. Completely respect humanitarian law.”

Israeli air strike in central Gaza leads to casualties

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that an unspecified number of people have been wounded in an Israeli air strike on Nuseirat refugee camp.

At least 15 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since dawn, medical sources have told Al Jazeera.

Israeli army says it confiscated $2m in West Bank money exchange raids

The Israeli army has said it confiscated more than 7 million shekels ($2m) during raids on money exchanges in the West Bank yesterday, which killed at least one Palestinian and wounded more than 30.

It added that 30 wanted individuals had been arrested during the military operation. On Tuesday, the army claimed it targeted foreign exchanges on suspicions that the shops supported “terrorism”.

Smoke above Yemeni capital after Israeli strikes

Video posted on social media and verified by Al Jazeera shows smoke rising above Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, following Israeli strikes on the city.

Israel said its air force hit Houthi targets at Sanaa International Airport on Tuesday. The strikes were also reported by Houthi-affiliated media.

The Houthis had launched missiles towards Israel yesterday.

Israel has been striking Yemen intensely in recent weeks, previously hitting Sanaa airport on May 6.

Malnutrition hindering recovery for Palestinians

UK-based surgeon Waseem Saeed expressed deep concern over the dire medical and nutritional shortages faced by Palestinians and medics alike. According to him, food plays a critical role in recovery, stating “the most important medical supply is nutrition”.

“It’s pointless operating on people if they’re not going to heal. And what you now have is a year and a half plus of people on very poor diets, very little nutritional food,” he told Al Jazeera.

“I consider myself a reasonable plastic surgeon, but I’d be lucky if I got 50 percent take on some of the skin grafts.

“You take stitches out at the normal time, and the wounds start to open up, so you have to put them back in. We are seeing the effects of this very poor state of nutrition,” he added.

Gaza hospitals inundated with patients suffering from injuries to multiple parts of the body

Waseem Saeed, a UK-based plastic and reconstructive surgeon who recently returned from his third humanitarian mission to Gaza, says there are “multiple mass casualty” events occurring in the war-ravaged coastal enclave.

“Previously, we would see them on a steady basis, but this time, particularly towards the end of my mission, every day there would be people coming in with horrific injuries, sometimes twice a day,” he told Al Jazeera.

He said treating the wounded was far more complex than most imagine, noting they had “multiple sites of injuries”.

“They have blast injuries to their lungs. They may have a head injury at the same time, they have abdominal or chest injuries. They almost always have limb injuries, amputations, partial amputations, and are often covered in shrapnel and frequently burned as well,” he said.

“Now each of those patients is going to require multiple specialities operating on them at different times, often several hours of surgery.”

Crisis in Gaza cannot be addressed by weaponising humanitarian assistance: Lazzarini

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has criticised the US-backed aid distribution mechanism led by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) during a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo.

“The crisis in Gaza cannot be addressed by weaponising humanitarian assistance, to apply political and military pressure,” he told reporters. “Aid must be brought in Gaza without obstruction.”

Commenting on the scenes of chaos on Tuesday, when the Israeli military fired shots at famished Palestinians who stormed a distribution site in southern Gaza, Lazzarini said the incident was “chaotic, undignified and unsafe”.

“I believe it is a waste of resources and a distraction from atrocities,” he said of the mechanism put in place by the US and Israel. “We already have an aid distribution system that is fit for purpose. The humanitarian community in Gaza, including UNRWA, is ready.”

Mapping Israel’s military campaign in the occupied West Bank

Israel is applying many of the tactics used in its war on Gaza to seize and control territory across the occupied West Bank during its Iron Wall campaign, a new report says.

Israel launched the operation in January. Defending what the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) termed “by far the longest and most destructive operation in the occupied West Bank since the second intifada in the 2000s”, the Israeli military claimed its intention was to preserve its “freedom of action” within the Palestinian territory as it continued to rip up roads and destroy buildings, infrastructure, and water and electricity lines.

The report by the British research group Forensic Architecture suggested Israel has imposed what researchers call a system of “spatial control”, essentially a series of mechanisms that allow it to deploy military units across Palestinian territory at will.

Read more here.

Casualties following Israeli shelling in southern Gaza

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that two people were wounded by Israeli drone fire in the al-Mawasi area, west of Rafah.

More injuries were reported as a result of Israeli army attacks in the Qizan Rashwan area, south of Khan Yunis, also in southern Gaza.

Lack of water, electricity makes dry food aid unusable

Even if people here in Gaza managed to get their hands on humanitarian supplies, the lack of water and electricity turns these supplies into limited-use items – if not completely unusable.

It’s impossible to cook dry food like lentils, rice or pasta without water. If you had water, you would also need electricity or a fuel source, which have been completely cut off.

People resort to burning scrap wood or plastic to make a fire, but this is dangerous and unsustainable.

Also, the amount of aid that has been entering Gaza remains nowhere near the amount needed.

‘Whoever harms us will be harmed sevenfold’: Israeli defence minister

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has confirmed that the air force hit the Yemeni airport in the capital, Sanaa, to strike Houthi positions.

“This is a clear message and a direct continuation of the policy we have established: whoever fires at the State of Israel will pay heavy prices,” Katz said, adding that the retaliation was part of a military operation dubbed “Golden Jewel”.

“The ports in Yemen will continue to be severely damaged, and the airport in Sanaa will be destroyed again and again, as will other strategic infrastructure in the region used by the Houthi terrorist organisation and its supporters.”

Katz said the Houthis would also face a naval and air blockade. “Whoever harms us will be harmed sevenfold,” he added.

UN reports 47 Palestinians wounded in aid distribution violence in Rafah, many by Israeli gunfire

A UN official says 47 Palestinians were wounded, mainly by gunfire, during the deadly aid distribution incident in Rafah on Tuesday.

Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office for the Palestinian territory, told reporters in Geneva that it appeared Israeli army fire had caused most of the injuries.

Earlier, authorities in Gaza said three people were killed, 46 were injured, and seven were missing.

Houthi media details Israeli strikes on Yemen

As we reported earlier, the Israeli military bombed Sanaa International Airport in Yemen’s capital.

Houthi-affiliated media network Al Masirah is now saying that four Israeli air strikes targeted the runway at Sanaa Airport and a Yemenia Airways plane.

The outlet did not make any mention of casualties resulting from the strikes.

How common is Israel’s use of human shields in Gaza and the West Bank?

A recent report by The Associated Press that exposed the Israeli military’s “systematic” use of Palestinians as human shields has shone the light on an illegal practice that has become commonplace over the 19-month war in Gaza and parallel offensives in the West Bank.

The report, published on Saturday, featured the testimonies of seven Palestinians who had been used as human shields in Gaza as well as the occupied West Bank, with two Israeli military officers confirming the ubiquity of the practice, which is considered a violation of international law.

Responding to the allegations, Israel’s military told the news agency that using civilians as shields in its operations was strictly prohibited and that several cases were under investigation.

So what are human shields? How widely have they been used by the Israeli military? And is Israel likely to launch a crackdown any time soon?

Read our explainer here.

Israel again hits Sanaa airport

The Israeli Air Force has hit Houthi targets at Sanaa International Airport in Yemen, the army has said in a post on X. Houthi affiliate media is also reporting strikes on the capital’s airport.

The Houthis launched missiles towards Israel yesterday.

Israel has been attacking targets in Yemen intensely this month, hitting the Sanaa airport on May 6 and the ports of Hodeidah and as-Salif last week.

We will bring you more on this as information comes in.

UNRWA calls for urgent access to Gaza as Palestinian children continue to suffer

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has drawn attention to the struggles of Gaza’s most vulnerable children, urging unrestricted access to the coastal enclave.

“The people of Gaza cannot wait any longer. Full humanitarian access must be allowed, including for UNRWA, to deliver life-saving aid,” it said in a post on X.

Thousands of children in Gaza were at risk of imminent death after a nearly three-month total Israeli blockade on the besieged enclave, which has caused famine, the UN warned earlier this month.

France wants Palestinian two-state solution, Macron says

The French president has reiterated his wish to see a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, claiming there are no double standards in French policy towards the Middle East.

Macron is leaning towards recognising a Palestinian state, diplomats and experts say, according to the Reuters news agency, a move that could infuriate Israel and deepen Western splits.

“Only a political solution will make it possible to restore peace and build for the long term,” Macron said, speaking from Indonesia.

“Together with Saudi Arabia, we will soon be organising a conference on Gaza in New York to give fresh impetus to the recognition of a Palestinian state and the recognition of the State of Israel and its right to live in peace and security in this region.”

• UN chief Guterres says the aid Israel allowed into Gaza amounts to a “teaspoon”, says Israel continues to delay aid distribution.
• More than 50 Palestinians were killed or remain missing after an Israeli air strike on a residential building in northern Gaza.
• Gaza’s Health Ministry says 29 children and elderly people who died in recent days in Gaza have been registered as “starvation-related deaths”, and thousands more are at risk of starving.
• Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 53,822 Palestinians and wounded 122,382, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.

Vast majority of Israelis support Palestinian displacement: Israeli poll

A new poll from highly regarded Israeli newspaper Haaretz says that no less than 82 percent of Israelis support the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. Among those secular Israelis polled, 69 percent support the forced displacement.

Fifty-six percent of those Haaretz polled support the expulsion of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, the newspaper said.

Israeli attacks kill 66 people in Gaza since dawn

At least 66 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air attacks across the Gaza Strip since dawn today, Gaza’s Health Ministry reports.

Swiss NGO asks authourities to investigate US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

TRIAL International has asked authorities to investigate the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed organisation that plans to oversee a new model of aid distribution in the Palestinian enclave that the UN opposes.

TRIAL International said it had filed two legal submissions asking Swiss authorities to investigate GHF, which is registered in Geneva.

“We’re asking Switzerland to exercise their own obligation under the Geneva Conventions to respect international humanitarian law … there are very grave issues at stake,” Philip Grant, the group’s executive director, told the Reuters news agency.

GHF, in turn, told Reuters it “strictly adheres” to humanitarian principles, and that it would not support any form of forced relocation of civilians.

The UN has criticised the GHF’s aid plan as one not impartial or neutral, and which forces further displacement and exposes thousands of people to harm.

Palestinians injured as settlers rampage through the West Bank

Israeli settlers have attacked a community of Bruqin in the occupied West Bank, setting fire to cars and houses. 

Several Palestinians suffered burns.

‘Genocide must be stopped’: Colombia’s Petro

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has condemned Israel’s assault on Gaza and the recent warning that thousands of babies were at risk of starving to death in the territory.

“In the 21st Century, humanity cannot be a silent witness to a genocide,” Petro wrote on social media, warning that humanity will be lost if people do not speak out.

Petro is among a group of left-wing leaders in Latin America who have voiced criticism of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza since it began in October 2023.

Last year, Colombia announced it was seeking to join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians.

‘People have been starved’: UNRWA chief says no surprise to see looting

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), says the aid trickling in to Gaza is “a needle in a haystack” amid dire conditions.

“The people of #Gaza have been starved + deprived of the basics including water & medicines for more than 11 weeks. Mothers and fathers have run out of food for their children. Older people died because of lack of medicines,” he wrote in a post on X.

“A meaningful & uninterrupted flow of aid is the only way to prevent the current disaster from spiraling further,” Lazzarini added.

As we’ve been reporting, the WFP said 15 of its trucks carrying food supplies were looted last night in southern Gaza. “Hunger, desperation and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming, is contributing to rising insecurity,” the UN agency said.

If you’re just joining us

Here is a recap of recent developments:

• UN chief Guterres stressed that Israel has obligations under international law to provide aid that is needed to people in Gaza.
• Eight people, including seven children, have been killed in an Israeli attack in the south of Khan Younis, Gaza’s civil defence says.
• At least 94 percent of all hospitals in Gaza are damaged or destroyed, with northern Gaza “stripped of nearly all healthcare”, according to the WHO.
• Hamas has welcomed a joint statement issued by 80 countries, which affirmed that Gaza is facing “the worst humanitarian crisis” since October 2023.
• More than 900 figures from the cinema world have signed an open letter denouncing “genocide” in Gaza.
• Israeli operations have killed 91 Palestinians in the besieged, occupied West Bank refugee camps, according to the Al-Haq rights group.

Israeli army says intercepted projectile fired from Gaza

In a brief statement, the military says no casualties were reported.

The projectile was intercepted after it crossed from Gaza towards Israeli territory, it said.

Guterres speech highlights ‘real frustration’ with Israel

We’ve heard the secretary-general say this before, but he again reaffirmed it today.

He was reminding the world that Israel has clear obligations under international law as the occupying power to not only provide aid to the population that they are occupying, but also not to forcibly displace any population.

We’ve heard this before but I think [we’re] sensing some real frustration not only from the secretary-general but from other UN officials, that their calls have so far gone unheeded.

The secretary-general once again was calling out to the world to do whatever they can – whichever nations have leverage, to use that leverage on Israel right now.

Protesters rally in Yemen’s capital Sanaa

More from UN chief

Here’s more from Guterres’s news conference at the UN:

• “We are working around the clock to get whatever aid we can to people in need, and we managed to distribute some wheat, flour, baby food, nutrition supplements and medicine.”
• The assistance authorised to enter Gaza up until now “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required”.
• “Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute along with unnecessary delay procedures,” Guterres tells reporters.
• He says Israel’s military offensive is intensifying “with atrocious levels of death and destruction” and notes that four-fifths of Gaza’s territory is a “no-go zone” for Palestinians.
• He reiterates that the UN will not take part in any alternative aid schemes that do not adhere to humanitarian principles, and says the world body has the system and staff needed to deliver assistance in Gaza.
• “The big picture is that without rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access, more people will die and the long-term consequences on the entire population will be profound.”

Palestinian camps in Lebanon to begin disarming in June

The disarmament of Palestinian camps in Lebanon will begin next month, based on an accord with visiting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a Lebanese government official told the AFP news agency.

The report said the two sides have agreed to begin the process of removing weapons from the camps, beginning mid-June in the Beirut camps, with other camps to follow.

The deal came during the first meeting of a joint Lebanese-Palestinian committee announced yesterday to discuss the issue of the camps.

A statement from the committee released by the premier’s office said it agreed to “launch the process of handing over weapons according to a specific timetable, accompanied by practical steps to bolster the economic and social rights of Palestinian refugees”.

Abbas has been in Beirut since Wednesday for talks on disarming the Palestinian refugee camps, as Lebanon seeks to impose its authourity on all its territory.

Palestinians enduring ‘cruellest phase of this cruel conflict’: Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says “families are being starved and denied the very basics, all with the world watching in real time”.

Speaking to reporters at UN headquarters in New York, Guterres stressed that Israel has obligations under international law to provide aid that is needed to people in Gaza.

“Finally, a trickle of aid has crossed over. In recent days, almost 400 trucks were cleared for entry to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem] crossing. But supplies from only 115 trucks have been able to be collected, and nothing has reached the besieged north,” he said.

We’ll bring you more of his remarks shortly.

‘Hunger, desperation, anxiety’ see 15 WFP aid trucks looted

Fifteen World Food Programme (WFP) trucks, carrying food supplies, were looted late last night in southern Gaza, while en route to WFP-supported bakeries, the organisation said in a statement.

“Hunger, desperation and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming, is contributing to rising insecurity,” the organisation said.

“We need support from the Israeli authorities to get far greater volumes of food assistance into Gaza faster, more consistently, and transported along safer routes, as was done during the ceasefire.”

WFP said the need for distributing food parcels directly to families is the “most effective way to prevent widespread starvation”.

Israeli attacks push forcibly displaced Palestinians into ‘death trap’ evacuation zone

The majority of the people evacuated from the northern part of the Strip are being pushed into displacement sites on the coastal road on the western side of Gaza City, particularly in the sea port area. And from the eastern part of Khan Younis all the way to al-Mawasi evacuation zone that has not been largely safe for displaced people.

We’ve seen many people killed inside this particular evacuation zone that has evolved in the past months into more of a death trap for many displaced families from different parts of the Gaza Strip.

Also, the Israeli military did not stop its air strikes.

We are talking about an air strike in the northern part of the Strip where major residential blocks have been flattened and turned into fields of rubble, as well as three people reported killed in the city of Deir el-Balah as a drone strike targeted a residential flat in the heart of the city.

French foreign minister calls Israel’s accusations of anti-Semitism ‘absurd’

Jean-Noel Barrot has responded to Israel’s accusation that European countries are inciting hatred by saying France is “indefectibly attached to the security of Israel”.

“Accusing of encouraging anti-Semitism or [supporting] Hamas whoever defends the two-state solution is absurd and slanderous,” Barrot said in a statement posted on X.

Barrot also said France supports Hamas being “disarmed and permanently excluded from the political future of Gaza”.

Following the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers on Wednesday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused European governments of inciting anti-Semitic violence through their criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Palestinian and Lebanese leaders agree to bring camps under state control

The agenda of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s state visit to Lebanon was dominated by talks of disarming Palestinian factions in Lebanon. A joint committee has also been established to bring Palestinian refugee camps under Lebanese state control.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reports from Beirut.

Speculation mounts over potential rift between Trump and Netanyahu

Netanyahu has often tried to paint himself as a close friend of Trump, but the relationship has rarely been as straightforward as the Israeli premier has portrayed it.

And recently, speculation across the Israeli media that the relationship between the two leaders, and by extension, their countries, has begun to unravel is becoming unavoidable.

Read more here.

Hamas slams Israeli attack on medical depot in northern Gaza hospital

The attack on the warehouse at al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia is a further attempt to target Gaza’s health sector and destroy what remains of it, Hamas says in a statement on Telegram.

“[Israel] continues its horrific violation of international laws and humanitarian norms by directly targeting hospitals and inhabited homes, relying on American political and military cover and a shameful state of international impotence.”

The statement called on the UN and the remainder of the international community to take “immediate action… to ensure an end to the horrific massacre in the Gaza Strip”.

As we reported on Thursday, that Israeli attack started a fire at a medicine depot at Jabalia’s al-Awda Hospital.

Josh Paul resigned over Gaza. What comes next?

Former US State Department staffer Josh Paul was the first US official to resign over Israel’s war on Gaza.

Paul joins Al Jazeera’s The Take to explain why he stepped down, his new efforts lobbying in Washington, and why he believes that US support for Israel’s war fuels conflict abroad and makes Americans less safe at home.

Gaza death toll rises

Gaza’s Health Ministry says:

• At least 60 people have been killed and 185 wounded in the last 24 hours.
• Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 53,822 Palestinians and wounded 122,382.
• Since March 18, when Israel broke the ceasefire, at least 3,673 people have been killed and 10,341 wounded.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said the camps in Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams were now “empty” and would be occupied by the Israeli military for the coming year.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has deployed a tank division around the city of Jenin – the first time it has done so since 2002. The Palestinian Authority condemned the move.

The UN said earlier this month that Israel’s operation, which began on 21 January and was intensified in recent days, had led to the “forced displacement” of 40,000 people.

“So far, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams, which are now empty of residents,” Israel Katz said in a statement.

“I have instructed [troops] to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared camps for the coming year and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism.”

He also said that Israel had instructed the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) to stop operating in the area.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, described the decision to deploy tanks as a “dangerous Israeli escalation that will not lead to stability or calm”.

The IDF said in a statement that its forces are “continuing the operation to thwart terrorism” and are expanding their “offensive activity” – which so far has involved drones, tanks, special forces, border police, and operatives from the intelligence agency Shin Bet.

The UN said on Thursday that since Israeli operations began on 21 January, 51 Palestinians, including seven children, have been killed in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas governorates, as well as three Israeli soldiers.

The offensive has caused severe damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, disrupting access to water to “tens of thousands of people”, it said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Tulkarm refugee camp on Friday and ordered the army to intensify “operational activity”, his office said.

“We are entering terrorist strongholds, flattening entire streets that terrorists use, and their homes. We are eliminating terrorists, commanders,” Netanyahu said.

His visit followed the explosion of three buses in Tel Aviv, which Israeli officials described as a “suspected terror attack” that was caused by bombs of the kind previously found in the West Bank.

Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War and has since built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

The troops opened fire on a Palestinian family at the camp, killing Sondos Jamal Muhammad Shalabi and critically injuring her husband, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement on Sunday.

The  ministry said medical teams were unable to save the 23-year-old woman’s fetus, because the Israeli military prevented them from transferring the injured couple to a hospital.

Palestine’s Wafa news agency said the Israeli army raided the camp in occupied West Bank’s Tulkarem region early on Sunday and deployed heavy machinery and bulldozers, raiding dozens of homes as reconnaissance planes flew at low altitudes.

Local sources told Al Jazeera Arabic they also heard sounds of heavy gunfire and huge explosions.

Earlier, the Palestine Red Crescent Society also said Israeli soldiers prevented its medical teams from entering the camp, despite reports of casualties.

Israel, which claimed its operation targeted what it called “disruptive activities” in the camp, has imposed a curfew in the area.

The raid on Nur Shams camp came as Israeli forces continue their weeks-long military operation in the north of the occupied West Bank, targeting Jenin, camps in Tulkarem and Far’a in Tubas governorate.

The assaults have displaced more than 26,000 Palestinians from their homes in Jenin and Tulkarem in the past few weeks.

Since a ceasefire in Gaza was announced last month, Israel has increased the frequency and intensity of its attacks across the occupied West Bank.

Wafa reported that more Israeli military reinforcements have been deployed towards Far’a camp from the Hamra checkpoint, as Israeli forces continue to destroy infrastructure and private property in the area.

Raids on citizens’ homes and field interrogations have also been ongoing, a day after Israeli soldiers forcibly displaced dozens of families, with some of them now sheltering in schools. At least eight Palestinians were arrested in Far’a.

Another eight soldiers were wounded when a Palestinian gunman opened fire at a checkpoint in Tayasir village, 2km (1.2 miles) north of Tubas, a military statement said. The attacker was shot dead, it said.

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad praised the attack as a response to the Israeli operation in Tubas, Jenin and Tulkarm, but neither said they were behind it.

Meanwhile, a UN official warned the situation in Jenin’s refugee camp was heading in a “catastrophic direction”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the start of a large-scale operation to “defeat terrorism” in Jenin on 21 January, three days after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect. The operation was expanded into Tulkarm and Tubas last week.

The Palestinian health ministry says Israeli forces have killed 70 Palestinians across the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, since the start of the year.

The figure includes the 25 reported killed in the Jenin area and 13 in the Tubas and Tulkarm areas over the past two weeks.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said it killed about 55 “terrorists” and arrested 380 wanted individuals across the West Bank in January.

Israeli media reported that the Palestinian who carried out Tuesday’s shooting attack in Tayasir was able to sneak up to a military post next to the checkpoint before opening fire with an M16 rifle at soldiers stationed there.

Soldiers fired back and a gun battle lasted several minutes before the attacker was killed, they said.

The IDF named the two soldiers who were killed as Sgt Maj Ofer Yung, 39, and Sgt Maj Avraham Friedman, 43.

Two of the eight wounded soldiers were in a serious condition in hospital, it said.

The head of the IDF’s Central Command, Maj Gen Avi Bluth, said the attack was “a demonstration of the necessity of the counterterrorism operation in [the West Bank]”.

“We are determined to continue the operation, expand it as needed, and achieve victory,” he added.

Hamas praised what it described as the “heroic and qualitative operation carried out by a Palestinian resistance fighter” in Tayasir, saying that it showed “the crimes of the occupation and its aggression against the northern occupied West Bank will not go unpunished”.

On Monday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesman alleged that the Israeli operation was part of a wider effort aimed at “displacing citizens and ethnic cleansing”.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva on Tuesday, Juliette Touma of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) warned of the deteriorating situation at Jenin refugee camp.

Hundreds of Israeli security forces backed by helicopters, drones and armoured bulldozers have been carrying out raids in the camp, long seen as a stronghold of armed groups.

“Large parts of the camp were completely destroyed in a series of detonations by the Israeli forces. It is estimated that 100 houses were destroyed or heavily damaged,” Ms Touma said.

“This detonation that happened on Sunday was when children were supposed to go back to school,” she added.

The IDF said on Sunday that it had “dismantled” 23 structures where explosives laboratories, weapons, observation posts and other infrastructure belonging to armed groups were located.

Ms Touma also said that Unrwa, which has been unable to provide services in the camp since early December, had received no prior warning of the explosions from Israeli authorities.

On Thursday, two laws passed by Israel’s parliament last year which bans Unrwa activity on Israeli soil and forbids contact between Israeli officials and Unrwa employees came into force. Israeli officials accuse Unrwa of being complicit with Hamas – an allegation the agency denies.

Ms Touma said the Israeli government had “not communicated to Unrwa how they intend to implement” the laws, and that Unrwa teams were currently “staying and delivering”.

There has been a spike in violence in the West Bank since Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed as Israeli forces have intensified their raids, saying they are trying to stem deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank and Israel.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Video footage reportedly from the town of Tamun showed chaotic scenes, badly damaged buildings and bloodstained streets.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted a squad of “armed terrorists” on guidance from the Shin Bet security service.

In contrast to Gaza, where there is an ongoing but fragile ceasefire, Israel has increased its military operations in the West Bank in the past week, particularly in and around the city of Jenin, just to the north of Tamun.

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Hundreds of Israeli security forces backed by helicopters, drones and armoured vehicles have been deployed to Jenin and its refugee camp, long seen as a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

More than 20,000 people have reportedly fled their homes in the camp, where many homes have been demolished and roads have been dug up by Israeli bulldozers.

“It’s terrifying, the explosions, the fires, the houses which were demolished,” Intisar Amalka, a displaced camp resident, told Reuters news agency on Wednesday.

The Palestinian health ministry says 16 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and dozens more wounded in the Jenin area since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the start of a large-scale operation to “defeat terrorism” on 21 January.

They have included a two-year-old girl, who died on Saturday after being shot in the head, and at least six members of armed groups, according to Reuters news agency.

The health ministry says another 14 Palestinians have been killed elsewhere in the northern West Bank over the same period, including the 10 who died in Wednesday’s strike in Tamun.

On Wednesday afternoon, the IDF said Israeli security forces had killed 18 “terrorists” and detained 60 “wanted individuals” in recent days in Jenin and the Tulkarm area, where they began a separate operation on Monday. Numerous weapons had also been located and dozens of explosive devices dismantled, it added.

Hamas urged Palestinians in the West Bank “to engage by all means in resisting the occupation, its soldiers and settler militias”.

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During a visit to Jenin refugee camp on Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the IDF would remain there once the operation was over.

“The Jenin refugee camp will not be what it was,” he said. “After the operation is completed, IDF forces will remain in the camp to ensure that terrorism does not return.”

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned what it called Katz’s “provocative raid on Jenin and his inciting statements”. It also called on the US to intervene urgently to “stop the transfer of scenes of destruction from Gaza to the West Bank”.

There have been a number of previous Israeli military operations in Jenin.

And recently, the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority’s security forces carried out a controversial, weeks-long operation against armed groups there, trying to reassert their control.

There has been a spike in violence in the West Bank since Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed as Israeli forces have intensified their raids, saying they are trying to stem deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank and Israel.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Ronen Bar said Israel was in the midst of a multi-front campaign, but that “right now, it’s Samaria’s [northern West Bank] time”.

Israeli forces have been carrying out a major military operation in and around the West Bank city of Jenin since Tuesday.

The Israeli army’s chief, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, has talked of bringing Jenin to “a different place” through continued military pressure there.

Army vehicles are currently controlling the entrance to Jenin’s main hospital, and have blocked access to Jenin refugee camp – home to both civilians and armed Palestinian groups.

The roads into the camp – some of them torn up by military bulldozers – are guarded by small groups of soldiers, who raised their weapons when we approached.

On Thursday, a stream of men, women and children left the camp, picking their way past the military vehicles and over the rubble of the road, to the sound of explosions and gunfire behind them.

“The situation is horrible,” said Adel, a taxi driver. “I live on al-Awda Street, and I’m the last one to leave. There’s no one there.”

Adel said the army had dropped leaflets in the camp, telling people to leave their homes.

“Everyone has to leave before 17:00,” he told me. “God knows what they’re going to do.”

Many of those leaving the camp on Thursday, clutching children, pets and plastic bags full of clothes, told us they had received instructions from the army to leave – either by announcements from drones or trucks, or through the leaflets.

The BBC has seen photos of leaflets said to have been dropped inside the camp, and heard recordings believed to be of the Israeli announcements, which appear to corroborate what the residents said.

But Israel’s government spokesman, David Mencer, told journalists in a briefing that there had been “no evacuation orders whatsoever” for the people of Jenin.

“People in Jenin not connected with terrorism are free to leave, to get away from our action,” he said. But he described reports of evacuation orders as “fake news, probably spread by supporters of Hamas”.

Israel says it aims to destroy the armed groups here – backed by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – and stop them carrying out attacks against Israeli targets.

It is worried about the West Bank becoming the next focus for Iranian influence and arms.

But a show of force here after the ceasefire in Gaza also plays well with those in Israel who not only want to continue the war there, but want to annex the West Bank as well.

Twelve Palestinians are reported to have been killed in the operation and dozens injured, including two men suspected of murdering three Israelis in a shooting attack earlier this month.

Qutaiba Shalabi and Mohammed Nazzal were killed after a fierce gun battle with Israeli forces on Wednesday night in Burqin, just west of Jenin.

Hamas put out a statement claiming them as its fighters.

But civilians have also been killed during the operation.

Ahmed al-Shayeb owned a mobile phone shop in Jenin – a well-known businessman, not a fighter, locals said.

He was shot dead by Israeli forces, as he drove down a road near Jenin’s refugee camp, with his 10-year-old son Taym in the car.

“They started shooting, and a bullet hit him,” Taym told reporters at his father’s funeral on Wednesday.

“He said, ‘God, God,’ then the car hit the pavement. I saw two army vehicles coming toward us. They started to shoot towards the car, but I jumped out and ran away.”

Israel’s army says the incident is under review.

Many people here told us this raid felt different to the many others Israel has carried out since Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.

“It’s different this time – they’re striking everywhere. It’s like Gaza,” one man told me, as he left the camp on Wednesday.

Next to him, 52-year-old Kefah Sehwal said she had lost 15 members of her family in the past 15 months.

“After what happened to [Israeli forces] in Gaza, the reaction is here,” she told me. “They’re taking it out on us.”

Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has talked about a “shift in strategy” for this operation, saying the lesson from Gaza is not just to “eliminate terrorists”, as he put it, but to stop them coming back.

That plan didn’t work in Gaza. It’s not clear it’ll work in Jenin.

Qutaiba Shalabi and Mohammed Nazzal were killed after a fierce gun battle with Israeli forces on Wednesday night in Burqin, near the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

The Palestinian health ministry says their bodies were taken by Israeli forces and the house they were in demolished.

Hamas put out a statement claiming them as its fighters.

Israel has been carrying out a major military operation in and around Jenin since Tuesday.

Army vehicles are controlling the entry of medical staff and ambulances to the main hospital, and have blocked access to Jenin refugee camp – home to both civilians and armed Palestinian groups.

Twelve Palestinians are reported to have been killed in the operation, including Shalabi and Nazzal, and dozens injured.

Israel says it aims to destroy the armed groups here – backed by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – and stop them carrying out attacks against Israeli targets.

It is worried about the West Bank becoming the next focus for Iranian influence and arms.

But a show of force here after the ceasefire in Gaza also plays well with those in Israel who not only want to continue the war there, but want to annex the West Bank as well.

Some of those killed in Jenin are understood to be civilians.

Ahmed al-Shayeb owned a mobile phone shop – a well-known businessman, not a fighter, locals said.

He was shot dead by Israeli forces as he drove down a road near Jenin’s refugee camp, with his 10-year-old son Taym in the car.

“They started shooting, and a bullet hit him,” Taym told reporters at his father’s funeral on Wednesday.

“He said ‘God, God,’ then the car hit the pavement. I saw two army vehicles coming toward us. They started to shoot towards the car, but I jumped out and ran away.”

Israel’s army says the incident is under review.

The roads into Jenin camp – some of them torn up by military bulldozers – are guarded by small groups of soldiers, who raised their weapons when we approached.

Fierce fighting was reported inside the camp on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday many residents were trying to leave.

One man told us residents were being separated by the army into groups of five, before being checked by a drone, and either arrested or allowed to leave.

We spotted a small group of adults and children picking their way past the soldiers, over broken earth and concrete, one man lifting his infant son high above his head.

He told us military bulldozers had reached the middle of the camp, and that he was worried the operation there was about to start in earnest.

“There are still a lot of people inside the camp – the elderly, sick, and kids,” he said. “They can’t leave. God help them.”

He said this raid felt different to the many others Israel has carried out since Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.

“It’s different this time – they’re striking everywhere. It’s like Gaza,” he said.

Next to him, 52-year-old Kefah Sehwal said she had lost 15 members of her family since then.

“After what happened to [Israeli forces] in Gaza, the reaction is here,” she told me. “They’re taking it out on us.”

Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has talked about a “shift in strategy” for this operation, saying the lesson from Gaza is not just to “eliminate terrorists”, as he put it, but to stop them coming back.

That plan didn’t work in Gaza. It’s not clear it’ll work in Jenin.