The Israeli army has intensified its renewed assault on Jabalia refugee camp and the Zeitoun area in northern Gaza as resistance factions regroup there, months after the Israeli army said it had “defeated Hamas” in the north.
Casualties
- 35,034 + killed* and at least 78,755 wounded in the Gaza Strip.*
- 498+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.**
- Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,139.
- 620 Israeli soldiers have been announced as killed by the Israeli army since October 7, and at least 3,415 have been announced as wounded.***
*Gaza’s Ministry of Health confirmed this figure on its Telegram channel on May 9, 2024. Some rights groups estimate the death toll to be much higher when accounting for those presumed dead.
** The death toll in the West Bank and Jerusalem is not updated regularly. According to the PA’s Ministry of Health on May 12, this is the latest figure.
*** These figures are released by the Israeli military, showing the soldiers whose names “were allowed to be published.” The number of Israeli soldiers wounded, according to Israeli media reports, exceeds 6,800 as of April 1.
Key Developments
- Israel kills 130 Palestinians, wounds 241 since Friday, May 10, across Gaza, raising the death toll since October 7 to 35,034 and the number of wounded to 78,755, according to the Gaza health ministry.
- The U.S. ambassador to Tel Aviv says that U.S. assistance to Israel will not be interrupted and that nothing strategic has changed in the U.S.-Israel relationship.
- Netanyahu says that Israelis are “determined to achieve absolute victory.”
- Israel’s war minister says that war will continue until “dismantling Hamas.”
- Israeli forces escalate assault on Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza City.
- Israeli bombing intensifies on Rafah as hundreds of thousands flee the city.
- Israel kills one Palestinian and wounds 11 in military raids on Nablus in the West Bank.
- Israeli settlers torch a house in Duma, south of Nablus.
- UNRWA says that it will stay in Rafah “as long as possible,” while warning of societal “collapse.”
- UNRWA closes its Jerusalem office following fire in its surroundings. The agency accuses Israeli assailants.
- Hezbollah attacks several Israeli military positions across the border amidst new Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon.
Nearly 360,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah in the week since Israel ordered civilians in the city to evacuate, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said today. Israel has said the evacuations will protect civilians, but UNRWA says there is nowhere safe for them to go, calling the evacuation orders as “the forced and inhumane displacement of Palestinians.”
Israeli forces continued to advance on Rafah yesterday and launched another operation against Hamas in northern Gaza. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari described the Rafah operation as “precise” and “limited in scope,” saying the military was avoiding the city’s “densely populated areas.” The Israel military claimed yesterday it had killed 10 Hamas militants in Rafah and dismantled a series of tunnel shafts. The military also said its troops had operated overnight in Jabalia refugee camp after airstrikes on around 30 Hamas targets. Residents and medics said several people were killed and wounded. Miriam Berger, Niha Masih, Leo Sands, and Claire Parker report for the Washington Post; Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
Israel is observing Memorial Day, an annual commemoration for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorist attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to attend a ceremony today in Jerusalem, and will later appear at a commemoration for Israeli victims of terrorism. While Memorial Day is a traditional annual commemoration, this year’s ceremony is widely viewed as taking on greater significance in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. Aaron Boxerman reports for the New York Times.
Israeli forces should “get out of Gaza,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS Face the Nation yesterday. Delivering some of the Biden administration’s strongest criticism of Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war, Blinken said that while Washington has worked with Arab countries to develop “credible plans for security, for governance, for rebuilding” Gaza, “We haven’t seen that come from Israel.” Blinken’s comments follow the State Department issuing a report to Congress on Friday raising “substantial questions” regarding Israel’s efforts to protect civilians in Gaza. Readers may be interested in John Ramming Chappell’s analysis of the report for Just Security. Josh Boak reports for AP News; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Halting arms exports to Israel is “not a wise path” and would only help Hamas, British foreign secretary David Cameron said yesterday. Asked whether the United Kingdom would follow the United States in threatening to cut weapons supply to Israel if it launched a major attack on Rafah, Cameron said the countries cannot be compared because unlike Washington, Britain supplies a small amount of Israel’s weapons. AP News reports; Sam Francis reports for BBC News.
US Pushes for PA Control of Rafah Crossing; PA Refuses Conditions. A report by Sky News reveals that the United States is urging Israel to transfer control of the Rafah crossing to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which has declined, citing the need for complete Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and adherence to the Arab Six-Party peace plan. This plan demands an end to hostilities, Israeli troop withdrawals, and a clear timetable for establishing a Palestinian state. The PA’s refusal underscores its stance against partial governance under Israeli military oversight.
Yahya Sinwar Reportedly in Khan Yunis, Not Rafah
Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, is reportedly hiding in tunnels beneath Khan Yunis rather than Rafah, according to American officials and corroborated by Israeli intelligence. Contrary to prior assessments, Sinwar has not been in Rafah and is using Israeli hostages as human shields to prevent Israeli military actions against his location. These developments could affect Israel’s ongoing campaign, including its operation in Rafah.
Blinken Criticizes Israel’s Tactics in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued strong criticism regarding Israel’s military strategy in Gaza, highlighting the severe civilian casualties and the failure to eliminate Hamas leadership. In televised interviews, Blinken suggested that Israeli actions might fuel a persistent insurgency and emphasized the necessity for Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza. He also pointed to the lack of a concrete Israeli plan for Gaza’s future security and governance, expressing concern over potential long-term consequences for regional stability.
UN Says 360,000 Palestinians Have Fled Gaza
According to UNRWA, the ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza has forced approximately 360,000 Palestinians to flee Rafah following evacuation orders. The attacks, which began after a cross-border incident by Hamas on October 7, have escalated, causing widespread displacement and destruction across the Gaza Strip. 85% of Gaza’s population is now internally displaced.
UN Reduces Gaza War Casualty Estimates. The United Nations has revised its casualty estimates for the Gaza war, significantly reducing the previously reported numbers of women and children killed. Initially reported at over 24,000 total casualties, including 9,500 women and 14,500 children, the revised figures now list 4,959 women and 7,797 children among the 34,844 total deaths. The UN acknowledges that these figures, sourced from both Gaza and Israeli authorities, have not been independently verified, highlighting ongoing concerns about the reliability of the reported data.
Gaza Officials Warn Health System ‘Hours From Collapse’ Due to Fuel Shortage
The health ministry in Gaza said Monday that the besieged Palestinian territory’s health system is “hours away” from collapse, after fighting has blocked fuel shipments through key crossings. “We are just hours away from the collapse of the health system in the Gaza Strip due to the lack of the necessary fuel to operate generators in hospitals, ambulances, and [for vehicles to] transport staff,” the ministry said in a statement.
English
Arabic