Israel-Gaza latest: IDF orders evacuation of Rafah as US says Israel may have breached international law

Israel issued fresh evacuation orders in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Saturday as it prepared to expand its operation, saying it was also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped.

Army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, told Palestinians in Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya cities and the surrounding areas to leave their homes and head to shelters in the west of Gaza City, warning that people were in "a dangerous combat zone" and that Israel was going to strike with “great force.”

Heavy fighting is underway in northern Gaza, where Hamas appeared to have once again regrouped in an area where Israel has already launched punishing assaults.

It comes after the US said that Israel’s use of US-provided arms in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law, but added that the evidence for determining it was incomplete.

The US said it had “reasonable” evidence that Israel breached international law protecting civilians in how it conducted its war against Hamas.

But the Biden administration said it wasn’t able to link specific US weapons to individual attacks by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Key Points

• IDF issues fresh evacuation order for Gaza

• US says Israel's use of American weapons in Gaza likely violated international law

• UN assembly backs new drive for Palestine to become full member

• Netanyahu says Israel has ‘no choice’ but to destroy Hamas

• Israel’s war cabinet warns it has a ‘duty’ to keep fighting Hamas

Israel’s ambassador ‘shreds’ UN Charter in protest of Palestinian statehood recognition vote

12:00 , Tom Watling

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations “shredded the UN Charter” whilst giving a speech at the General Assembly.

Gilad Erdan shredded a tiny version of the Charter in a mini paper shredder whilst on the podium in protest at the Assembly’s resolution to urge the recognition of a Palestinian state.

The General Assembly voted 143 to 9 in favour of urging the Security Council to recognise Palestine, 25 countries abstained.

At the moment, Palestine is recognised as an “observer” state in the United Nations.

Only the Security Council can decide on full recognition of a state in the UN.

Israel’s ambassador ‘shreds’ UN Charter in protest of Palestinian statehood vote

US says Israel likely violated international law in Gaza

11:30 , Tom Watling

A State Department report has found “reasonable” evidence that Israel has violated international humanitarian law using US weapons in Gaza.

The long-awaited report could have required the US to stop sending weapons to its ally if it had violated the terms of a weapons agreement.

But the investigation could not immediately link the violations to US arms, which leaves the Biden administration with some leeway on whether to restrict future sales.

US says Israel likely violated international law in Gaza

Here are some of the latest photos coming out of Gaza

11:00 , Tom Watling

Below are some of the latest photos coming out of Gaza as Israel prepares to attack the southern city of Rafah.

UN warns food supplies will ‘run out tomorrow’ in southern Gaza

10:30 , Tom Watling

The United Nations has warned that food supplies will “run out tomorrow” in southern Gaza as the two crossings into the area remain blocked and closed by Israeli forces.

Georgios Petropoulos, the head of the Gaza office for the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said: “The closure, especially of the Rafah crossing and Kerem Shalom, has severed access for us to fuel, to supplies, and the movement of humanitarian staff.

“It has also affected the movement of any civilians who could go out on medical evacuation.

“The World Food Programme and UNRWA will run out of food for distribution in the south by tomorrow.

“That means that people will be left only with aid that has already been distributed in their shelters, in their homes and on site.

“As of today, we have 12 bakeries supported by humanitarian partners here in South Gaza. Eight have ceased to operate due to a lack of human stock and four that are still operating at reduced capacity will be out of that stock by Monday.”

Gaza doctor recounts horrifying child injuries

10:00 , Tom Watling

Earlier, we reported that an emergency doctor had told us about several children who had suffered horrifying injuries that he said were the result of Israeli airstrikes this morning and earlier this week.

The Hamas-run health ministry has claimed that the majority of those killed or wounded in the Gaza Strip over the past seven months have been women and children.

Below, we print in full his quotes detailing these stories. Readers are advised that the content is of a graphic nature.

“We’ve had numerous young children and teenagers with blast and burn injuries from this morning’s attacks,” he said.

“One teenage boy came in in respiratory arrest. We revived him initially with oxygen and ventilation. However, it became apparent that his lung had been penetrated by the shrapnel and it had torn a hole in his heart. We did open heart surgery in the resuscitation room and attempted to repair the holes in his heart but despite our best efforts we were unable to revive him.

“There have been many other children here who came in with extensive burns, affecting anywhere between 20 and 50 per cent of their body surface. They are in extreme pain and their skin is sloughing off, and we’ve been struggling to keep up with the amount of pain relief they need and to dress the burns and the many lacerations and wounds.

“We’ve had another child who was brought in after having drowned in the sea. The child’s father said that the children were playing at the beach and they were being shot whilst at the beach and so many children ran into the sea in order to try and avoid getting shot. The drowned child was brought into the emergency room with severe breathing problems and has now been put on a mechanical ventilator.”

Gaza doctor says hospital staff are ‘at the end of their reserves’

09:45 , Tom Watling

An emergency doctor based in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis has said hospital staff are “at the end of their reserves” after a “barrage of patients”.

Based out of the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Yunis, the doctor recounted to The Independent several graphic stories concerning the wellbeing of Palestinian children injured this morning and in other airstrikes.

Hospitals have been under further strain after Israeli tanks crossed and then blocked the Egyptian crossing into Rafah,  the southernmost city in Gaza, at the start of this week ahead of a ground offensive.

“We’ve had a barrage of patients being brought to hospital: by donkey cart, by pickup truck, carried in on foot, by ambulance,” he said in a voice note.

“The situation here is dire. Staff are very much at the end of their reserves. Many doctors and nurses have been unable to get to work but also, have said they have learnt the lessons from previous area invasions and are fearful for the hospital being invaded. They fear being buried in mass graves, like at Nasser [hospital].”

Rafah citizen: We do not know where to go

09:30 , Tom Watling

A resident of Rafah has said people are “confused” after Israeli forces dropped evacuation leaflets onto the southern city of Gaza this morning.

The citizen, who asked only to be identified as Ali, told The Independent that the hundreds of thousands of civilians in the area “do not know if they should move from the west or middle area of Rafah” to avoid being caught up in Israel’s imminent ground offensive.

“People are confused regarding the news they’re hearing,” he said. “They do not know if they should move from the west or middle area of Rafah, or the areas that were not identified as safe places or dangerous places.”

He added that many were “severely disappointed” about the incoming Israeli ground assault given the “good news” they celebrated when Hamas accepted an earlier ceasefire proposal.

That deal, co-authored by Egypt and Qatar last weekend, and signed off by the US, was rejected by Israel, who insisted upon eventually carrying out an offensive in Rafah.

Ali said the good news has “quickly turned from positive to negative”.

He added that the nearest city to Rafah, Khan Yunis, has been “mostly destroyed and is not suitable for residence.

“It does not have the basic human necessities, especially water. There are empty places, but there is no water, no infrastructure to move there. So how can they survive there,” he said.

See the Israeli evacuation notice to Palestinians in Rafah in full

09:10 , Tom Watling

Below, you can see in full the Israeli evacuation notice issued to Palestinians in Rafah, the southernmost major city in Gaza.

The leaflets were airdropped into Rafah and posted by the Israeli military's Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee on X, formerly Twitter.

"To all the residents and displaced people in Rafah area, Rafah's camps, Al Shaboura, and the neighborhoods of Al-Jeneina, administrative district and Khirbet Al-Adas in the blocks of (31.27.26.25.9.8.7.6), you are in a dangerous combat zone,” the note read.

“The IDF will act with extreme force against terrorist organizations in your areas of residence. Everyone in these areas is risking their lives and the lives of their family members.

“For your safety, we ask you to evacuate immediately to the humanitarian zone. It is strictly forbidden to get close to the security wall. Getting close to the wall poses a threat to your life and security.”

19 people killed overnight in Rafah

08:51 , Matt Mathers

At least 19 people, including eight women and eight children, were killed overnight in central Gaza in three strikes that hit the towns of Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al Balah, according to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah and an Associated Press journalist.

Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.

Much of Gaza has been destroyed and 80% of its population have been driven from their homes.

Rafah’s hospitals overwhelmed while food and fuel run out as Israel steps up bombardment

08:34 , Matt Mathers

The few remaining hospitals in Rafah are at 250 per cent capacity, while food and fuel are running out, the United Nations has warned, as heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants moves towards the centre of Gaza’s border city.

Crucial aid crossings remain inaccessible, meaning supplies of food, medicines, tents and blankets are dwindling. The World Food Programme will run out of food for distribution in southern Gaza by Saturday and there are no tents, blankets or bedding to set up new locations for displaced people, said Georgios Petropoulos, an official with the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Rafah.

Full report:

Rafah’s hospitals overwhelmed while food and fuel run out as Israel steps up bombing

Israel orders new evacuations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah as it prepares to expand operations

08:15 , Matt Mathers

Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Saturday as it prepared to expand its operation, saying it was also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped.

Army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, told Palestinians in Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya cities and the surrounding areas to leave their homes and head to shelters in the west of Gaza City, warning that people were in "a dangerous combat zone" and that Israel was going to strike with "great force."

Heavy fighting is underway in northern Gaza, where Hamas appeared to have once again regrouped in an area where Israel has already launched punishing assaults.

Battles erupted this week in the Zeitoun area on the outskirts of Gaza City, in the northern part of the territory. Northern Gaza was the first target of the ground offensive. Israel said late last year that it had mostly dismantled Hamas in the area.

'Virtually no humanitarian aid' entered Gaza last 5 days, UN says

08:00 , Vishwam Sankaran

UN aid agencies warned that supplies are running short, and operations could halt within days in Gaza.

“For five days, no fuel and virtually no humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip, and we are scraping the bottom of the barrel,” Hamish Young, Unicef Senior Emergency Coordinator in Gaza, said.

Israel said it cannot win the war without rooting out Hamas fighters it believes are in Rafah.

Israeli forces have sealed off eastern Rafah from the south and have shut down the only crossing between the enclave and Egypt.

Police arrest dozens, break up pro-Palestinian protests at US universities

07:30 , Vishwam Sankaran

Police have arrested dozens in the US as they dismantled pro-Palestinian protest encampments at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology yesterday.

Campus police at the University of Pennsylvania removed protesters from an encampment that had been in place for over two weeks.

Overall, 33 people, including faculty and seven students, were arrested and charged with trespassing.

Police arrived at MIT early in the morning, and gave protesters about 15 minutes to leave, and arrested the 10 who remained, the university’s president said.

In 75 instances of campus protests recorded by the Associated Press since 18 April, about 2,900 people have been arrested at 57 colleges and universities.

US says Israel's use of American weapons in Gaza likely violated international law

07:00 , Vishwam Sankaran

The Biden administration said yesterday that Israel’s use of US-provided arms in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law, but added that the evidence for determining it was incomplete.

US said it had “reasonable” evidence that Israel breached international law protecting civilians in how it conducted its war against Hamas.

But the Biden administration said it wasn’t able to link specific US weapons to individual attacks by Israeli forces in Gaza.

The first-of-its-kind assessment comes following over seven months of Israel invading Gaza with airstrikes, ground fighting and aid restrictions that have claimed nearly 35,000 Palestinian lives, mostly women and children.

Australia says Palestine's full UN membership will build peace momentum

06:27 , Vishwam Sankaran

Australia’s support for Palestine’s bid to become a full UN member would build momentum towards peace in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the country’s foreign minister Penny Wong said today.

Australia, along with an overwhelming majority of the UN General Assembly, backed the resolution to effectively recognise a Palestinian state and recommended that the Security Council “reconsider the matter favourably”.

“At the UN General Assembly, 143 countries including Australia voted for a resolution to grant the Palestinian mission a modest extension of participation rights,” Ms Wong posted on X today.

“We all know one vote on its own won’t end this conflict - it has spanned our entire lifetimes - but we all have to do what we can to build momentum towards peace,” Ms Wong said.

Nine countries including the US and Israel voted against the bid, while 25 abstained.

“We continue to condemn Hamas’ terrorist attack of 7 October, and the call for the immediate release of all hostages. We reiterate our consistent calls for a humanitarian ceasefire so that aid can increase and civilians can be protected,” Ms Wong said.

South Africa requests world court emergency move to restrain Israel

02:00 , Jane Dalton

South Africa urged the United Nations’ top court Friday to issue more emergency measures to restrain Israel, saying its military incursion in Rafah threatens the “very survival of Palestinians in Gaza.”

South Africa again requests emergency measures from world court to restrain Israel's actions in Gaza

Watch: Israel’s ambassador ‘shreds’ UN charter to protest at Palestinian statehood recognition

01:01 , Jane Dalton

ICYMI: First shipment of aid heads to US-built floating pier in Gaza

Friday 10 May 2024 23:59 , Jane Dalton

In case you missed it:

First shipment of aid to the US-built floating pier in Gaza departs from Cyprus

Israel did not breach terms of US weapons use, official report to say

Friday 10 May 2024 23:01 , Jane Dalton

A review by the Biden administration of Israel’s use of US-provided weapons in its war in Gaza does not conclude that Israel has violated the terms for their use, according to three sources.

The report, due to be released soon, is expected to be sharply critical of Israel, but falls short of saying Israel violated terms of US-Israel weapons agreements, according to one US official.

The administration’s findings on its close ally’s conduct of the war was the first-of-its-kind assessment compelled by President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats in Congress.

Rishi Sunak slams protests over Israel’s Eurovision appearance

Friday 10 May 2024 21:59 , Jane Dalton

Rishi Sunak has condemned “outrageous” protests and calls for a boycott over Israel‘s participation in the Eurovision song contest:

Rishi Sunak slams protests and boycott calls over Israel’s Eurovision appearance

Rafah hospitals overwhelmed as Israel steps up bombardment

Friday 10 May 2024 21:00 , Jane Dalton

The few remaining hospitals in Rafah are at 250 per cent capacity, while food and fuel are running out, the United Nations warned, as heavy fighting moves towards the centre of Gaza’s border city. Bel Trew reports:

Rafah’s hospitals overwhelmed while food and fuel run out as Israel steps up bombing

UN assembly backs new drive for Palestine to become full member

Friday 10 May 2024 20:30 , Jane Dalton

The UN General Assembly has voted by a wide margin to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and called on the Security Council to reconsider its request to become the 194th member of the United Nations.

The world body approved the Arab and Palestinian-sponsored resolution by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions.

The United States voted against it, along with Israel, Argentina, Czechia, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Papua New Guinea.

The vote reflected the wide global support for full membership of Palestine in the United Nations, with many countries expressing outrage at the escalating death toll in Gaza and fears of a major Israeli offensive in Rafah, a southern city where about 1.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge.

While Friday’s resolution gives Palestine some new rights and privileges, it reaffirms that it remains a non-member observer state without full UN membership and the right to vote in the General Assembly or at any of its conferences.

Fighting restarts in northern Gaza as Hamas ‘regroups'

Friday 10 May 2024 20:00 , Jane Dalton

Heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants was under way on Friday in northern Gaza, where Hamas appeared to have once again regrouped in an area where Israel has already launched punishing assaults.

This is as well as the fighting on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Israel’s move into Rafah has been short of the full-scale invasion that it has planned. But the heavy fighting has shaken the city and spread fear that a bigger assault is coming.

White House says gaps in ceasefire deal can be overcome

Friday 10 May 2024 19:57 , Jane Dalton

In-person talks on a ceasefire-for-hostages agreement have concluded for now with no deal but the United States believes remaining gaps can still be surmounted, the White House has said.

National security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters the US was watching Israel’s operation in the city of Rafah with concern and wanted the Rafah crossing reopened immediately.

US police arrest student protesters

Friday 10 May 2024 19:15 , Jane Dalton

Police dismantled encampments and arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania on Friday morning, in the latest crackdowns on protests at US campuses.

Philadelphia officers in riot gear pushed reporters away from the encampment at the University of Pennsylvania before tearing down tents and tossing the belongings of protesters in a rubbish lorry, the student newspaper reported. About 33 people were arrested, Penn’s public safety department said.

A similar scene unfolded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology near Boston, where student journalists reported that riot police arrested at least 10 student protesters before flattening the encampment and discarding their belongings.

The protesting students say they want a ceasefire in Israel’s incursion into Gaza and have demanded their schools divest from companies with ties to Israel.

Police dismantle pro-Palestinian tent encampment at MIT

More Eurovision protests expected over Israeli role

Friday 10 May 2024 18:26 , Jane Dalton

Further protests are expected at the Eurovision Song Contest after Israel qualified as one of the 26 countries competing in this year’s final. Read more in the live blog here:

Eurovision investigating ‘incident’ involving Netherlands contestant - latest

Israeli delegation seen laughing during UN vote on Palestine membership

Friday 10 May 2024 17:25 , Jane Dalton

Israeli delegation caught laughing during UN vote on Palestine membership

Israeli foreign min denounces UN decision to upgrade Palestinians' UN status as 'prize for Hamas'

Friday 10 May 2024 16:56 , Tom Watling

Israel‘s foreign minister has called a decision by the United Nations General Assembly to upgrade the status of Palestinians in the UN a “prize for Hamas,” in a statement released by the minister’s office on Friday.

“The absurd decision taken today at the UN General Assembly highlights the structural bias of the UN and the reasons why, under the leadership of UN Secretary-General Guterres, it has turned itself into an irrelevant institution,” Israel‘s foreign minister Israel Katz said.

Ealier on Friday, The United Nations General Assembly backed a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognizing it as qualified to join and recommending the UN Security Council “reconsider the matter favorably”.

The vote by the 193-member General Assembly was a global survey of support for the Palestinian bid to become a full UN member - a move that would effectively recognize a Palestinian state - after the United States vetoed it in the UN Security Council last month.

The assembly adopted a resolution on Friday with 143 votes in favor and nine against - including the US and Israel - while 25 countries abstained. It does not give the Palestinians full UN membership, but simply recognizes them as qualified to join.

The General Assembly resolution "determines that the State of Palestine ... should therefore be admitted to membership" and it "recommends that the Security Council reconsider the matter favorably."

Dialysis patients evacuated from Rafah hospital as Israeli operation intensifies

Friday 10 May 2024 16:15 , Tom Watling

Dialysis patients evacuated from one of Rafah’s main hospitals have been moved to the Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, where Israeli ground troops withdrew a month ago.

Patients and staff at the Abou Youssef al-Najjar Hospital were forced to evacuate on Wednesday 8 May as Israel’s operation in Rafah intensified.

The hospital was one of the key medical centres receiving the wounded in Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza city.

Nasser Hospital is in bad shape after Israeli forces raided the medical centre in recent months, and hundreds of bodies were found buried outside.

Dialysis patients evacuated from Rafah hospital as Israeli operation intensifies

Live: UN vote for resolution on Palestine membership

Friday 10 May 2024 15:52 , Tom Watling

Dozens arrested at Penn, MIT in latest crackdowns on Gaza protests

Friday 10 May 2024 15:30 , Tom Watling

Police dismantled encampments and arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania on Friday morning, in the latest crackdowns on protests roiling U.S. campuses.

Philadelphia officers in riot gear pushed reporters away from the encampment at the University of Pennsylvania before tearing down tents and tossing the belongings of protesters in a trash truck, the student newspaper reported. About 33 people were arrested, Penn’s public safety department said.

A similar scene unfolded simultaneously at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology near Boston, where student journalists reported that riot police arrested at least 10 student protesters before flattening the encampment and discarding their belongings.

The dawn raids were the latest efforts by school and local authorities to end such demonstrations at dozens of universities around the country. Students have called for a ceasefire in Israel‘s incursion into Gaza and have demanded their schools divest from companies with ties to Israel.

Many university leaders have called the encampments safety hazards and sought to end them ahead of May commencement ceremonies, which draw large crowds of outside visitors to campuses.

MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement on Friday that the 10 individuals arrested on Friday “peacefully” submitted to police, but that the arrests came after escalating clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters.

“It was not heading in a direction anyone could call peaceful,” she said, adding that “the cost and disruption for the community overall made the situation increasingly untenable.”

Truckers stuck at Rafah crossing fear food won't reach hungry Gaza

Friday 10 May 2024 15:00 , Tom Watling

Truck drivers stuck at Egypt’s border with Gaza say the food they are taking to the Palestinian enclave could spoil as they wait, exacerbating a hunger crisis among Gazans as war rages on.

Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah border crossing this week and are preparing for a widely expected assault on the city next to the frontier where about 1 million people uprooted by the war have been sheltering.

“The closure of the border crossing is not good for all these trucks because these are fridges, which means machine failure doesn’t give a warning. If the (fridge) stops working, then all of the food inside will be ruined,” said trucker Ahmed al-Bayoumi.

“Here, there’s no (technician) available to fix things and then we will have to handle the packages again. In any country in the world, food in fridges has priority to be delivered.”

Humanitarian workers sounded the alarm this week over the closure of both the Rafah crossing with Egypt and the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza for aid and people.

Rishi Sunak slams protests and boycott calls over Israel’s Eurovision appearance

Friday 10 May 2024 14:30 , Tom Watling

Rishi Sunak has slammed “outrageous” protests and calls for a boycott over Israel‘s participation in the Eurovision song contest.

Downing Street said the prime minister urged demonstrators to consider the feelings of Israeli and Jewish Eurovision fans watching the scenes “in the aftermath of what was an atrocious terror attack and while hostages are still being held by Hamas”.

An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched through Malmo, where the contest is being held, on Thursday.

Rishi Sunak slams protests and boycott calls over Israel’s Eurovision appearance

More than 100,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah this week, says UN official

Friday 10 May 2024 14:00 , Tom Watling

Heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah has left crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and caused more than 100,000 people to flee north, a United Nations official said on Friday.

Israel’s plans for a full-scale invasion of Rafah appear to be on hold for now, with the US deeply opposed and stepping up pressure by threatening to withhold arms. But even the more limited incursion launched earlier this week threatens to worsen Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe.

Heavy fighting was also under way in northern Gaza, where Hamas appeared to have once again regrouped in an area where Israel has already launched punishing assaults.

About 110,000 people have fled Rafah and food and fuel supplies in the area are critically low, a UN official has said.

All crossings into southern Gaza remain closed, cutting off supplies and preventing medical evacuations and the movement of humanitarian staff, said Georgios Petropoulos, an official for the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs working in Rafah.

Some 1.3 million Palestinians - more than half Gaza’s population - had sought refuge in Rafah.

Netanyahu says Israel has 'no choice' but to destroy Hamas

Friday 10 May 2024 13:30 , Tom Watling

Why is Israel competing in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024?

Friday 10 May 2024 13:00 , Tom Watling

Israel will compete in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, despite calls for the country to be banned from participating due to its ongoing war on Gaza.

Eden Golan is representing Israel with the track “Hurricane”, which was reworked from original entry “October Rain” after it was alleged to include references to the 7 October attacks by Hamas, therefore breaching the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) rules over political songs.

The Israel-born Golan, who grew up in Russia, told ITV News this week that she could not have asked “for a better year to be representing my country”.

Why is Israel competing at Eurovision 2024?

Greta Thunberg joins thousands protesting against Israel competing in Eurovision

Friday 10 May 2024 12:30 , Tom Watling

Greta Thunberg has joined pro-Palestine protests in Malmo against Israel competing in the Eurovision Song Contest.

The climate activist, 21, was at the Stop Israel demonstration, between Stortorget and Molleplatsen in the centre of the Swedish city ahead of a performance by singer Eden Golan - who represented Israel in the second semi-final on Thursday night (9 May).

Ms Thunberg was wearing a keffiyeh, a scarf commonly used to show support for Palestine, around her body in the centre of the crowd.

She was seen flanked by other young activists.

Greta Thunberg joins thousands protesting against Israel competing in Eurovision

Watch live view of camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah as Israeli strikes intensify

Friday 10 May 2024 12:00 , Tom Watling

Live: View of camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah as Israeli strikes intensify

Aid operations in Gaza could grind to a halt within days, UN agencies warn

Friday 10 May 2024 11:20 , Tom Watling

Dwindling food and fuel stocks could force aid operations to grind to a halt within days in Gaza as vital crossings remain shut, forcing hospitals to shut down and leading to more malnutrition, United Nations aid agencies have warned.

The situation in Gaza has reached “even more unprecedented levels of emergency,” Georgios Petropoulos, the head of the Gaza sub-office of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters in a briefing.

For Biden and Netanyahu, Gaza is a balancing act for their political survival

Friday 10 May 2024 11:00 , Tom Watling

The US president’s calculations must centre on the November election – Netanyahu’s, on maintaining US support and honouring his promises to Israelis, writes Mary Dejevsky. For both men’s political futures, the stakes couldn’t be higher

For Biden and Netanyahu, Gaza is a balancing act for their political survival

Netanyahu says Israel has ‘no choice’ but to destroy Hamas

Friday 10 May 2024 10:45 , Tom Watling

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel has “no choice” but to destroy Hamas as he fends off objections from the country’s staunchest allies.

“If we do not destroy [Hamas], if we leave them alone they’ll come back. They’ll emerge from the tunnels, they’ll take over Gaza again, and they’ll do what they promised to do: They’ll do October 7 — this enormous massacre — again, again and again,” Mr Netanyahu told US TV personality Dr Phil.

“Rational-minded people understand that we don’t have a choice.”

His comments came just before US President Joe Biden said he could suspend weapons shipments to Israel if they press ahead with a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinian civilians have been displaced after seven months of war.

Mr Netanyahu admitted he had had “disagreements” with allies, including the US, over how Israel has conducted its operations in Gaza but added that they had to do what they have to do “to protect our country”.

UN General Assembly set to back Palestine’s bid for membership

Friday 10 May 2024 10:30 , Tom Watling

The UN General Assembly will vote on Friday on a resolution to grant membership to Palestine, a longstanding pursuit for the Palestinians that has faced staunch resistance from Israel and its allies.

The draft resolution has been put forward by the UAE in its capacity as the Arab Group’s chair for the month, and includes a call for the Palestinians to be given new “rights and privileges” within the UN. Palestine has been a UN non-member observer state since 2012.

UN General Assembly set to back Palestine’s bid for membership

Israelis ready to fight with their fingernails, Netanyahu says in veiled Biden rebuff

Friday 10 May 2024 10:04 , Tom Watling

Israelis are ready to fight with their “fingernails”, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said in a thinly veiled rebuff to US President Joe Biden’s warning that arms supplies could be withheld over a planned operation in Gaza.

Israel‘s long-threatened move against Rafah, where it says thousands of Hamas fighters and potentially dozens of the hostages they seized in a 7 October attack are ensconced among more than a million war-displaced Palestinians, began this week with the evacuation of some civilians followed by limited incursions.

The Biden administration has said it cannot support a major Rafah invasion in the absence of what it would deem a credible plan to safeguard non-combatants. Israel has said victory in the seven-month-old conflict is impossible without taking Rafah.

The Netanyahu government had kept silent over reports that Washington was holding back a shipment of aerial bombs - until, on Wednesday, Mr Biden went public with the measure, saying it was part of a US warning to the Israelis not to “go into Rafah”.

“If we must stand alone, we shall stand alone,” Netanyahu said without referring specifically to the US announcement.

“If we must, we shall fight with our fingernails,” he said in a video statement. “But we have much more than our fingernails, and with that strength of spirit, with God’s help, together we shall be victorious.”

Here are the latest photos coming from Gaza

Friday 10 May 2024 09:45 , Tom Watling

Below are some of the latest photos coming from Gaza as Israel prepares for another offensive in the southern region of Rafah.

EU’s top diplomat says Spain and Ireland to recognise Palestinian state

Friday 10 May 2024 09:30 , Tom Watling

Spain, Ireland and other European Union member countries plan to recognise a Palestinian state on 21 May, the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said.

His comments come ahead of an expected United Nations vote on Friday on a Palestinian bid to become a full member.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in March that Spain and Ireland, along with Slovenia and Malta, had agreed to take the first steps towards recognition of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, seeing a two-state solution as essential for lasting peace.

Asked on local Spanish radio station RNE if 21 May was when Spain, Ireland and other EU countries would recognise a Palestinian state, Mr Borrell said yes, mentioning Slovenia as well.

“This is a symbolic act of a political nature. More than a state, it recognises the will for that state to exist,” he said, adding that Belgium and other countries would probably follow.

The United Nations General Assembly is set to back a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member today by recognising it as qualified to join and sending the application back to the UN Security Council to “reconsider the matter favourably”.

Ireland's national broadcaster RTE said on Thursday that Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and Malta had been waiting for the UN vote and were considering a joint recognition on 21 May.

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said earlier this week his country would recognise Palestine's statehood by mid June.

Israel has said plans for Palestinian recognition constitute a “prize for terrorism” that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the Gaza conflict.

Since 1988, 139 out of 193 UN member states have recognised Palestinian statehood.

Israeli demonstrators torch part of UN compound in Jerusalem

Friday 10 May 2024 09:20 , Tom Watling

The main United Nations aid agency for Palestinians closed its headquarters in East Jerusalem after local Israeli residents set fire to areas at the edge of the sprawling compound, the agency said.

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNWRA, said in a post on the social media platform X that he had decided to close the compound until proper security was restored. He said Thursday’s incident was the second in less than a week.

“This is an outrageous development. Once again, the lives of UN staff were at a serious risk,” he said.

“It is the responsibility of the State of Israel as an occupying power to ensure that United Nations personnel and facilities are protected at all times,” he said.

UNRWA, set up to deal with the Palestinian refugees who fled or were forced from their homes during the 1948 war around the time of Israel‘s creation, has long been a target of Israeli hostility.

Since the start of the war with Gaza Israeli officials have called repeatedly for the agency to be shut down, accusing it of complicity with the Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza, a charge the United Nations strongly rejects.

Israel’s war cabinet warns it has a ‘duty’ to keep fighting Hamas despite opposition from its ‘best of friends’

Friday 10 May 2024 09:14 , Tom Watling

The two additional members of Israel’s war cabinet to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned they, too, support an ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip despite widespread condemnation from the country’s allies.

Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, said his country “cannot be subdued” in a thinly-veiled retort to the US President Joe Biden saying he would suspend weapons shipments to Israel should they proceed with an offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

“I turn to Israel’s enemies as well as to our best of friends and say - the State of Israel cannot be subdued,” Mr Gallant said in a speech. “We will stand strong, we will achieve our goals - we will hit Hamas, we will hit (Lebanon’s) Hezbollah, and we will achieve security.”

Former chief of the general staff Benny Gantz, in a message on X, formerly Twitter, said it was Israel’s duty to “keep fighting”.

“Israel has a duty, in terms of national security and morality, to keep fighting in order to return our hostages and end the Hamas threat against southern Israel,” he said. “And the United States has a moral and strategic duty to extend to Israel the tools that are necessary for this mission.”

Mr Gantz, Mr Gallant and Mr Netanyahu, who has been vocal about his support for a Rafah offensive, are the three core members of Israel’s war cabinet, convened after the Hamas attack on 7 October last year that killed 1,200 people and led to around 250 being taken hostage.

Good morning

Friday 10 May 2024 09:14 , Tom Watling

Good morning.

Israel is preparing to conduct an offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah as its closest allies, inlcuding the US and the UK, call for a ceasefire.

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