Hamas fires 'large rocket barrage' at Tel Aviv

At least 27 people have been killed in Israeli strikes targeting tents for displaced people in northwest Rafah, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.

In an update the Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced that those killed and wounded in the strikes have been taken to the Tal Al-Sultan clinic other field hospitals near the coast in Rafah governate.

"Currently, numerous individuals remain trapped under the flames and in the tents destroyed by the bombardment," it added.

Israeli aircraft have shelled several tents in this area, resulting in numerous martyrs and casualties. Many have been transported to the Tal Al-Sultan clinic and the field hospitals near the sea in Rafah. Currently, numerous individuals remain trapped under the flames and in the…

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) May 26, 2024

According to The New Arab's sister publication Al-Araby Al-Jadeed a number of people have been killed and wounded after Israeli forces shelled tents housing internally displaced persons in Rafah.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society its ambulances are "transporting a large number of martyrs and injured individuals following the occupation's targeting of the displaced person's tents near the United Nations headquarters northwest of Rafah".

The Palestine Red Crescent ambulance crews are transporting a large number of martyrs and injured individuals following the occupation's targeting of the displaced persons' tents near the United Nations headquarters northwest of #Rafah. #Gaza

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) May 26, 2024

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday that US forces destroyed one un-crewed aerial system (UAS) that was launched over the Red Sea from an Iranian-backed Houthi controlled area of Yemen. 

26 May Red Sea Update

At approximately 10 a.m. (Sanaa time) on May 26, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed one uncrewed aerial system (UAS) over the Red Sea, launched from an Iranian-backed Houthi controlled area of Yemen.

It was determined the UAS… pic.twitter.com/m1dWpaugjM

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 26, 2024

(Reuters)

The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has asked Israel to implement the orders given by the ICJ to stop it's assault on Rafah as such a refusal would damage the "rules-based world order we support and promote everywhere".

In a statement published today Borrell said that it was important that states comply with the decision by the ICJ, adding that "introducing caveats, objections or exceptions based on non-legal grounds damages the rule-based order, damages our values and will damage our international standing and weaken our position on other issues including Ukraine." 

He further added that the decisions were "largely consistent with requests made publicly for many months by almost all members of the UN including all permanent members of the UNSC and EU member states," and reflect deeper concerns of the international community about the war.

The respect of International law is not an option: disregarding a decision of the #ICJ will weaken the rules-based world order the EU supports and promotes everywhere.

Read my blogpost on last Friday's @CIJ_ICJ decision:https://t.co/pj59btB9pn pic.twitter.com/03hGTywDWl

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) May 26, 2024

An Israeli hostage negotiator has been quoted by Israeli press as telling Israeli military officials who oversee the negotiations that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu will not allow a deal to come into fruition.

Israel's Channel 12 quoted Major General Nitzan Alon as saying: "We are desperate, With this government formation, there will be no deal".

He elaborated, saying that this was due to Hamas' insistence in attaining a complete ceasefire which the government does not want. 

Netanyahu has since claimed the leaks from the negotiators "only harden Hamas's position, farm families, and delay the release of our abductees".

At least eight people were killed on Sunday by Israeli strikes in villages across southern Lebanon, Lebanese security sources said.

They said two people were killed in Aita al-Shaab, three in Houla, two in Yaroun and a driver whose motorcycle was targeted along a main road in Naqoura.

Hezbollah said on Sunday it mourned four of its fighters from Israeli strikes, and that it responded to the attacks by launching dozens of katyusha rockets towards Israeli army reserve units along Israel's northern border.

The Israeli army announced the death of a soldier, Sahar Sudaei, who was killed fighting in northern Gaza today. The announcement comes after another soldier, Betzalel Zvi Kovach, succumbed to his wounds today which he received during fighting in northern Gaza on 22 May.

This take the total number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since the start of its offensive on the enclave to 288. 

Spain's foreign minister condemned as "scandalous and execrable" a video posted by his Israeli counterpart suggesting Hamas would be grateful to Spain in a growing spat between the two countries over the war on Gaza.

Spain last week announced it would recognise Palestine as a state, and in recent days, two Spanish government ministers referred to a genocide in Gaza.

A short video posted by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on the social media platform X on Sunday says "Hamas: Gracias España" ("Hamas: Thanks Spain").

The video shows the Spanish flag and a couple dancing to flamenco music. Film of Hamas fighters is interspersed, including people fleeing during the 7 October Hamas attack on southern Israel.

"We are not going to fall into provocations. The video is scandalous and execrable," Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told a news conference in Brussels.

"Its scandalous because all the world knows, including my colleague in Israel, that Spain condemned the actions of Hamas from the first moment. And execrable for the use of one of those symbols of Spanish culture."

(Reuters)

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday hosted Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa for international talks on building up the Palestinian Authority to take over Gaza rule from Hamas eventually.

Borrell said just before entering the meeting with Mustafa that a "strong" Palestinian Authority is needed to bring peace in the Middle East.

The talks were being held as efforts to find a Gaza truce and a hostage-release deal were narrowing.

The Israeli army reportedly scaled back its forces in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, according to local media on Sunday.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper claimed that the army had withdrawn its Givati Brigade from the city.

On Friday, the International Court of Justice (IJC) ordered Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah, open the Rafah crossing, and allow access to international fact-finding missions.

“After the ICJ ruling that Israel must open the Rafah crossing, the army reduced its forces in the east of the city,” the newspaper said.

There was no confirmation from the Israeli army of the claim, while Israel has continued to bombard the city, killing scores of people. 

The Israeli army already has four combat brigades in Rafah.

Gaza's Government Media Office reports that the food security crisis is worsening in the enclave’s central and southern regions.

“The amount of aid that came through the sea pier did not exceed 100 trucks,” the office stated, referring to the temporary floating pier set up by the US.

“We demand the withdrawal of [Israeli forces] from the Rafah crossing. Land crossings are the most feasible and effective in bringing aid into the Gaza Strip."

At least 12 people have been killed after Israeli forces targeted a home in the Jabalia al-Nazla area in northern Gaza, Al Jazeera is reporting.

About 20 other people were reported to be injured in the attack.

Two Israeli raids on Sunday killed three people in south Lebanon, official media and a source close to Hezbollah said, as Israel's military claimed attacks targeting the Iran-backed militant group.

Lebanon's Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, has traded regular cross-border fire with Israel since the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack on southern Israel which triggered war in the Gaza Strip.

Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported "two martyrs and wounded civilians in the raid that targeted a motorcycle in Aita al-Shaab", a border village.

It said the strike was carried out by an "Israeli" drone.

The NNA had earlier said a separate strike by "enemy aircraft" on the border town of Naqura "targeted a motorbike", reporting unspecified casualties.

The Israeli army later said in a statement that "a Hezbollah terrorist was identified exiting a military structure" in the Naqura area, adding that "an aircraft struck and eliminated" the operative.

It also said the army struck "two Hezbollah terrorists who were identified operating" in the Aita al-Shaab area.

Hezbollah announced a fighter had been killed, and a source close to the group said he died in Naqura.

A "strong" Palestinian Authority is needed to bring peace in the Middle East, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Sunday alongside Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa.

"A functional Palestinian Authority is in Israel's interest too, because in order to make peace, we need a strong Palestinian Authority, not a weaker one," Borrell said, just before talks with Mustafa on how the Palestinian administration can be built up to take over Gaza rule from Hamas.

According to the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, the recent Israeli raids resulted in the arrests of children and former prisoners.

The raids, which took place on Saturday and Sunday, occurred in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus, Hebron and Jenin in the occupied West Bank, as well as in occupied East Jerusalem.

These 20 arrests bring the total number of Palestinians detained by Israeli forces since 7 October to 8,875, according to the organizations' statement.

At least one civilian was killed and another one was injured in a missile strike on a motorcycle carried out by an Israeli drone in southern Lebanon’s Aita al-Shaab, according to Lebanon’s NNA news agency.

We have reported on the attack earlier and the Israeli claim of targeting the infrastructure and buildings of Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group overnight in Aita al-Shaab.

The armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas said Sunday it had launched a "large rocket barrage" at Israel's commercial hub of Tel Aviv.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a post on Telegram that they had targeted Tel Aviv "with a large rocket barrage in response to the Zionist massacres against civilians".

The Israeli army said eight rockets were launched from the Rafah area in southern Gaza at central Israel.

Air defence system intercepted several of them, the army said.

According to a statement from Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, over 70 international organisations are urging all authorities and international institutions to officially declare a famine in Gaza.

The organizations noted that food security levels have significantly declined due to the Israeli army’s ground operation in Rafah, which began on 7 May.

“The entire population in the Gaza Strip (2.2 million people), including the governorates of Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis, and Rafah, are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, with half of them in… the disaster/famine stage,” the statement said.

An Israeli senior official said the war cabinet was expected to meet Sunday to discuss a captive release deal as diplomatic efforts towards a Gaza ceasefire have resumed.

"The war cabinet is expected to meet in Jerusalem tonight at 21:00 (1800 GMT) to discuss a hostage release deal," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Israel’s public radio, Radio Israel, has quoted General Yair Golan, former deputy chief of staff, stating that “there will be no deal [between Israel and Hamas] without the cessation of fighting” in Gaza.

“Let’s be real with ourselves, and we will not listen to the poison machine coming out of Jerusalem,” the general was quoted as saying.

At least 35,984 Palestinians have been killed and 80,643 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 Ocober, its Health Ministry says.

The ministry added that 81 people were killed and 223 injured in the latest 24-hour reporting period.

The Israeli military announced that its forces, in collaboration with the Shin Bet (Israel’s internal intelligence service) and Israeli security forces, arrested seven men in the occupied West Bank overnight.

According to the Wafa news agency, the army conducted raids in multiple cities across the West Bank, arresting several Palestinians.

Wafa reported that four Palestinians were arrested in Nablus, two in Ramallah, two in Bethlehem, and two in Jenin.

Currently, Israeli forces are conducting a raid in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp, just days after an operation that resulted in the deaths of at least 12 Palestinians.

The Israeli military stated that its Menashe Brigade is active in Jenin and has exchanged fire with Palestinian fighters.

The brigade operates in the Jenin and Tulkarem areas of the West Bank. Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and military chief of staff Herzi Halevi have previously served as commanders of this brigade.

Israeli drones have attacked the town of Naqoura near the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, according to the National News agency.

The agency reported that Israeli army artillery fire struck areas on the outskirts of the towns of Chihine and Majdal Zoun in the Tyre region of southern Lebanon.

Additionally, Israeli artillery bombed the areas of Wadi Hamul and Wadi Hassan in southern Lebanon.

Israel and Hamas ally Hezbollah have been exchanging nearly daily fire since the Palestinian group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which preceded Israel’s latest war on Gaza.

Scuffles between Israeli police and protesters erupted in Tel Aviv on Saturday after thousands gathered to demonstrate against the government and demand that it bring back the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Some protesters in Tel Aviv carried photos of the female soldiers who appeared in a video earlier in the week showing them soon after they were abducted during the  surprise Hamas offensive on Israel on 7 October. Some held banners reading “Stop the war” and “Help.” They called on the government to reach a deal to release the dozens of hostages still in captivity.

The protesters also called for the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded new elections.

“We all saw the video, we could not stay at home after the government abandoned all these people,” said Hilit Sagi, from the group “Women Protest for the Return of All Hostages.”

Divisions among Israelis have deepened over how Netanyahu has handled the war against Hamas after the attack that killed about 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. Israel says around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.

“Basically they are not doing enough in order for the hostages to come back, either with military force, with (a) hostages’ deal, negotiating. Nothing is being done,” said Snir Dahan, uncle of hostage Carmel Gat, still in captivity in Gaza.

Craig Mokhiber, a former top UN human rights official, has raised concerns about the US plan to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza through a temporary pier. This comes after the US reported that four vessels supporting the pier were washed away in high seas on Saturday.

Mokhiber, who resigned from the UN last year, criticized the pier in a post on X, calling it a “fig leaf to cover US complicity in genocide and in the destruction of UNRWA.” He stated that the pier had “failed to have any meaningful impact” while “Israel continues to block aid at all crossing points.”

Despite the incident, the US Army has maintained that the pier is still operational and continues to deliver humanitarian assistance.

On Friday, the UN announced that it had received the equivalent of 97 trucks of humanitarian supplies through the floating dock since its operation began on 17 May.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric noted on Friday that aid delivery through the pier had “stabilized” after a “rocky start” but emphasised, “what we want to see, as we’ve been saying, is massive aid coming in through land routes.”

The US taxpayer-funded pier in Gaza, designed as a fig leaf to cover US complicity in #genocide & in the destruction of UNRWA, has failed to have any meaningful impact & has now been largely
washed away by the sea. Meanwhile, Israel continues to block aid at all crossing points. https://t.co/RT510NPDQ1

— Craig Mokhiber (@CraigMokhiber) May 25, 2024

Four humanitarian aid trucks from Egypt have entered Gaza through the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, according to Egyptian broadcaster Al-Qahera.

The crossing is located at the intersection of Israel, Gaza and Egypt.

The trucks were carrying fuel, according to the television network.

لحظة دخول شاحنات مساعدات إنسانية إلى قطاع غزة عبر معبر كرم أبو سالم و٤ شاحنات وقود

#القاهرة_الإخبارية #محمد_عبيد#تضامنا_مع_فلسطين#من_غزة_هنا_القاهرة pic.twitter.com/0cjw5F1gMA

— القاهرة الإخبارية - AlQahera News (@Alqaheranewstv) May 26, 2024

A spokesman for Hamas' armed wing said on Sunday its fighters had captured Israeli soldiers during fighting in Jabalia in northern Gaza on Saturday, though the Israeli military denied the claim.

The Hamas armed wing spokesman did not say how many soldiers had been abducted and showed no proof of the claim.

"Our fighters lured a Zionist force into an ambush inside a tunnel ... The fighters withdrew after they left all members of the force dead, wounded, and captured," Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for Al Qassam Brigades, said in a recorded message broadcast by Al Jazeera early on Sunday.

The Israeli military on Sunday denied the claim by Hamas' armed wing.

"The IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) clarifies that there is no incident in which a soldier was abducted," the military said in a statement.

Hamas released a video that appeared to show a bloodied person being dragged along the ground in a tunnel and photos of military fatigue and rifle. Reuters could not independently verify the identity of the person shown in the video nor his or her condition.