Israel/Palästina

"We may have another seven months of fighting to consolidate our success and achieve what we have defined as the destruction of Hamas' power and military capabilities," national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told Israeli public radio.

The EU is ready to reactivate its border mission around the besieged southern Gaza city of Rafah. The EU’s foreign ministers on Monday (27 May) agreed on this as part of stepping up their diplomatic and humanitarian efforts in the region. The European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) Rafah could be used to monitor the humanitarian aid crossing point from Egypt.

The International Court of Justice will rule on Friday May 24 on South Africa's request to order a halt to Israel's Rafah offensive in Gaza, it said on Thursday. 

Ireland, Norway and Spain each announced their intention Wednesday to recognize Palestinian statehood, citing the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and a need to achieve a two-state solution for lasting peace in the region.

Hostilities across Gaza reportedly continued on Wednesday, fuelling already alarming aid access problems and dire food insecurity as the main entrance routes for relief convoys remained closed or too dangerous to access, UN aid workers warned.

Arrest warrants are being sought for the leaders of Hamas and Israel for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the war in Gaza, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Monday.

The situation in Gaza is so devastating that no words can adequately describe it, a humanitarian officer working in the besieged enclave has said. … She spoke to UN News from Rafah … .

In its final statement following a meeting in Manama, the 22-member grouping called for "international protection and peacekeeping forces of the United Nations in the occupied Palestinian territories" until a two-state solution is implemented.

South Africa is asking the UN's top court to order Israel to stop its military offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza. It is presenting its case at a two-day hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Israel is to deliver its response at the court on Friday.

[…] To date, Rafah has emptied of at least 600,000 people in just the last week, and another 100,000 have been uprooted from the north of the enclave, amid fresh evacuation orders by the Israeli military.