Italy, Cyprus sending Israel firefighting aircraft: Report

The European countries are set to dispatch eight firefighting planes to Israel today to support its emergency efforts, The Times of Israel reports.

The assistance comes as fires continue to burn in 11 hotspots near Jerusalem, with seven towns still under evacuation, the publication cites Israel’s Fire and Rescue Service as saying.

_{Flames and smoke rise as wildfires rage following extreme heat and strong winds in Neve Ilan, Israel, April 30}

Israel wildfires flare near Jerusalem for a second day

Israeli firefighting teams have been tackling wildfires near Jerusalem for a second day, with police reporting the reopening of several major roads that had been closed.

The fires broke out on Wednesday along the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, prompting police to shut the roads and evacuate thousands of residents from nearby areas.

Israel’s firefighting service said 163 ground crews and 12 aircraft were working to contain the flames. Rescue agency Magen David Adom said it treated 23 people on Wednesday, mostly for smoke inhalation and burns.

Netanyahu says 18 arrested on suspicion of arson: Report

Israel’s Arutz Sheva media outlet has quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as stating that 18 people are detained on suspicion of starting fires that have swept parts of Israel.

Fires near Jerusalem largely ‘under control’: Israeli official

Fires that swept through areas near Jerusalem have largely been tamed, though dangerous hotspots remain, according to Israeli officials. Major roads that were closed due to the blaze near the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway have now reopened, the AFP news agency reports.

“The fire is under control,” said Shlomi Harush, a senior official in Israel’s firefighting service. He noted that crews remain active at several “hotspots” and warned that strong winds could cause the flames to build back up.

As we reported earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted by local media as saying 18 people were arrested on suspicion of starting the fires, without providing further details. While wildfires are not unheard of in Israel at this time of year, they are not considered a regular occurrence.

They call that a national emergency requiring international assistance? Apocalyptic scenes? It took 24 days to get the wildfires in LA under control, burning down 16,000 structures. Israel exaggerating as usual to distract. No wonder most of the images online are all close ups.

Israeli police say three people arrested for arson

Israeli police have corrected PM Netanyahu’s earlier statement that 18 people were detained on suspicion of arson, after fires tore through areas near Jerusalem, local media reported.

Israel’s Arutz Sheva media quoted Israeli police as saying three – not 18 – individuals were arrested.

Israeli President Herzog at Independence Day ceremony: ‘We cannot celebrate with whole heart’

Israel has gone ahead with ceremonies in Jerusalem marking the country’s Independence Day, even as fires continue nearby.

President Isaac Herzog is speaking at a ceremony near his residence attended by a group of distinguished military soldiers, reports The Times of Israel. During the address, Herzog extended thanks to firefighters battling the ongoing blazes and addressed the situation of captives in Gaza.

“We cannot celebrate independence with a whole heart when our brothers and sisters are not with us,” he said in comments carried by the Israeli media. “Israel as a nation longs for them, for their freedom.”

In an earlier interview with The Times of Israel to mark the occasion, Herzog said Israel remained engaged in diplomatic efforts to free the captives.

“These are very delicate hours of negotiations, a lot of back and forth, a lot going on,” Herzog said. “I keep cautious about what I can say. All I can say is that we should do our utmost to bring them back home, and whenever needed, walk the extra mile in order to do that.”

Netanyahu says return of captives not ‘primary goal’

Netanyahu says the main objective of the war on Gaza is not to bring back the captives but to “defeat our enemies”, referring to Hamas.

“We want to bring back the remaining 59 [captives], but the ultimate goal of the war is the victory over our enemies,” Netanyahu said at an event in Jerusalem.

His comments received backlash from relatives of some of the remaining captives, including a mother named Einav Zangauker, who was quoted by local media as saying: “My goal from this moment on is to remove Netanyahu from power.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of captives held in Gaza, said in a statement that their freedom should be the government’s “top priority”.

Relatives of the captives and their supporters have repeatedly pressed Netanyahu to reach a lasting ceasefire in Gaza that ensures the release of all captives. For months, police have repeatedly dispersed crowds during mass protests calling for the captives’ immediate release.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/01/middleeast/netanyahu-calls-defeating-israels-enemies-the-supreme-objective-intl

American pro-Israel group slams Netanyahu’s comments on captives

The US-based group J Street, which supports Israel but has been a vocal critic of Netanyahu and has called for a deal to end the war and secure the release of Israeli captives, has slammed Netanyahu for stating that the return of the captives is not the primary aim of the war.

“There is no ‘victory’ with the hostages in captivity. There is no ‘victory’ when Netanyahu refuses any post-war peace and stability plan,” the group said in a social media post. “This is no ‘victory’ when this government drags its country further into a moral and strategic abyss.”

A poll done in April found that while 73 percent of US Jews held a favourable view of Israel, 53 percent said they lacked confidence in Netanyahu.

Netanyahu to hold consultations on expanding war in Gaza

The Israel Broadcasting Authority is reporting that Netanyahu will convene security officials on Friday to approve plans for an expansion of military operations in Gaza. The defence minister, chief of staff and other leaders of the security establishment will be among those attending, the report said.

UK counterterrorism unit probes rappers Kneecap but music stars back band

The UK government has launched an investigation into online videos of Irish rappers Kneecap after the band denied supporting Hamas and Hezbollah or inciting violence against UK politicians.

London’s Metropolitan Police said two videos had been “referred to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit for assessment by specialist officers, who have determined there are grounds for further investigation into potential offences linked to both videos”.

The announcement came as nearly 40 other groups and artists, among them Pulp, Paul Weller and Primal Scream, rallied around the band amid an escalating row about political messaging at its concerts. Other artists offering their support are The Pogues, Massive Attack, Dexys and Thin Lizzy.

“As artists, we feel the need to register our opposition to any political repression of artistic freedom,” the group said in a joint statement. They added that there had been a “clear, concerted attempt to censor and ultimately deplatform”.

Since the row erupted, Kneecap has had several concerts cancelled, including one in southwest England and three in Germany.

Pro-Palestine activist in Belgium decries arrest after attending protest

Mohammed Khatib, who works for a Palestinian prisoners solidarity network called Samidoun, says that he was arrested by Belgian police after attending a pro-Palestine protest in Brussels.

He sees his arrest was part of a larger effort by authorities to exert pressure on critics of Israel’s brutal war in Gaza.

“If they had something they could use against me, I would not be sitting here. I would be in prison,” he told Al Jazeera. “The goal of this intimidation is to silence the movement, to make an example of us and say that if we do the same, this is our future. We will fight this.”


Hamas calls on Switzerland to reverse its ban

Hamas has put out a statement addressing Switzerland’s decision to enforce a new law banning the group and related organisations on May 15.

Here is a summary of their translated comments:

Israeli drone attack in southern Lebanon kills three: Ministry

Three people were killed in an Israeli drone attack on a vehicle in southern Lebanon, the country’s Health Ministry has said.

The ministry in a statement said an “Israeli enemy” drone attack on a vehicle in the southern town of Meiss el-Jabal killed “a Lebanese and two Syrians”.

Despite a ceasefire agreed in late November between Hezbollah and Israel, the Lebanese government said earlier this month that 190 people have been killed and 485 injured in Lebanon by Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect.

Animated maps show US-led attacks on Yemen

On March 15, nearly two months into his second term, US President Donald Trump launched Operation Rough Rider, a campaign of air strikes ostensibly targeting Houthi positions in Yemen, which has since killed nearly 300 people.

The US military said its forces “have hit over 1,000 targets” in Yemen since mid-March, “killing Houthi fighters and leaders, including senior Houthi missile and UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] officials, and degrading their capabilities” with no mention of civilian deaths.

On April 18, a US strike on Yemen’s Ras Isa fuel port killed at least 80 people and wounded 150 in one of the deadliest attacks on the country by US forces.

Ten days later, US forces struck a migrant detention centre in Saada, reportedly killing at least 68 people. The centre had been housing about 115 people, mainly from African nations, who had been detained trying to cross into Saudi Arabia to find work.

Israeli settlers vandalise property, steal cattle near Jordan Valley: Report

A group of Israeli settlers waged an overnight attack on family property in the northern Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, reports the Wafa news agency.

During the attack, which took place near the illegal Israeli settlement of Hamra, settlers wrecked tents, solar cells and other property, while taking dozens of cattle, according to Wafa.

Israeli settlers regularly storm into Palestinian towns, attacking and vandalising property. The Ramallah-based Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, a body that monitors illegal Israeli settlement expansion, reported 255 West Bank settler attacks in the month of March alone.

Israeli forces raid towns and villages in occupied West Bank

Israeli forces have stormed the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron, and the village of Qaryut, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.

The northern West Bank has seen a surge in Israeli military operations and violence from Israelis from illegal settlements, leading to casualties, including the killings and arrests of Palestinians.

In January, Israeli forces launched a major incursion involving thousands of soldiers in cities and refugee camps in the area, killing dozens of people. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee their homes since the operation began.

Israeli troops have swept through refugee camps in Jenin and nearby cities, including Tulkarem, demolishing houses and basic infrastructure, including roads and water pipes.

Eight people killed in Israeli strike on Khan Younis home

As we reported earlier, Israeli forces have carried out numerous attacks in or around southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, causing numerous casualties. One attack targeted a home in the city, killing at least eight people, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

_{Palestinians search the rubble of a house targeted by an Israeli army strike in Khan Younis on May 1}


‘I wish I could go back to how I was’

A 12-year-old girl from Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood has issued a plea to be taken abroad for medical treatment.

In a video verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency, the girl – identified as Rashaf – appears visibly emaciated as she describes her struggle with malnutrition.

“I wish I could go back to how I was, I wish my hair would grow long so I could brush it, and I wish I could pray standing up, but now I pray while sitting,” she says, breaking down in tears.

Parents in Gaza mourn children killed in Israeli attacks

As Israel continues to carry out devastating and indiscriminate attacks across the Strip, parents struggle to make sense of the loss of their children.

“She had a ball on her lap with a doll in her hand. Will she fight them with her football or doll?” Sami Abed, father of four-year-old Massa, told The Associated Press after an Israeli raid on a tent that killed his daughter.

“What can she do? She can’t even carry a rock.”

Authorities in Gaza say at least 809 children have been killed since Israel abandoned a ceasefire and resumed full attacks on Gaza in March.

“We see her when we’re asleep. When we wake up, we remember her,” said Sami. At the breakfast table, “her spot is empty.”

Unemployment in Gaza soars past 50 percent: Media office

The Gaza Strip is enduring dire economic and humanitarian conditions due to Israel’s near two-month-long blockade, the enclave’s Government Media Office has said on the occasion of Labour Day.

“The region’s unemployment rate has surpassed 50 percent, ranking among the highest globally,” it said.

“With the destruction of industrial facilities, factories, and public service facilities by the occupation during wars, Palestinian workers in the Gaza Strip are completely unable to secure a steady source of income, facing a humanitarian crisis that is worsening by the day.”

UNRWA remains the largest provider of emergency learning and psychosocial support across the #Gaza Strip, bringing a ray of hope to children.

But the challenges are immense:

🔔 Around 660,000 children in Gaza are out of school due to the war.

🔔 Following the resumption of… pic.twitter.com/cm10dwsEgp

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) May 1, 2025

UNRWA: 3,000 aid trucks are lined up at Gaza border

The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees has again decried Israel’s refusal to allow any food, medicine or fuel into Gaza, saying that humanitarian organisations stand ready to step in and help.

Israel’s total blockade of Gaza has passed its 60th day, the longest such border closure the Strip has ever faced, deepening the hunger crisis in the coastal enclave.

“One million children depend on aid, and without it, their lives are in danger,” UNRWA wrote.

Nearly 3,000 UNRWA trucks with lifesaving supplies are waiting outside #Gaza. But the siege blocking their entry continues.

1️⃣ million children depend on aid, and without it, their lives are in danger.

The crossings must reopen, and the siege must be lifted.… pic.twitter.com/L5nADD2ydH

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) April 30, 2025

People killed in Khan Younis drone attack were farmers trying to grow food

Once again, explosions and air raids rock civilian blocks in the northern and southern parts of the Strip. We’re looking at three people killed in one residential area in Beit Lahiya. Others critically injured have been transferred to the nearby Indonesian Hospital.

In the eastern part of Khan Younis, three farmers were killed in an Israeli attack this morning. According to witnesses, they were on their way to their farm when at least one drone attack killed them. They were trying to farm and grow food to make up for the acute shortages across Gaza.

Meanwhile, hospitals are struggling to treat the wounded and save lives. One little girl succumbed to wounds she suffered in recent days and died.

Aid lootings in Gaza ‘a grave signal of how serious things are’

At least five looting incidents took place yesterday across Gaza, with desperate people searching for food and aid at kitchens, stores and aid warehouses, reports Reuters, quoting residents and aid workers.

In one case, thousands of people crowded into an UNRWA site in Gaza City, taking medicine, said Louise Wateridge, a senior official for the agency. “While devastating, [the looting] is not surprising in the face of total systemic collapse,” she said.

Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) in Gaza, also described the looting as “a grave signal of how serious things have become in the Gaza Strip”, pointing to “the spread of hunger, the loss of hope, and desperation among residents as well as the absence of the authority of the law”.

Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Gaza Government Media Office, said the looting incidents were “isolated individual practices that do not reflect the values and ethics of our Palestinian people”.

He said that despite being targeted, Gaza authorities were “following up on these incidents and addressing them in a way that ensures the preservation of order and human dignity”.

Blocking aid to Gaza is a ‘cruel collective punishment,’ says UN relief chief

The United Nations has again called on Israel to lift its blockade of humanitarian aid delivery into the Gaza Strip.

“International law is unequivocal: as the occupying power, Israel must allow humanitarian support in. Aid, and the civilian lives it saves, should never be a bargaining chip,” Tom Fletcher, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said in a statement.

He said blocking aid starves civilians and leaves them without basic medical support, adding that it strips them of dignity and hope and “inflicts a cruel collective punishment. Blocking aid kills.

“The humanitarian movement is independent, impartial and neutral. We believe that all civilians are equally worthy of protection,” said Fletcher, underlining that they remain ready to save as many lives as they can, despite the risks.

_{Palestinians wait in long lines with empty pots in hands to get food aid distributed by charity organisations at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza City}

Director of Gaza’s Health Ministry calls on UN to issue famine declaration

Dr Munir al-Bursh, director of Gaza’s Health Ministry, said the UN should make an official declaration of famine in the Strip as an Israeli blockade choking off access to food and other vital goods enters its third month.

“We call on the United Nations to issue an official declaration of famine in Gaza, given that field indicators and medical and humanitarian data confirm that international conditions for this have been met,” he said.

Here are some points he shared with Al Jazeera Arabic about the dire conditions faced by Palestinians in Gaza.

‘We are starving Gaza’s children’, laments top WHO official

WHO’s executive director, Michael Ryan, has implored the international community to act as Gaza’s children suffer under a crippling two-month blockade.

“We are breaking the bodies and minds of the children of Gaza. We are starving the children of Gaza. We are complicit,” Ryan told reporters at the WHO’s headquarters in Geneva. “As a physician, I am angry. It is an abomination.”

_{A Palestinian reacts as people gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, April 29}

‘It’s not easy to witness people’s suffering,’ says aid worker

Yousra Abu Sharekh, Gaza programme coordinator at aid group INARA, told Al Jazeera that more and more babies and children are coming into its health clinic in Gaza malnourished and lacking essential supplies.

“It’s not easy to witness what people suffer. They lack everything,” said Abu Sharekh, talking about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the enclave. “They need diapers, baby formula, milk, everything.

“This adds more stress and more psychological strain on the parents. How can they secure the needs of their children?”

Abu Sharekh noted that INARA is running out of staples due to the blockade.

“Tomorrow will be the last day of distributing rice,” she said, adding that Palestinians already failing to access protein will now face even greater deprivation.

Israel’s conduct risks setting dangerous global precedent, Pakistan warns in ICJ hearing

Pakistan has told the ICJ that Israel’s actions against UNRWA represent “one of the most significant” breaches of the UN privileges and immunities.

“If Israel is not stopped, that conduct will become an invitation and a blueprint for governments around the world to use the power of the state to remove international scrutiny,” said Syed Haider Shah, representing Pakistan. “Israel’s behaviour is therefore a threat to the UN operations globally and should be treated as such by the court.”

Today was the fourth day of hearings at the ICJ addressing Israel’s obligations in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza and the West Bank.

Qatar tells ICJ that Israel ‘created, perpetrated’ humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza

Qatar’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Mutlaq al-Qahtani, told the ICJ that:

Israel still engaged in genocidal acts, says Qatari official in ICJ address

It was an emotional delivery. Senior Qatari diplomat Mutlaq al-Qahtani’s voice was breaking at certain points as he spoke at the ICJ.

His delivery was broken down into two main points. The first being that Israel has created and perpetuated a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and his second was about Israel’s campaign against UNRWA and that this is a violation of Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law.

He said there’s nothing abstract about Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law, it has withheld humanitarian aid as a weapon of war and as a tool of extortion.

Pakistan destroys US defence of Israel over UNRWA-Hamas propaganda at ICJ

Pakistani representative Syed Haider Shah on Thursday made a powerful argument in support of UNRWA and the Palestinians at the International Court of Justice and destroyed the plains made by the US in support of Israel on Wednesday. Pakistan bravely highlighted the hidden agenda of Netanyahu to get rid of the UN agency UNRWA.

EXPOSED: Israel Handed Power In UK Justice System - w/. Huda Ammori