Lebanon army says Hamas hands over second member suspected of launching rockets at Israel

Lebanon’s military says Hamas has handed over another of its Lebanon-based members suspected of launching rockets towards Israel in March.

“An investigation with the detainee has begun under the supervision of the competent judiciary,” the army said in a statement. The first suspect was handed over on Sunday, according to the military.

Hamas has a longstanding presence within Lebanon, including in camps across the country where hundreds of thousands of longtime Palestinian refugees live and where Lebanese security forces have long had only limited authority.



'Concern' is all the EU has? After 18 months, they are still only concerned?

EU voices concern over Israel’s new planned offensive

EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni says the bloc “is concerned” by the Israeli cabinet-approved plan to ramp up the Gaza offensive, warning it would “result in further casualties and suffering for the Palestinian population”.

“We urge Israel to exercise the utmost restraint,” he said.

As we’ve reported, Israeli officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have said the new Israeli combat plan aims to permanently “conquer” Gaza.

Consistent anyway as Europe has ignored many genocides until too late, the Bosnian genocide being the most recent, although Ukraine can now claim that title.
https://www.coe.int/en/web/kyiv/-/ninety-years-on-from-the-holodomor-ukraine-once-again-faces-the-threat-of-genocide
Holodomor is what Netanyahu is currently doing to Gaza. (man-made famine engineered by Joseph Stalin)

Maybe be more concerned about the daily massacres and ongoing starvation...

Gaza daily death toll rises again

At least 41 people have now been killed in Israeli attacks on the coastal enclave since the early hours of Monday, medical sources tell Al Jazeera.

Ben-Gvir: No aid should be distributed in Gaza, even by Israeli military

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has reiterated his staunch opposition to any aid entering Gaza after Israel’s cabinet approved a plan for the military to take over humanitarian relief deliveries.

“The only aid that should enter Gaza is aid for voluntary migration,” said Ben-Gvir in comments carried by Arutz Sheva media.

“As long as there are hostages no food, no electricity, and no other aid should be allowed – neither by the [Israeli military] nor by civil society.”


Netanyahu threatens Gaza’s population ‘will be moved’

The Israeli prime minister has released a new Hebrew-language video message on X, addressing the cabinet-approved plan to expand the Gaza offensive.

According to translated excerpts reported by Reuters, Netanyahu said Gaza’s Palestinian population “will be moved, for its own protection”. Eighteen months of Israeli attacks have killed more than 52,000, including thousands of children, and wounded nearly 120,000 others.

Netanyahu also said Israeli soldiers would not go into Gaza, launch raids and then retreat. “The intention is the opposite of that,” he said.


Hamas rejects Israel’s Gaza ‘conquest’ threats: Senior official

Speaking to Al Jazeera, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi has rejected any Israeli plans that involve capturing Gaza. The statement comes amid reports that Israel has drawn up plans for the “conquest” and indefinite occupation of the territory.

Mardawi said the group would only accept a deal with Israel that includes a comprehensive ceasefire and the complete withdrawal from Gaza.

“Our people have no choice but to achieve a comprehensive deal that guarantees security and safety for our people,” he said. He said any Israeli efforts to achieve concessions through threats or mass killings would fail.

‘Game of chicken’ within Israeli government over Gaza war

The announcement of escalating the war on Gaza with the call-up of tens of thousands of soldiers has exposed the deep political divisions within the Israeli government over the danger of long-term occupation of the Strip, a political analyst says.

“The sense I get is this is a game of chicken that’s being played inside the Netanyahu government. Who will lead this? The settlers are certainly committed, and the hard-right is certainly committed. Netanyahu and his ministers don’t want to be a part of this. They are throwing warnings and disclaimers all about, leaking things to the media,” Ori Goldberg told Al Jazeera.

“They are talking about the severity of [military] chief of staff Zamir’s plan for Israeli forces and the hostages. That all tells me we’re looking at a group of Israelis that’s quite afraid to proceed – no matter how brash the rhetoric is.”

Israeli aid distribution plan violates ‘humanitarian principles’

Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, says an Israeli plan to take over the distribution of humanitarian aid to the coastal enclave at hubs controlled by the Israeli army goes against long-established norms.

“We cannot and will not do something which is fundamentally against humanitarian principles,” Egeland said.

“The United Nations agencies, all other international humanitarian groups and NGOs have said no to be part of this idea coming from the Israeli cabinet and from the Israeli military.”

Egeland said the Israeli government wanted to “militarise, manipulate, politicise the aid by allowing only aid to a few concentration hubs in the south, a scheme where people will be screened where it’s a completely inoperable system”.

“That would force people to move to get aid, and it would continue the starvation of the civilian population. We will have no part in that. If one side in a bitter armed conflict tries to control, manipulate, ration aid among the civilians on the other side, it is against everything we stand for.”

The Israeli plan comes as Israel’s blockade of all food deliveries enters its ninth week.

Finland ‘deeply concerned’ over Israeli plans to expand operations

Finland has been increasingly critical of Israel’s war in Gaza, with Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen saying in January that Israel’s claims of self-defence no longer carried weight and that “enough is enough”.

Valtonen has now responded to Israel’s latest plans, writing on X that she is “deeply concerned about Israeli plans to expand its military operation in Gaza”.

“I once again urge all parties to return to a ceasefire, and Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages,” she wrote. “Israel must ensure unimpeded access of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

Deeply concerned about Israeli plans to expand its military operation in Gaza. I once again urge all parties to return to a ceasefire, and Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages. Israel must ensure unimpeded access of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

— Elina Valtonen (@elinavaltonen) May 5, 2025

Dutch police arrest pro-Palestine protesters at WWII anniversary event

Five pro-Palestine demonstrators have been detained during a memorial in Wageningen, central Netherlands.

The arrests were for disturbing public order, a police spokesperson said. As the city marked the 80th anniversary of Dutch liberation at the end of World War II in Europe, about 250 protesters gathered to voice opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza.

They held signs reading, “Not then, not now, never again” and “Don’t give hate power”.

They also held an 80-metre (262-foot) long red banner with text describing it as a symbol of “the red line the government refuses to draw”, referring to the Dutch leadership that continues to provide military support to Israel.

Anti-Netanyahu protest in West Jerusalem


<sub>Israeli forces intervene at a protest against the Netanyahu government in West Jerusalem


The Bring Them Home Campaign, a group representing captives’ relatives, condemned the escalation of the war as reckless</sub>

‘Netanyahu might push for two different scenarios in Gaza’

Tamer Qarmout of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might go back to “the old recipe” of fully occupying Gaza for the foreseeable future. But the situation remains unclear.

“Even if Hamas capitulates and disappears from the picture, do Netanyahu and the Israeli army think Gazans will receive them with flowers?” he asked. “Of course, Gazans will resist – with or without Hamas. It is occupation.”

Even after the recent call-up of 30,000 Israeli reservists, it is not enough to control every aspect of life in Gaza, he told Al Jazeera.

As a second scenario, Israel might push more than 2.3 million Palestinians into a narrow corner in the south, Qarmout said.

“We have to worry and take this scenario very seriously. This is a scenario of Israelis handpicking Gazans and pushing them outside the border or shipping them to somewhere else.”

What comes next for Gaza “really depends on what is in Netanyahu’s mind”, he said.

Netanyahu seeks to rope US into Middle East ‘disaster’: Iran’s top diplomat

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to pull the US, with which Tehran is engaged in nuclear talks, into conflict in the Middle East.

“Netanyahu is directly MEDDLING within the US Government to DRAG it into another DISASTER in our region,” Araghchi said in a post on X, warning against any “mistake against Iran”.

The comments come after Netanyahu warned that Israel, in concert with the US, would repeatedly strike at Iran, which Israel blames for a Houthi-claimed missile attack on Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday.

LETHAL support for Netanyahu's Genocide in Gaza and waging WAR on behalf of Netanyahu in Yemen have achieved NOTHING for the American people.

Netanyahu is attempting to brazenly DICTATE what President Trump can and cannot do in his diplomacy with Iran. The world has also learned… pic.twitter.com/E35C611O9q

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) May 5, 2025

At least eight killed in Israeli attack on vehicle in central Gaza

Israeli forces have struck a vehicle near Nuseirat refugee camp. At least eight people have been killed in the attack, according to our colleagues on the ground. Many others are injured, says the Palestinian Information Center.

Footage verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking unit shows the gruesome aftermath of Israeli strikes on a vehicle in Nuseirat. The video shows several people dead in the bombed-out car, their bodies severely disfigured.

Another bloodied person lies on the street beside the car, barely moving, as people gather around to try to comfort him.

Palestinians fear ‘second Nakba’ as Israel plans to expand Gaza campaign

People quite clearly understand that Israel does not want to end the war soon in Gaza, but to expand its ground operations in order to force Hamas to make more concessions in negotiations.

But many fear a more permanent threat of the occupation of Gaza, which deepens fears of a second Nakba, referring to the mass displacement of Palestinians in 1948.

We have been talking to many families today. They say they are witnessing similar circumstances to their ancestors back in 1948: indiscriminate killing, starvation, and ongoing displacement orders. They are quite terrified by the fact that they might be pushed out of their native towns and villages.

Social media is filled with messages from people sharing their own thoughts, saying that they will not leave Gaza and sharing their historical struggles against occupation.


_{Palestinians, who face fuel shortages due to the Israeli attacks, use donkeys and horse-drawn carts for transport due to the closure of border gates and the ongoing blockade in Khan Younis, May 5}


Far-right Israeli minister compares Gaza war to 1948, 1967

Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu has likened Israel’s new war plans in Gaza to the 1948 mass displacement of Palestinians, known as the Nakba, as well as Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Golan Heights and Gaza in 1967, known as the Naksa.

“In the wars of 1948 and 1967, we occupied land and restored security, and this is exactly what we need to do now in Gaza,” Eliyahu said, according to Israeli radio station 103FM.

Eliyahu, who has repeatedly called for mass attacks on Gaza, also said the return of Israeli captives remains “contingent upon our firm approach, and what will prompt them to release them is the fear of Israel and the world”.

Current situation over 52,000 (identified) killed, 1.9 million displaced.

‘Despicable, unconscionable’: Irish foreign minister slams Israel’s war expansion

Simon Harris has been the latest European official to weigh in on Israel’s expansion of its war on Gaza.

In a statement, the top diplomat in the Republic of Ireland said the expansion of Israeli operations in Gaza “would result in further deaths, casualties and untold suffering for the Palestinian population who already face a dire humanitarian situation”.

“What is happening to the people of Gaza is despicable and unconscionable,” Harris said, strongly urging Israel to exercise “restraint”.

“We need to see an immediate cessation of hostilities, release of remaining hostages and the resumption of humanitarian aid at scale into Gaza,” he added.

The reports of a planned extension of military operations by Israeli forces in Gaza are alarming.

Such a move would result in further deaths, casualties and untold suffering for the Palestinian population who already face a dire humanitarian situation. pic.twitter.com/HlBOp9eds4

— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) May 5, 2025

Israel’s ex-ground forces commander calls for 2-month limit on expanded Gaza offensive

Major General Yiftach Ron-Tal, former commander of Israel’s ground forces, has called for the government to put an expiration date on the upcoming Gaza offensive.

“A time limit must be set for the continuation of the war,” Ron-Tal said in comments carried by Israel’s 103FM radio station. “Either we launch a decisive operation that leads to the conquest of the Gaza Strip – in my view, between four to eight weeks – or if that doesn’t happen, I support ending it all and pulling out,” he added.

“Enough with the prolongation of the war,” Ron-Tal said.

Israeli minister predicts little push back from Trump on Gaza plans

Minister Ze’ev Elkin has downplayed the prospect of US President Donald Trump pushing back on plans for Israel’s military to indefinitely occupy Gaza following the war. “I don’t feel that there is pressure on us from Trump and his administration – they understand exactly what is happening here,” said Elkin.

Trump has previously called for the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza. The White House has not yet responded to Israel’s recent expansion of its military assault on the enclave.

UN chief ‘alarmed’ by Israeli military plan for Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “alarmed” by Israel’s decision to expand military action in Gaza and seek the “conquest” of the territory, according to a spokesman.

“This will inevitably lead to countless more civilians killed and the further destruction of Gaza,” Farhan Haq said. “Gaza is, and must remain, an integral part of a future Palestinian state.”

Netanyahu said earlier that the war’s expansion would be “intensive” after his security cabinet approved plans that may include seizing the enclave as a whole.

Trump says people in Gaza treated badly by Hamas

The US president has repeated a pledge to help get food to Palestinians in Gaza when asked at the White House about Israeli plans for an expanded assault on the territory. Trump also accused Hamas of treating the people of Gaza “badly”.

“We’re going to help the people of Gaza get some food. People are starving, and we’re going to help them get some food. … Hamas is making it impossible because they’re taking everything that’s brought in,” Trump said.

Gaza has been under Israel’s total siege for more than two months with no aid – including food, water and medicine – entering the enclave. Trump did not offer his views on Israel’s plan of intensifying military action in Gaza.

They're treated much worse by Trump. Biden was definitely genocide Joe, but at least he managed some restraint on Netanyahu and managed to get aid back into Gaza. Trump is holodomor Donald.

https://hromadske.ua/en/posts/anne-applebaum-on-the-holodomor-ukraine-and-trump

That's from before the current Ukraine genocide, I wonder if Trump thought starvation was a good idea to forcibly remove people from Gaza. It also shows how dishonest Trump has always been and no, there is no evidence, actively disputed by the UN on the ground, of Hamas taking anything that was brought in.

Expanded Gaza war? Situation already ‘catastrophic and tragic’

Gaza residents say they don’t expect Israel’s expanded assault will make any significant change to the already dire humanitarian situation in the territory.

“Israel has not stopped the war, the killing, the bombing, the destruction, the siege and the starvation – every day – so how can they talk about expanding military operations?” Awni Awad said.

Awad, 39, who lives in a tent in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis after being displaced by Israeli orders to leave his home, said his situation is already “catastrophic and tragic”. “I call on the world to witness the famine that grows and spreads every day,” he said.

Aya al-Skafy, a resident of Gaza City, said her baby died because of malnutrition and medicine shortages last week. “She was four months old and weighed 2.8kg [6.2lb]. Because of severe malnutrition, she suffered from blood acidity, liver and kidney failure, and many other complications. Her hair and nails also fell out due to malnutrition.”

Gaza media office says hospitals two days away from collapse

Within 48 hours, hospitals across Gaza will be on the “brink of collapse”, according to the Gaza media office, which blamed Israeli forces for refusing to allow the UN and other international organisations to access some fuel stores in the enclave.

“We warn in the strongest terms of an imminent disaster threatening the lives of thousands of sick and wounded in the Gaza Strip,” the office said. The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator said last week that aid workers have been repeatedly blocked from accessing fuel in “restricted” areas.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the systematic crime of the occupation of Gaza by preventing fuel from reaching hospitals,” the media office said.

“We consider it a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, a blatant breach of the Geneva Conventions, and a direct contribution to deepening the ongoing health catastrophe,” it said.

Air attacks on Yemen’s Hodeidah reported

We’re getting reports of air attacks on Hodeidah, in western Yemen.

The Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah outlet said the US-Israeli attacks targeted Bajil district. Several Israeli media reports also said the Israeli Air Force is attacking the port of Hodeidah.

‘STARVE THEM!’: MAGA Politician Wishes DEATH On Rashida Tlaib & All Palestinians

Rare honest reporting by BBC on Houthis’ missile attack may distress Netanyahu

In an unprecedented development, the BBC has made an uncomfortable assessment for Benjamin Netanyahu as a reporter outlined the impact of the Houthis’ latest missile attack on the Ben Gurion airport. Rifat Jawaid explains what this means for Netanyahu and his supporters in the West, particularly the US and the UK.

Israeli Settlers Take Revenge on Palestinian Featured in Louis Theroux Documentary

Israeli settlers have taken revenge on a Palestinian man who appeared in a Louis Theroux documentary exposing life under occupation in Hebron. In the H2 zone—controlled by the Israeli military—Palestinians live under constant threat. This man bravely spoke out, and now he’s paying the price. The footage shows him being harassed and attacked—another stark reminder of the impunity settlers often enjoy. This is the harsh truth behind the headlines.

"Guy that said "you know exactly why" sounds like hes from Southern England absolute traitor to the uk"

"Always amazing to see all these people in the IOF or amongst the settlers that are all "so native to the land" and when they open their mouth, you clearly hear an American, British or French accent. And how unhinged they all behave towards the real native people of Palestine tells you that they do not ever have to fear any repercus"

‘Despicable’: US Senator Bernie Sanders condemns Israel’s war plan

Independent United States Senator Bernie Sanders has decried Israel’s war plans to expand its attack on Gaza, occupy the enclave long term, and take control of aid distribution.

There have been “64 days with no aid reaching Gaza. No food, no water, no medicine. Children are starving,” Sanders said, referring to the period since Israel resumed attacks following a weeks-long ceasefire.

“Netanyahu’s extremist government now says it will occupy Gaza and put mercenaries in charge of distributing aid, instead of the UN and other aid groups,” he said. “Despicable. No more US support for Netanyahu’s war machine.”

64 days with no aid reaching Gaza. No food, no water, no medicine. Children are starving.

Netanyahu’s extremist government now says it will occupy Gaza and put mercenaries in charge of distributing aid, instead of the UN and other aid groups.

Despicable. No more US support…

— Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 5, 2025

Israeli captive families denounce new war escalation plan

As Israel’s government threatens to escalate its war on Gaza, opinion polls show the Israeli public increasingly wants a deal to bring back the remaining 59 captives there.

Angry scenes erupted outside the Israeli parliament or Knesset, with dozens of protesters scuffling with police on Monday.

“All the families are tired,” said Ruby Chen, whose son Itay was killed in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. “All the families have been scared about this new manoeuvring because there is no guarantee that it will get us to where the families want.”

Israel approved plans on Monday to capture the entire Gaza Strip and remain in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time. The move would jeopardise the lives of those still being held by Hamas, say the families of captives.

_{Pro-Israel demonstrators gather for a ‘Bring Them Home Now’ rally outside Columbia University in New York City, the United States}

Red Cross: Gaza humanitarian aid should not be ‘politicised’

Humanitarian aid must immediately reach Gaza’s besieged residents and should not be politicised, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says.

“The level of need among civilians in Gaza right now is overwhelming and aid needs to be let in immediately,” spokesman Christian Cardon said.

“Under international humanitarian law, Israel has an obligation to use all means available to ensure that the basic needs of the civilian population under its control are met.”

Israel has accused Hamas of diverting humanitarian aid – which Hamas denies – and said its blockade is necessary to pressure the group to release Israeli captives amid the ongoing starvation in the enclave.

“The ICRC manages and distributes humanitarian supplies directly or together with our partners so we see where those items go,” Cardon said. “Our deliveries into Gaza are conducted in full transparency with all relevant authorities.”