By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Politics - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 17 May 2025

Casualties reported as Israeli air strikes hit in vicinity of Khan Younis

Our colleagues in Al Jazeera Arabic report that Israel has hit the town of al-Qarara, northeast of Khan Younis, with air strikes this morning.

Local media also report that one person was killed and two injured in Israeli air strikes near the Murtaja Junction south of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

A third report said two air strikes had hit the town of al-Qarara.


Israeli drone attack kills two in southern Gaza

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that two Palestinians have been killed and four others injured in an Israeli drone attack on the Maen area of Khan Younis.


Israeli military shells areas across Gaza

Our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues are reporting ongoing Israeli military shelling in the northern areas of Rafah city in southern Gaza, as well as southeast of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

Israeli forces have also shelled a house east of Jabalia in northern Gaza, resulting in injuries and missing people.


Israeli forces mass near Gaza as operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ launched



Israeli military helicopters attacking east of Rafah

Local Palestinian media report that Israeli attack helicopters are concentrating “intense” fire east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.


Heavy artillery fire as Israeli armour advances near central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah: Reports

Local Palestinian media report that Israeli military vehicles are advancing to the southeast of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, under the protection of heavy covering fire.

Israeli artillery fire is targeting the Abu Holi, Abu al-Ajin and al-Jafarawi areas east of Deir el-Balah and a series of huge explosions has been reported in the al-Qarara area of Khan Younis in the south, which we reported had been hit by air strikes earlier this morning.


Israeli attacks prevent rescuers reaching people under rubble in northern Gaza

Gaza’s civil defence agency says it is unable to reach Palestinians missing under destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip due to “continuous Israeli bombardment”.

“The occupation targets everyone who moves in the northern areas of the Strip, and we find it difficult to reach those areas to save citizens,” agency spokesman Mahmoud Basal said in a statement.

Dozens of people have been killed in the latest Israeli attacks and many remain under the rubble, Basal said, including from attacks on more than 10 inhabited homes in the Beit Lahiya and Jabalia areas.



Around the Network
SvennoJ on 17 May 2025

Palestinians experiencing ‘nonstop state of displacement’

We have been hearing loud explosions of ongoing attacks across parts of Gaza City. Attacks are targeting two densely populated areas, Zeitoun and Shujayea.

More than half of the population in these areas has been pushed into forced displacement through new evacuation orders. People are experiencing a nonstop state of displacement across the Strip.

All of this is happening under an ongoing heavy bombardment campaign in northern Gaza.

What is also concerning is the use of explosive devices planted by the Israeli military in densely populated neighbourhoods. They are planted overnight under heavy coverage of quadcopters. In the early hours of this morning, many of these devices exploded and destroyed large parts of residential buildings.

The Israeli military has expanded its operations in the eastern part of Deir el-Balah city in central Gaza, pushing people out to the western part. People keep moving from one place to another, seeking safety, which does not exist right now.


Number of people killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza jumps to 53,272

The Health Ministry in the besieged and bombarded territory says the bodies of 153 people killed in Israeli attacks arrived at hospitals across Gaza in the past 24 hours. This includes seven recovered from under the rubble following strikes in previous days, a statement on Telegram added.

Another 459 injuries were registered over the last 24-hour reporting period, the ministry said.

The figures bring the number of people killed in Gaza since the start of the war to 53,272, with 120,673 others wounded, according to the ministry.


New Israeli attacks flatten residential buildings

In the past few minutes, air strikes targeted a residential home in Deir el-Balah while people were still inside.

There were no immediate forced evacuation orders in that part of central Gaza. The residents of the area are moving away because of the intensity of the attacks, searching for shelter.

In Jabalia, three homes have been flattened by Israeli strikes. So far, emergency workers, paramedics and local volunteers have managed to recover four children’s bodies from one of the bombed buildings.

Sources say as many as 15 people are still buried and missing under the rubble of the bombed homes.


A boy holds the body of his younger sister, who was killed in an air attack


‘My wife and kids are still under there,’ man says after Jabalia attack

We’ve spoken to a Palestinian man whose wife and three children are under the rubble after an Israeli attack on their home in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Hussein Odeh said the house was struck as he was standing in the street trying to find a driver who could help them leave the area. “My wife and kids are still under [the rubble] there – poor souls, still children, three years old, five years old, and nine years old,” he said.

Odeh said his daughter, sisters and mother were killed in a separate attack at the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza. “And now, again,” he said.

“I want to get them out, but I don’t know how. I’m in shock from what happened. My son just spoke to me from under the rubble. I just want someone to bring me back any memory of them … anything from my family.”



SvennoJ on 17 May 2025

Israeli drone bombs car in southern Lebanon: Report

An Israeli drone has attacked a car on Wadi Khalil road near the village of Az-Zrariyah in southern Lebanon’s Sidon district, the Quds News Network reports. It is not known if there have been any casualties as a result of the attack, which represents Israel’s latest violation of its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.


One killed in Israeli drone attack in Lebanon’s south: Health Ministry

The Lebanese Ministry of Health is reporting that one person has been killed in the Israeli drone attack near the village of Az-Zrariyah in southern Lebanon’s Sidon district, which we reported on earlier.

The attack is the latest Israeli violation of the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024. Although the truce officially ended hostilities, sporadic cross-border attacks have continued, with Israel regularly breaking it.




Flights to Yemen’s capital resume, days after Israeli strikes

Air traffic has resumed at the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, more than a week after massive Israeli air attacks on the facility.

A flight operated by Yemenia Airways landed at the Sanaa International Airport with 136 passengers on board earlier today, according to the Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah satellite news channel.

The flight had departed from Jordan’s capital, Amman. Three more flights are scheduled for today between Sanaa and Amman.

The Israeli strikes on May 6 destroyed the airport’s terminal and left craters on its runway, according to Khaled al-Shaif, the head of the airport. At least six passenger planes were hit, including three belonging to the national carrier, he said.

The Israeli attacks were in response to a Houthi ballistic missile that hit the grounds of Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, which briefly halted flights and commuter traffic. The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the Israeli war on Gaza, in solidarity with Palestinians there, while also targeting Israel-linked ships on the Red Sea.



SvennoJ on 17 May 2025

UN’s Francesca Albanese: ‘Israel has no right to plan’ Gaza’s ‘post-genocide’ future

The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory has responded to growing reports Israel is making plans to rule a post-war Gaza.

“Israel has NO RIGHT to plan Gaza’s future,” Albanese said in a post on X. “The occupation is ILLEGAL.”

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to end the occupation and pay reparations, she added. “Instead—Israel plans the post-genocide.”



UN rights office urges countries to stop ‘wider Israeli offensive’

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence says that “this week’s intensification raises fears of the start of an even wider Israeli offensive” in Gaza.

“We urge all parties, including third states with direct influence, to stop the assault,” he said.


Red Crescent says Gaza has been left to starve

In a post on X, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) called for border crossings with Gaza to be opened now as the territory starves.

“Gaza is left to starve and ache, with zero aid trucks entering since March 2,” the post said. “Let Aid In. Let Gaza Live.”


Effects of starvation are becoming more apparent in Gaza

A spokesperson for Gaza’s Ministry of Health, Khalil al-Degran, says “the effects of starvation are becoming apparent on the bodies” of Palestinians in Gaza.

This includes through widespread anaemia caused by malnutrition, which al-Degran says means people are no longer able to donate blood.

As a result, hospitals are now suffering from “an acute and serious shortage of blood” while, at the same time, treating an influx of patients with critical injuries from Israeli bombardment, al-Degran said.


Ahmed El-Sheikh Eid, seven, who is showing signs of malnutrition, at his family’s makeshift tent in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on May 2



SvennoJ on 17 May 2025

Footage shows German police forcefully breaking up pro-Palestine protest

As we previously reported, police forcibly dispersed a pro-Palestine demonstration commemorating Nakba Day in Germany’s capital, Berlin, earlier this week. Video footage, verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking unit, shows police forcibly removing the protesters.

German media outlets quoted a spokesperson for Berlin police saying that its officers arrested more than 50 people, while 10 officers were injured.




Eurovision threatens to fine Spanish broadcaster over Israel criticism

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has threatened Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE with punitive fines if its commentators repeat references to Israel’s devastating war on Gaza during the Eurovision final.

During Thursday’s broadcast, RTVE highlighted the deaths of more than 50,000 civilians, including at least 15,000 children, in Gaza as the Israeli candidate was introduced.

“Casualty figures have no place in an apolitical entertainment show,” said the EBU in a letter to RTVE, calling on it to follow guidelines prohibiting political statements that could “compromise the contest’s neutrality”.

“We count on RTVE’s full cooperation to prevent any recurrence. Any further breach may incur punitive fines under the rules,” it added.

RTVE also reiterated its call for a debate on Israel’s inclusion in the song competition and called for justice and respect for human rights during Thursday’s semifinals.

The Spanish daily El Pais reported that RTVE plans to include similar commentary during Saturday’s final. The EBU is handling Israel’s participation “poorly” by suppressing criticism and limiting freedom of expression, it said.

Earlier in the week, Belgium’s Flemish public broadcaster VRT included a pro-Palestinian message during the first semifinal. It has backed RTVE’s call for debate, along with delegations from Slovenia, Iceland and Ireland.



Around the Network
SvennoJ on 17 May 2025

People ‘don’t understand us at all about Ukraine when we remain silent about Gaza’: Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron has told a meeting of European leaders in Albania that they should support Gaza – much like how they helped Ukraine.

“Most of humanity is watching us and sometimes they don’t really understand what we’re doing about Ukraine, but we must explain,” he said on Friday.

“They don’t understand us at all about Ukraine when we remain silent about Gaza. They tell us: ‘It is strange. You tell us that our life is at stake when territorial sovereignty is attacked, and you close your eyes when there is a massacre,'” Macron added.

“I don’t compare anything. I know the stories. But I really want to wake us up collectively about the coherence we must have on this.”

They also don't understand that the impunity Israel enjoys broke international law and gives Putin the confidence to keep going, especially now he has Trump to manipulate.

Europe created the conflicts in the Middle East and is still backing 'colonial projects' in the region. Much easier to help Ukraine instead of look inward to the monsters you created.


Israel’s escalation in attacks ‘coinciding with major world events’

As we’ve previously reported, seven European nations have issued a joint statement calling for an end to Israel’s military assault and blockade of Gaza. But according to Mohamad Elmasry, an associate professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, such criticism will not mean much unless it is followed by concrete acts.

“We’ve heard scathing critiques of Israel now for 19 and a half months, but unless … action is followed through on them, then these statements are pretty empty,” Elmasry said.

“There’s really only one entity that can stop all of this, and that’s the United States … so long as the United States is willing to lend its support to this Israeli genocide, then unfortunately, I think we’re going to get more genocide.”

He also noted that Israel’s escalation in attacks usually “coincide[s] with major world events like the ones that are happening now – the Trump visit to the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine talks – because [Israel] knows that the attacks on Palestinians will then be moved down on the international news agenda”.

Israel may also be “lashing out” because Trump “has bypassed and ignored Israel now on a number of occasions,” Elmasry argued, “whether it’s negotiating with the Houthis for them to stop attacking US ships, negotiating directly with Hamas for the release of the American Israeli captive recently, or Trump announcing that they’re going to lift US sanctions on Syria.”



SvennoJ on 17 May 2025

Iraqi officials want Arab states to have a unified stance on Gaza

The president and the prime minister of Iraq are receiving delegations and leaders of the participant countries of the 34th Arab League Summit in Baghdad. The war on Gaza is at the top of the agenda of the summit, according to Iraqi officials.

It seems that Iraqi officials want to bridge the gap to bring the Arab states together to form a unified stance towards the war on Gaza. They also want to hold the international community responsible for what is happening there.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is among the participants of the summit.


Arab leaders pose for a group photo, Baghdad, Iraq


Gaza genocide at ‘a level of ugliness unparalleled in all conflicts in history’: Iraqi PM

As Iraq hosts an Arab League summit, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani says the country will provide $40m for the reconstruction of Gaza and Lebanon.

Iraq backs the creation of an “Arab fund to support reconstruction efforts” after crises in the region, al-Sudani told the summit. Iraq will contribute “$20m to the reconstruction of Gaza and $20m for the reconstruction of Lebanon”, he said.

“[Iraq’s] vision for ending crises and conflicts in the region stems from the Palestinian people achieving their full right to a free and dignified life on their land,” he said.

Al-Sudani added: “This genocide has reached a level of ugliness unparalleled in all conflicts in history.” Rejecting “the forced displacement of Palestinians”, he called for an end to “the massacres in Gaza, the attacks on the West Bank and the occupied territories”.

“We have called, and continue to call, for serious and responsible Arab action to save Gaza and reactivate the UNRWA,” he added.



SvennoJ on 17 May 2025

Palestine bleeding before our eyes: Spain’s Sanchez

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has just addressed the Arab League in Baghdad on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Here are some of his comments:

  • “Palestine is bleeding before our eyes. What is unfolding in Gaza and the West Bank cannot go unnoticed.”
  • Israeli actions “violate not only the basic principles of humanity, but the basic principles of the international law and the international humanitarian law”.
  • The humanitarian crisis in Gaza must end “immediately and without delay”.
  • “Palestine and Spain are working on a new draft to be presented to the United Nations, where we are demanding Israel to end the unjust humanitarian siege laid on Gaza and to allow for the unconditional delivery of relief aid into Gaza”.
  • “We are working together in order to have this draft bill adopted and endorsed in the General Assembly of the United Nations.”
  • There must be “more pressure on Israel to end the carnage unfolding in Gaza by all the conceivable means, namely the tools available under the international law. And here, I would like to announce that Spain will present a proposal to the General Assembly for the International Criminal Court to examine Israel’s compliance with the delivery of relief aid into Gaza.”


Spanish PM urges for joint Arab-European collaboration on two-state solution

Here’s more from Pedro Sanchez at the Arab League summit in Iraq:

  • “I would like to seize the opportunity to support the call for the peace conference, and it is the only path forward towards peace. We should arrive ultimately at the implementation of the two-state solution, whereby the state of Palestine is fully recognised.”
  • “France has called for [an] international conference on the Palestinian cause and the implementation of the two-state solution. The conference held in June by France and Saudi Arabia [can be] a platform; however, this cannot be achieved without Arab and European agreement for a joint path forward.”
  • “We must strengthen this collaboration, ensuring that international rules apply to all equally, without ambiguity, without double standards, and Spain is committed to doing everything in our power”.
  • “The next ministerial meeting of the Madrid group with like-minded countries in favour of a Palestinian state, which will take place next week in Spain, is a testament of our commitment to move forward towards peace.”


Guterres says UN won’t take part in Gaza ‘aid operation’ not adhering to international law

UN chief Antonio Guterres has also focused on the war on Gaza as he addressed the Arab leaders who’ve gathered in Baghdad:

Here are some of his comments:

    • We need a permanent ceasefire now; the unconditional release of the hostages now; and the free flow of humanitarian aid ending the blockade now.
    • I am alarmed by reported plans by Israel to expand ground operations and more.
    • I emphasise the UN will not participate in any so-called aid operation that does not adhere to international law and humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality.
    • I reiterate my appeal for the urgent and full support of UNRWA’s work, including financial support.
    • We reject the repeated displacement of the Gaza population and we obviously reject any question of forced displacement outside of Gaza
    • We must also stay focused on the terrible situation in occupied West Bank.
    • Let’s be clear: annexation is illegal, settlements are illegal.
    • Only a two-state solution can deliver sustainable peace, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security with Jerusalem as the capital of both states in line with UN resolutions, international law and previous agreements.
    • In Lebanon, Security Council resolution 1701 is unequivocal – the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected and the government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory.


SvennoJ on 17 May 2025

Palestinian cause is living one of its darkest moments: Egypt’s el-Sisi

We also have comments made by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Arab League meeting in Baghdad. Speaking at the opening of the event, the Egyptian president said the “region is faced with complicated challenges and unprecedented conditions”.

El-Sisi called on leaders to adopt a stance “firmly united in words and in action”. “It is no secret that the Palestinian cause is living one of its darkest and gravest moments,” he said.

“The Palestinian people are going through organised and systematic crimes, and brutal practices for more than one and a half years, aiming at exterminating and ending their existence in the Gaza Strip,” el-Sisi added.

The president stressed that “the Israeli war machine did not leave any building standing or show any mercy to any child or woman” during the war, adding that it has used “starvation as a weapon”.


‘We must adopt an Arab plan to end the war’: PA President Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, has now also addressed the Arab League summit in Baghdad.

Here are some of his remarks:

  • Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank “are all part of a complete imperial enterprise [aimed] at undermining our efforts for establishing our independent state”.
  • We need support from “the Arab states, the US administration and the [UN] Security Council to stand up to this imperial enterprise”.
  • “[We must] adopt an Arab plan to end the war, establish peace, including the following: first, a permanent ceasefire, immediate release of all Palestinian detainees and Israeli captives, and the unconditional delivery of relief aid, in addition to the total withdrawal by the Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza Strip.”
  • Hamas and all other factions should “lay down and hand over their arms to the Palestinian Authority, the sole representative of the Palestinian people”.
  • An international conference should “be convened in Egypt for the implementation of the reconstruction plan in the Gaza Strip”.
  • We want an immediate end to Israel’s “confiscation, annexation and change of the historic and legal status in the Holy sites in Jerusalem”.
  • We want “the establishment of the Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories with full recognition by the world community”.


Abbas urges international endorsement of post-war plans for Gaza

Here’s more from the PA president at the Arab League summit in Iraq.

  • “We reiterate that we are prepared to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in the coming year, as was the case in the past, once the conditions permit … in Gaza, West Bank and Jerusalem.”
  • “We have taken the constitutional measures by creating the vice president position.”
  • “We call on this summit to adopt our plan and to endorse it before the relevant global bodies, especially following the visit paid by the US president to the region. And here we thank him for his efforts aiming at ending the war and establishing lasting peace.”
  • “We also commend the firm stands and genuine calls by the GCC member states for a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian conflict."


SvennoJ on 17 May 2025

‘Israel calling the shots, not Arab leaders’

At the opening of the Arab Summit in Baghdad, speaker after speaker has been talking about the desperate conditions under which Palestinians are living.

There is a real fear among the Arab leaders that Israel plans to ethnically cleanse Gaza, resettle the Palestinians, and depopulate this whole region. This is why the statements we have been hearing since this morning are rejecting this plan, saying that the Palestinian people should remain on their own land.

But it’s Israel that’s calling the shots, not these Arab leaders.

Israel’s actions in recent days — by stepping up the military offensive and talking about permanently staying in Gaza — are sending a message that it is not interested in ending the war.

Many will say that unless they have the US on board to help end this war, the Arab states have very little leverage on Israel. The normalisation of relations with Israel is not on the table until Israel commits to Palestinian statehood, and the Arab states are using this as some sort of leverage.


Leaders attend the opening session of the 34th Arab League summit in Baghdad


Hamas calls on Arab League ‘to stop genocide in Gaza’

A statement by the Palestinian group on Telegram has also urged the participants of the summit in Baghdad to “impose urgent sanctions” on Israel.

It said: “The occupation continues to perpetrate massacres against civilians, targeting residential neighbourhoods and shelters, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries, amid a stifling blockade and a complete cut-off of aid.”

Hamas described the situation as a “full-blown genocide committed before the eyes of a world that stands helpless, while more than two and a half million people are being slaughtered in the besieged Strip”.


Saudi Arabia calls for Gaza ceasefire, rejects forceful transfer of Palestinians

We have some comments made by Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s minister of state for foreign affairs, at the Arab League summit in Baghdad.

Al-Jubeir called for joint efforts “to lessen the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people” and said Israel’s “crimes” and “violations” in Gaza represent “a flagrant violation” of the UN Charter and international laws.

He reiterated the kingdom’s call for a ceasefire and its rejection of any attempts to forcefully transfer Palestinians.

Al-Jubeir also said Saudi Arabia rejected “any solutions that do not live up to the aspirations of the Palestinian people restoring their lawful right of self-determination, namely the establishment of an independent sovereign state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital”.