European politician says consequences for Israel long overdue

Lynn Boylan, an Irish member of the European Parliament, says a series of steps announced by European countries meant to pressure Israel into conforming with human rights law in Gaza are positive developments, but should have been taken some time ago.

“I think anybody who has a phone in their pockets knows that Israel is breaching Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, because Article 2 requires Israel to uphold human rights, and they’re clearly not upholding human rights,” Boylan told Al Jazeera.

She noted that Ireland and Spain called for this review a year ago, and nothing happened.

“We’re now in a situation where anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 people are dead in Gaza,” said Boylan. “Where is the level of urgency that is absolutely required to address the situation in the Gaza Strip? We need aid to get in there immediately, and not the trickle of aid we’ve seen in the last 24 hours.”

‘Cannot do business as usual with a genocidal state’

Spain’s parliament has advanced a motion that could lead to a full weapons embargo on Israel.

Recent polls show nearly 80 percent of Spanish people want a stop to arms transfers over Israel’s war on Gaza and military operations in the occupied West Bank.

Ana Sanchez Mera, spokesperson for the Solidarity Network Against the Occupation of Palestine, told Al Jazeera the government has a legal obligation to “cut ties with Israel” over its conduct.

“Despite all of the positive words in support of Palestine, we are still having a lot of military and security cooperation with Israel,” she told Al Jazeera. The government’s move to end all military cooperation would send a message to the rest of the world to do the same, Sanchez Mera added.

“We cannot continue to do business as usual with a genocidal state.”

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala denounces Israel’s ‘cruelty and barbarity’

Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel laureate and acclaimed human rights advocate, says world leaders must place greater pressure on Israel to end its genocide in Gaza.

“It makes me sick to my stomach to see Israel’s cruelty and brutality in Gaza. I am heartbroken seeing thousands of starving children, demolished schools and hospitals, blocked humanitarian aid, and displaced families,” Malala said in a social media post.

She encouraged supporters to donate to aid organisations such as UNRWA and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

“Our collective humanity calls for global and immediate action. I call on every world leader to put maximum pressure on the Israeli government to end this genocide and protect civilians,” Yousafzai said.

It makes me sick to my stomach to see Israel’s cruelty and brutality in Gaza. I am heartbroken seeing thousands of starving children, demolished schools and hospitals, blocked humanitarian aid and displaced families.

Our collective humanity calls for global and immediate action.…

— Malala Yousafzai (@Malala) May 20, 2025

More than 300 deaths linked to malnutrition and lack of medicine

Gaza’s Government Media Office has warned of a deepening humanitarian catastrophe as Israeli forces continue to seal off vital border crossings and stop the entry of aid.

The impact, as reported by the office, is severe as famine looms. Here are some of its key findings:

Rubio says US has not discussed deportation of Palestinians to Libya

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the United States hasn’t discussed the deportation of Palestinians from Gaza to Libya, but added Washington has asked other countries in the region if they’d be open to accepting Palestinians who want to move voluntarily.

“What we have talked to some nations about is if someone voluntarily and willingly says ‘I want to go somewhere else for some period of time because I’m sick, because my children need to go to school’, or what have you, are there countries in the region willing to accept them for some period of time?”

Rubio added that he’s not aware of Libya being included in that group.

He also told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the US understands another 100 trucks are behind the initial ones to cross into Gaza and more might enter in the coming days.

US ‘not prepared’ to pressure Israel like UK, France, Canada: Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he expects Israel to step up the amount of aid it allows into Gaza after authorising the first trucks after more than two months.

“We anticipate that those flows will increase over the next few days and weeks. It’s important that that be achieved,” Rubio told a Senate hearing.

Dick Durbin, the number-two Democrat in the Senate, told Rubio he’s aghast at images of children in Gaza “with pencil-thin arms, with ribs you can count”. The children are “on the cusp of death because of the policy of Israel in dealing with Hamas”, Durbin said.

He pointed to criticism of Israel by the UK, which suspended free-trade negotiations and summoned Israel’s ambassador, as well as Canada and France.

“Mr Secretary, are we on the wrong side of history in watching this unfold and not responding as these three countries have?” Durbin asked Rubio.

Rubio replied: “We’re not prepared to respond the way these three countries have.”


‘Stop the genocide’: Secretary of State Rubio interrupted by protester

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a US-based Muslim rights group, has shared a video it says shows a pro-Palestine protester disrupting Marco Rubio during a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“‘Stop the Genocide’ protesters interrupt Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Senate hearing,” the group said in a social media post.

'Stop the Genocide' protesters interrupt Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Senate hearing. pic.twitter.com/22ARY5fGbh

— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) May 20, 2025

‘War of annihilation in Gaza’: Israelis freed after arrest for war criticism

A handful of Israeli anti-occupation organisations such as Breaking the Silence and Standing Together say several members were released from stints in detention stemming from their dissent against expanded Israeli military action in Gaza.

“I was released from prison today after three days in custody for protesting against the war of annihilation in Gaza. I spent three days there because, according to this government, opposing the war is a crime,” Nadav Koenig, a team member of Breaking the Silence, said.

The group Standing Together also said co-director Alon-Lee Green and six other activists were released to house arrest after two days in detention, a penalty the group called an “outrageous attempt to silence opposition at the exact moment the government is expanding the war”.

Israeli expansion of Gaza attack ‘politically motivated’

Israel’s decision to expand its offensive on the war-ravaged Gaza Strip is “100 percent politically motivated”, Meron Rapoport, editor at the Israeli news outlet Local Call, told Al Jazeera.

The Israeli military’s objectives “do not really exist at the moment; it is totally a political move” to intensify the war on the blockaded enclave, he said. “It is quite clear to everyone” the captives will not be released during this intensified assault, Rapoport said.

“I think the idea here is to break down the structure of Palestinian society – what is left of it – to drive the people into some smaller areas in the Gaza Strip,” he added. This is being done to pressure Palestinians into eventually fleeing the Strip, the editor said.

Israel says it will bring senior negotiators back from Qatar

The Israeli government says it will bring senior negotiators back to Israel from Doha for “consultations” as it presses forward with an expansion of military attacks on Gaza.

“Israel has agreed to the American proposal for the return of the hostages, which is based on the Witkoff framework. This proposal was recently conveyed to Hamas via the mediators, even though it is continuing to cling to its refusal,” the office of the prime minister said in a social media post.

“After approximately one week of intensive contacts in Doha, the senior members of the negotiating team will return to Israel for consultations. The working echelon will – at present – remain in Doha.”

Hamas has accused the Israelis of participating in bad faith, putting forward an image of serious negotiation while stepping up the war on Gaza. Israel has said it plans to seize permanent control of the Strip and has advanced plans to expel the Palestinian population.

“No real negotiations have taken place since last Saturday,” Hamas said in a statement.

BBC host asks ‘what about securing Israel’s future?’ Jeremy Bowen has brutal reply

In a dramatic development, UK, France and Canada have issued a strongly-worded joint statement warning Israel of consequences if it didn't stop its renewed military actions in Gaza. Rifat Jawaid listens to the coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live and finds plenty of troubling examples of insensitivity and biases by the presenter.

Israel's Allies PANIC As 14,000 Babies Face DEATH - They Know A RECKONING Is Coming

"The Suffering Is Beyond Description": Report from Gaza as U.N. Warns 14,000 Babies Could Soon Die

The U.N.'s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warned Tuesday that 14,000 babies could die in Gaza over the next 48 hours if more aid does not enter the besieged territory. The warning comes as Israel expands its military assault, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to take control of the entire Gaza Strip. "The suffering is really beyond description," says Mahmoud Alsaqqa, Oxfam's food security and livelihoods coordinator in Gaza, who speaks with Democracy Now! from Gaza City.

Israel ‘agrees’ with UAE to get vital aid into Gaza: Report

The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates has agreed with his Israeli counterpart to get desperately needed food into the besieged Gaza Strip.

A phone call between Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Gideon Saar “led to an agreement to begin delivering urgent humanitarian aid from the UAE”, state news agency WAM reported.

The aid aims to meet the food needs of about 15,000 civilians in the Gaza Strip as a first phase, it said.

“The initiative also includes providing basic materials needed to operate bakeries in the Strip, in addition to essential children’s supplies,” the agency reported.

Sheikh Abdullah “stressed the importance of urgent, extensive, safe, and unhindered humanitarian, relief, and medical aid reaching the brotherly Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip”, said WAM.


The aid is already there, waiting at the border. Israel is now making side deals with criminal UAE to militarize aid. UAE is supporting genocide in Sudan, great partner to Israel committing genocide in Gaza.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250308-what-is-the-uae-s-involvement-in-war-torn-sudan

Why didn't UAE deliver aid when the UN and all other international aid agencies were distributing aid.
No doubt Israel promised UAE more access to weapons they can ship on to RSF in Sudan.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-03-19/israeli-arab-business-weapons-technology

At a weapons fair in the United Arab Emirates, 34 Israeli companies showcased their products, including tech designed to make small arms more accurate and lethal.

Stands for companies selling drones, smart surveillance devices and communication equipment all saw heavy traffic. A big success with attendees was a virtual-reality demo from the state-owned aerospace and aviation manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries, or IAI. As the demo played, spokespeople and Israeli officials nearby spoke glowingly of the “combat-proven” systems — read: used in Gaza and Lebanon — on display.

Israeli military chief pledges to fight on in Gaza

Despite growing criticism over its deadly attacks, Israel’s army chief has promised to expand the country’s military action in Gaza and seize more land.

“We are acting according to a structured plan and moving to the next phase. Hamas will pay the price for its defiance… We will expand our manoeuvre, capture additional territory, clear and destroy the terrorist infrastructure until its defeat,” Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said in Gaza during a field tour.

“We are defending ourselves, and for that, we must attack. We will not be able to defend ourselves without clearly removing the threat from the other side of the border.”

The word defense has completely lost its meaning, the action of defending from or resisting attack. Not exterminate everything you perceive as a possible future threat because you can't stop driving people from their homes and killing them.

UNICEF calls for more aid into Gaza as supplies ‘almost gone’

The United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) says its supplies to treat and prevent growing child malnutrition in Gaza have “declined rapidly” since the total blockade was imposed on the enclave more than two months ago.

“They are almost gone,” UNICEF warned in a post. “The initial delivery of aid in the last 24 hours is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed.”

The supplies we have in Gaza to treat and prevent growing child malnutrition have declined rapidly since the aid blockade. They are almost gone.

The initial delivery of aid in the last 24 hours is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed. pic.twitter.com/lToddKbyWx

— UNICEF (@UNICEF) May 20, 2025

‘Beyond the breaking point’: Gaza hospitals forcibly evacuated

The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) says numerous health facilities across Gaza are included in recent Israeli forced evacuation orders, with others being strained beyond capacity.

“Intensified Israeli ground operations and new evacuation orders in Gaza are stretching the health system beyond the breaking point,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post.

“In northern Gaza, Indonesian, Kamal Adwan, and Al-Awda hospitals, along with three primary care centers and four medical points, are within the evacuation zone announced on 20 May. Another two hospitals, four primary care centers, and six medical points lie within 1,000 meters of it.”

Facilities in southern Gaza, such as “non-functional European Gaza Hospital, along with eight primary care centers and nine medical points,” are within areas Israel ordered to evacuate on May 19, he added.

Intensified Israeli ground operations and new evacuation orders in #Gaza are stretching the health system beyond the breaking point.

In northern Gaza, Indonesian, Kamal Adwan, and Al Awda hospitals, along with three primary care centers and four medical points, are within the… pic.twitter.com/ecEWxfViNK

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 20, 2025

US congresswoman: ‘Unconscionable and immoral’ to allow starvation in Gaza

Ilhan Omar, a member of a group of progressive lawmakers known as “The Squad”, says Israel’s genocide in Gaza must come to an end and the US should not be complicit in the killing of civilians.

“It is unconscionable and immoral for the world to allow this horror to take place. 2.2 million people are trapped with no food, water, aid, medicine, and baby formula,” Omar said in a social media post.

“This genocide must end and we must stop being complicit in the mass slaughter of babies and civilians.”

It is unconscionable and immoral for the world to allow this horror to take place. 

2.2 million people are trapped with no food, water, aid, medicine, and baby formula. 

This genocide must end and we must stop being complicit in the mass slaughter of babies and civilians. https://t.co/YlmwoCnCSO

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 20, 2025

US senator challenges Rubio over Israel’s ‘strategy of forced migration’

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley has asked State Secretary Marco Rubio if the US is applying pressure on Israel after its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, admitted that Israel risks losing the support of its key ally if Gaza suffers starvation.

“Is the administration conveying to the Netanyahu government that encouraging migration through food denial is an unacceptable strategy?” Merkley asked.

“We don’t view that that’s their strategy,” Rubio said, adding that the solution for Gaza is the “elimination of Hamas”.

Rubio acknowledged that the Trump administration is approaching foreign governments about taking mass numbers of civilians from Gaza, but insisted that any Palestinians leaving would be “voluntary”.

“There’s no deportation,” Rubio said. “We’ve asked countries preliminarily whether they will be open to accepting people, not as a permanent solution, but as a bridge to reconstruction” in Gaza.

Merkley, however, condemned such a plan as a “strategy of forced migration“.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-palestinians-wouldnt-allowed-back-gaza-plan-rcna191491

Rights group urges UK to use ‘all tools at its disposal’ against Israel

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has welcomed the UK government’s actions against Israel over its conduct during the war on Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

“In the face of ongoing genocidal acts, the UK suspending trade talks and committing to review cooperation with Israel are important and necessary steps. All states have an obligation to use all diplomatic and other levers at their disposal to prevent the extermination of the Palestinian people,” said Yasmine Ahmed, UK director at HRW.

“However, as Israel continues to carry out mass atrocities, the UK must be ready to unleash all the tools at its disposal, including sanctions against high-level Israeli officials and a full and comprehensive arms embargo including F-35 fighter jet components. Nothing short of this is sufficient or justifiable in the face of the possible annihilation of the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

Anti-weapons group denounces UK action on Israel

Emily Apple, media coordinator at the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), has taken the UK government to task for doing “too little, too late” with its moves against Israel over the war on Gaza and attacks on the occupied West Bank.

“This was [Foreign Secretary] Lammy’s opportunity to announce a full two-way arms embargo, and to end the exemption for F-35 combat aircraft components – aircraft that Israel is using to drop 2000lb [907kg] bombs on civilians in Gaza. He failed to do so, and he therefore failed to take the most meaningful action he could take to end the UK’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” said Apple.

Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer called Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely into the Foreign Office to set out the UK’s opposition to Israel’s 11-week blockade on aid into Gaza, and Israel’s escalation of military activity.

“I made clear the UK’s opposition to expanded military operations in Gaza and rising violence and intimidation by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. The UK will not stand by as this happens,” Falconer posted on X after speaking with the ambassador.

Western actions to pressure Israel ‘nowhere near enough’

DAWN MENA, an NGO promoting democracy and the rule of law in the Middle East, says the threat of sanctions on Israel by the UK, France, and Canada, as well as the UK’s announcement of sanctions on Israeli settler networks, are a positive step but insufficient on their own to exert real pressure on Israel to end its war in Gaza.

“Imposing sanctions on settler outposts and violent extremists in the West Bank is a step in the right direction, but it’s nowhere near enough to address the grave atrocities Israeli authorities are committing every day, every hour, every minute against Palestinians in Gaza,” Sarah Leah Whitson DAWN’s executive director, said in a statement.

“The UK, France and Canada, together with the broader international community, must take immediate and concrete actions to stop the genocide and mass starvation in Gaza as a matter of fundamental moral and legal responsibility.”

Main events on May 20th