May 28, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war | CNN (2024)

Nikki Haley visits Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, on May 27.

Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley wrote “Finish Them!” on Israeli artillery shells during a Memorial Day visit to Israel,according tophotos in a post from Danny Danon, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, who accompanied her on the trip.

Her visit to the northern Israeli border came a day after anIsraeli strikethat killed 45 at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahudescribed the strike as “a tragic error”.

Haley’s message echoes her previous sentiment during a Fox News interview in which she condemned Hamas’ attacks and called on Netanyahu to “finish them.”

CNN has reached out to representatives for Haley for comment.

She also reaffirmed her commitment to Israel, saying during the tour, saying “Don’t listen to what is being said in the media. I reassure you: America stands with Israel!”

During the Memorial Day weekend trip, Haley visited Kibbutz Nir Oz, the site of the Nova festival, and Sderot.

She reflected in asocial media postabout a nurse she met whose “life changed forever’ after October 7.

“When she escaped, she tried to treat victims who were butchered and left to slowly die. Now, she bravely tells her story to bear witness for the hundreds who can’t — raped, tortured, kidnapped, and murdered simply for being Israeli,” she continued.

Algeria has circulated to all UN Security Council members a proposed draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages, a UN diplomat told CNN on Tuesday.

It’s unknown how the US will vote on this.

Algeria’s draft resolution comes after 45 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Rafah camp housing displaced people on Sunday.

A Greek owned and operated merchant ship in the Red Sea reported being struck by three anti-ship ballistic missiles launched Tuesday by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to US Central Command.

Merchant Vessel Laax continued on its voyage and there were no injuries reported, CENTCOM said in a statement.

During the same time, US forces destroyed five Houthi drones over the Red Sea that were launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen and “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels in the region,” the statement added.

At least 940,000 people have been displaced from Rafah in the past three weeks as a result of “the intensification of hostilities and issuance of evacuation orders” by Israeli forces, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

Many of the displaced Palestinians are attempting to evacuate following devastating Israeli strikes – but they don’t know where to go.

Here are more headlines you should know:

More on the Rafah strike:

International reaction to the Rafah strike:

Other Israeli attacks:

Broken pier:

US-made munitions were used in a deadly Israeli strikeona camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah, a CNN analysis of video from the scene and a review by explosive weapons experts found.

CNN geolocated videos showing tents in flames in the aftermath of the strikeonthe camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) known as “Kuwait Peace Camp 1.”

In video shared on social media, which CNN geolocated to the same scene by matching details including the camp’s entrance sign and the tiles on the ground, the tail of a US-made GBU-39 small-diameter bomb (SDB) is visible, according to four explosive weapons experts who reviewed the video for CNN.

The GBU-39, manufactured by Boeing, is a high-precision munition“designed to attack strategically important point targets,” and result in low collateral damage,explosive weapons expert Chris Cobb-Smith told CNN.

However, “using any munition, even of this size, will always incur risks in a densely populated area,”said Cobb-Smith, aformer British Army artillery officer.

Trevor Ball, a former US Army senior explosive ordnance disposal team member who also identified the fragment as being from a GBU-39,explained toCNN how he drew his conclusion.

CNN’s identification of the munition is consistent with a claim made by Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari in a briefing about the tragedy on Tuesday. Hagari said the strike – which he saidtargeted senior Hamas commanders – used two munitions with small warheads containing 17 kilos of explosives, adding these bombs were “the smallest munitions that our jets could use.”

The traditional GBU-39 warhead has an explosive payload of 17 kilos.

Additionally, serial numbers on the remnants match those for a manufacturer of GBU-39 parts based in California – more evidence the bombs were made in the US.

The Pentagon declined to comment and referred CNN to comments from Israel on its operation. CNN has also reached out to the US National Security Council.

Read the full story.

Nicolas de Rivière speaks to press at UN Headquarters in New York on November 6, 2023.

French UN AmbassadorNicolas de Rivière warned of any further escalations in Rafah, saying “it is high time,” for the UN Security Council (UNSC) “to take action and to adopt a new resolution” about the war in Gaza.

He added that the Security Council “must fulfill its mandate and take action now,”

“It must allow the UN to play its full role inthe Gaza Strip, in order to cover the immediate needs of the population,” he said.

“France will remain committed to building a state for the Palestinians and security guarantees for Israel,” Rivière added.

The situation in Rafah is “very miserable,” according to a doctor currently working in the southern Gaza city.

“All night, we couldn’t sleep,” Dr. Safa Jaber told Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF(Médecins Sans Frontières), in an Arabic audio message shared by the group on X with English subtitles.

Palestinians flee from Rafah on Tuesday.

Displaced Palestinians are attempting to evacuate following devastating Israeli strikes in southern Gaza – but they don’t know where to go.

Speaking to a CNN stringer in Khan Younis, north of Rafah, people said they did not know where else to go, as they tried to head north toward Deir El-Balah in central Gaza.

Video from the stringer shows mattresses, wooden panels, chairs, and various other belongings piled on top of vehicles and donkey carts.

The roads, lined by tents and piles of garbage, were busy with people and vehicles moving in search of empty spaces.

Walking on crutches, Mohamed Jarbou, said, “The elderly have been humiliated. Children humiliated. What’s wrong? They are all civilians. The resistance is not here. The resistance is fighting somewhere else. We are displaced. Why are you hitting the displaced people?”

Israeli strikes over the past two days in Rafah have forced the already displaced people to flee.

More than two dozen people were killed in Israel strikes on two camps on Tuesday, according to Palestinian officials.

The Israeli military denied striking a humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, telling CNN, “Contrary to the reports from the last few hours, the IDF did not strike in the Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi.”

CNN has asked if the military struck elsewhere in Al-Mawasi,and for comment on a strike that hit the Tal al-Sultan camp.

The Israeli military is looking into the possibility that Sunday’s strike on Rafah may have unintentionally set off possible stored weapons in a nearby compound and a large fire that decimated part of a camp housing displaced Palestinians, according to spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

Hagari described it as one of several possibilities and did not provide any verifiable evidence to bolster the claim.

He also said Israel is assessing social media footage from the night of the strike that appears to show secondary explosions.

Hagari thenplayed the audio of an allegedly intercepted call, described by the Israel Defense Forces as “between two Gazans about the strike in Rafah.”

An unidentified speaker says an ammunition warehouse exploded, causing secondary explosions.The unknown speaker also said the Israeli strike was “small” and did not create a large crater.

CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the audio, when it was recorded, or what information the speakers in the audio had.

Hagari said the incident was being investigated bythe General Staff’s Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism who he said would conduct a transparent investigation.

CNN posed a follow-up question to Hagari, about whether Israel could confirm that none of the civilians killed were killed in the initial Israeli strike, only in the ensuing secondary explosions or the fire.

Hagari could not confirm that, repeating that the investigation was ongoing.

Pro-Palestinian protesters are seen at Republic Square in Paris on Tuesday.

Protesters in cities across Europe gathered to voice opposition to the deadly strike carried out Sunday by Israel on a camp housing displaced people in Rafah in southern Gaza.

In Paris, a huge crowd congregated in Place de la République, a famous spot for protests. The demonstrators then marched to the nearby Canal Saint Martin, according to a CNN producer in Paris.

Large crowds also gathered outside the home of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on London’s Downing Street.

In social media videos, they could be heard chanting slogans, “Blood on your hands” and “Stop arming Israel” in the direction of Downing Street.

Sunak has faced intense pressure in recent months from campaigners and opposition lawmakers to stop selling arms to Israel.

In Italy, at least 1,000 protesters occupied Bologna’s main train station, according to the authority of the train station.

The protesters marched from the university district to the station and caused delays across the region, according to Italy’s national railway company.

Mourners are seen in a vehicle next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike inRafah on Monday.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Tuesday that Sunday’s airstrike that killed dozens of people at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah, Gaza, did not cross President Joe Biden’s red line.

Kirby added that he had “no policy changes to speak to” when asked if this strike would change policy – but emphasized that this strike “just happened.”

At least 45 people were killed and more than 200 others injured after a fire broke out at the camp following the strike on Sunday, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian medics.

When asked whether the president has seen some of the images from Rafah over the weekend, Kirby said he could not speak on that but that the president has been “kept apprised throughout the weekend.”

Footage obtained by CNN showed the camp in flames, with scores of men, women and children frantically trying to find cover from the nighttime assault. Burned bodies, including those of children, could be seen being pulled by rescuers from the wreckage.

Pressed on whether Israel tanks seen in central Rafah constitute a major ground operation, Kirby pointed to comments from the Israelis saying that they are operating in Rafah in a “targeted” and “precise” way.

“That’s what the Israelis have said, we’re not on the ground,” Kirby told reporters.

Palestinians fleeing southern Rafah on Tuesday.

At least 940,000 people have been displaced from Rafah in the past three weeks as a result of “the intensification of hostilities and issuance of evacuation orders” by Israeli forces, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

“Attacks on Rafah have continued unabated, and civilians displaced by hostilities lack shelter, they lack food, they lack water and other supplies essential to their human survival,” UNOCHA said in a statement Tuesday read by Deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq.

“While the Kerem Shalom crossing remains open in principle, it is extremely difficult for aid organizations to access from the Gaza side due to the hostilities, challenging logistical conditions, and complex coordination procedures,” UNOCHA said, citing aid workers in Gaza.

At least 29 Palestinians have been killed in two separate Israeli attacks in Rafah on Tuesday, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health and the Emergency Committee of the Rafah Governorate.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN on Tuesday that its forces are “operating to dismantle Hamas military and administrative capabilities.”

“In stark contrast to Hamas’ intentional attacks on Israeli men, women and children, the IDF follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm,” the IDF added.

Destroyed makeshift tents are seen after Israeli airstrikes near UNRWA warehouses in Rafah on Tuesday.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said his staff are “terrified” and are packing up and moving following strikes in Tal al-Sultan in the early hours of Tuesday.

Lazzarini said the main offices of the UN in Gaza are in the Tal al-Sultan area and that most of the staff could not make it to work.

“UNRWA running out of medical supplies and basic medicines. Little to no electricity with very patchy internet as the telecommunications network continues to be interrupted. People search for safety to no avail,” he said.

Some context: Officials in Gaza and residents said an Israeli attack happened at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday (local time) in Tal al-Sultan camp in western Rafah, hitting three tents and killing at least eight people.

CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment.

Palestinians mourn over the bodies of relatives killed in an Israeli airstrike at a morgue in Rafah on Monday.

Residents of the Tal al-Sultan displacement camp in western Rafah have recounted to CNN the horrifying scenes that followed an Israeli strike Tuesday, which according to Palestinian and UN officials killed eight people.

Video of the aftermath from a CNN stringer shows torn up tents, burnt sheets of metal and a clutter of furniture and clothing thrown on the ground. Walls are pierced with holes and the wooden structures holding up the tents are completely damaged.

CNN has reached out to the IDF regarding the strike, but has not received a response.

One resident, Hind Al-Ashqar, told CNN she was asleep with her family when she awoke to the sound of her neighbors screaming.

Hind Al-Ashqar.

“Our children were terrified; I have a 5-year-old that was so horrified. We were all scared, children and adults,” she said.

Al-Ashqar’s daughter Ayat said she ran out of their tent to check on their neighbors, some of whom were her relatives, only to find them dead on the ground.

“I was so terrified to see the remains of people. We have been displaced and living in nylon tents. We see remains and body parts of martyrs, we see the strikes and shrapnel hitting us. If we were in our homes, we wouldn’t be afraid of shrapnel. But inside tents, any shrapnel can hit us and even burn us,” Ayat continued.

Another resident, Imad, pulled out the remains of a person while rummaging through the torn-up tents, saying “this is the safe place they talk about.”

Another resident, Mohammed, told CNN people were asleep when they were killed, including his cousin. He said he has been picking up dead bodies of children and body parts since the morning, pointing to his blood-stained shirt.

“Instead of waking up and saying thank God, we woke up and picked up body parts…. every day there is a war. Enough is enough…the whole world is living freely and happily except us. Why? How is the whole world unable to stop Israel and Netanyahu?” he said.

A displaced woman Suhad told a CNN stringer she had been sheltering in a nearby camp when she heard there had been a strike on her brother’s camp.

Suhad.

“I didn’t sleep all night. I was told he was martyred, then he wasn’t. He was martyred, then he wasn’t.

She said her brother’s four daughters, the youngest three months old, survived but were injured.

CNN stringer video from the scene shows dozens of people dismantling the remains of their makeshift tents, gathering what’s left of their belongings and loading them onto trucks and donkey carts. They told a CNN stringer on the ground that they are forced to flee again, some for the sixth time, out of fear of being killed.

“We were in the North, they struck our home, and my dad was martyred. They said go east of the valley, we went to Nuseirat. They hit Nuseirat, we fled to Khan Younis. They entered Khan Younis, we fled to Rafah. After they entered Rafah, we wanted to go back to Khan Younis. God knows where we shall go next. There is no safe place in Gaza,” Mohammed said.

Another man, wearing a gray baseball cap, said, “For God’s sake, look at us, show us some respect. We want nothing from you. We want to live like in all other countries. We want freedom. We want stability… We are not beggars waiting for aid. The people of Palestine are not a field for experimentation. Enough, enough.”

A Maxar Technologies satellite image, taken on Tuesday afternoon, right, shows a large section of the floating pier is missing.A May 18 satellite image, also from Maxar Technologies, left, shows how the pier is supposed to look.

Thetemporary pier constructed by the US militaryto transport aid into Gaza broke apart in heavy seas on Tuesday in a major blow to the American-led effort to create a maritime corridor for humanitarian supplies into the war-torn enclave, according to four US officials,

Part of the pier, which consists of a narrow causeway to drive aid into Gaza and a wider parking area to drop off supplies transported by ship, disconnected on Tuesday, the officials said. The parking area will have to be reconnected to the causeway before the pier can be used again.

The setback came one day after heavy seas forced two small US Army vessels to beach in Israel, according to US Central Command, while another two vessels broke free of their moorings and were anchored near the pier.

The effort to reassemble the causeway and connect it once again to the parking area will resume when sea conditions allow, officials said.

The temporary pier, called the Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS), requires very good sea conditions to operate. CNN reported previously that JLOTS can only be operated safely in a maximum of 3-foot waves and winds less than approximately 15 miles per hour.

Heavier sea conditions delayed the deployment of the pier for several weeks, as the system sat docked in the Israeli port of Ashdod waiting for favorable conditions.

The US has stressed that the temporary pier is only meant to augment humanitarian shipments going through the land crossings between Israel and Gaza.

On Thursday, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy commander of US Central Command, said 820 metric tonnes of aid had been delivered through the pier to the Gaza beach, where the United Nations was responsible for distributing it to the Palestinian population

Daniel Dieckhaus, the director of USAID’s levant response management team, told reporters Thursday that there were “thousands and thousands of tonnes” of aid waiting in Cyprus to be delivered through the maritime corridor. But those shipments are now paused with the temporary pier inoperable.

Displaced Palestinians inspect their tents destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Rafah on Tuesday.

The United States “will be watching” the results of the Israeli investigation into the deadly strike and subsequent fire in Rafah “closely,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Tuesday, saying that the findings should be “presented openly and transparently to us and to the world.”

Miller said the US will withhold its assessments until it sees the final findings of Israel’s investigation.

“As soon as the United States saw reports of this incident, we reached out to the government of Israel to express our deep concern over what happened, ask for more information and urge them to undertake a full investigation,” he said.

“Earlier today, Israel announced the results of a preliminary investigation and said that this strike was carried out using the smallest bomb in their arsenal, targeting terrorists 1.7 kilometers (1 mile) away from the Al Mawasi area, where this fire took place,” Miller said.

“The IDF is continuing to investigate this matter (and has) promised that its investigation will be swift, comprehensive and transparent. We will be watching those results closely. And we will continue to emphasize to Israel their obligation to comply fully with international humanitarian law, minimize the impact of their operations on civilians, and maximize the flow of humanitarian assistance to those in need,” he said.

Miller added that it is important to “find out what the actual cause of the fire is,” noting the Israeli claim that there might a weapons depot nearby.

Some background: At least 45 people were killed and 200 others were injured in the strike. Video from the site showed scenes of horror: charred bodies being pulled from rubble, a man holding the headless body of a child, fire raging from tents in the background.

At least 29Palestinianshave been killed in two separate Israeli attacks in Rafah on Tuesday,according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health and the Emergency Committee of the Rafah Governorate.

The first attack happened at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday (local time) in Tal al-Sultan displacement camp in western Rafah when a strike hit three tents, according to residents and a CNN stringer in Rafah. At least eight people werekilled and transferred to a field hospital in Tal Al-Sultan camp, according to the committee.

The Tal al-Sultan camp islocated next to a UN warehouse, whose walls were damaged from the strike according to video from a CNN stringer on the ground.The camp that was hit on Tuesday is about 150 meters away from another displacementcamp that an Israeli strike and ensuing firehit just two days ago, killing at least 45 people and wounding more than 200 others.

Video from CNN’s stringer on the ground shows displaced people dismantling their makeshift living arrangements in Tal al-Sultan camp, and gathering their belongings and evacuating the area on trucks and donkey carts.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health says a second attack happened on Tuesday afternoon local time when an Israeli strike hita displacement campin the southern coastal town of Al-Mawasi, killing at least 21 people, including 13 women, and injuring at least 64 people with 10 in critical condition.

However, the Israeli military has denied striking a humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi.

It told CNN in a statement: “Contrary to the reports from the last few hours, the IDF did not strike in the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi.”

CNN has followed up, asking if the IDF has struck elsewhere in Al-Mawasi, such as the UN warehouse that is in the vicinity of the camp, but has not received a reply.

This post has been updated to include a response from the IDF.

Israeli tanks have been seen in central Rafah for the first time in Israel’s seven-month war against Hamas, signaling a new phase of its offensive as Israel presses on despite mounting international pressure.

The ground offensive comes just days after Israel launched an airstrike on a displacement camp in the southern Gaza city, killing dozens and sparking global outrage.

Meanwhile, three European countries on Tuesday recognized a Palestinian state, and others are considering taking the same step.

Here are the latest developments:

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are operating in Rafah in a “targeted” and “precise” way, spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Tuesday, in response to a question on reports of tanks advancing in the southern Gazan city.

“Today, and the day before, we’ve again detected tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor, those are tunnels going to Sinai,” he added.

Hagari said the IDF is demolishing the tunnels into Sinai and speaking with the Egyptian government. His comments came shortly after eyewitnesses told CNN that Israeli tanks had reached the center of Rafah – a first in the seven-month war.

Some context: The Philadelphi Corridor is a 14-kilometer (about 8.7-mile) long and 100-meter-wide strip of land running along the border between Gaza and Egypt. Israeli troops moved into the corridor and took control of the Rafah crossing earlier this month.

Palestinians look search among burnt debris at the site of an Israeli strike inRafahon Monday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the deadly fire at displacement camp in Rafah was not caused solely by weapons used by the Israeli military.

Hagari said the IDF is “looking into all possibilities, including the option that weapons stored in a compound next to our target, which we did not know of, may have ignited as a result of this strike.”

Hagari showed aerial footage of a strike on a structure, in which, he says senior Hamas commanders were meeting. He added that the strike used two munitions with small warheads with 17 kilos munitions – “the smallest munitions that our jets could use.”

Hagari also said the Israeli military had carried out aerial surveillance assessing the civilian presence in the area before carrying out the strike, “to minimize civilian harm.”

The surveillance video released by the IDF shows at least three people on the road near the targeted buildings at the moment of the strike.

Alongside the aerial surveillance, Hagari said the Israeli military had delayed the attack “to further assess expected civilian presence.”

Some background: At least 45 people were killed and 200 others were injured in the strike. Video from the site showed scenes of horror: charred bodies being pulled from rubble, a man holding the headless body of a child, fire raging from tents in the background.

France has called for Israeli operations in Rafah to cease ahead of an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, the foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

The statement also called for the UN to be allowed to meet the “immediate needs” of the population and to allow the Palestinians to “govern a territory that must be an integral part of their state.”

The ICJ last week ordered Israel to halt its military operation in Rafah, as international pressure mounts on Israel to rein in its assault.

Israel has presented mediators with new ideas on the hostage-for-ceasefire, a diplomatic source familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday. The source could not expand on what the new ideas are.

The diplomatic source has not heard of any wider meetings happening Tuesday.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas were paused three weeks ago without an agreement.

CNNreported Tuesdaythat Egypt muddied the negotiations after independently changing the terms of a framework that Israel had signed on to and presented it to Hamas who then declared they accepted it.

The proposal had been changed without the knowledge of Israel or the other mediators, the US and Qatar, prompting anger and frustration.

Hamas announced earlier this month that it had accepted a deal, but Israel swiftly said the terms were “far from” meeting its demands.

Israeli military tanks were seen in central Rafah on Tuesday for the first time since the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) entered the southern city earlier this month, two eyewitnesses told CNN.

A Rafah resident, Alaa Abu Ibrahim, told CNN that Israeli tanks were seen in Al Awda roundabout in the center of the city.

Another Rafah resident, Salma AlKadoomi, said she saw Israeli armored vehicles in the downtown area of the city near the Abu Hashem building.

The sighting of tanks comes after Israel launched a missile strike on a displacement camp near Rafah, killing dozens and prompting international calls for Israel to abide by the ruling of the International Court of Justice, which ordered Israel to halt its offensive in the city.

A Palestinian flag, left, flies outside Leinster House in Dublin, following the decision by the Irish government to formally recognize the State of Palestine, on May 28.

Ireland formally recognized the State of Palestine at a government meeting Tuesday.

Ireland will appoint an ambassador to the State of Palestinian and a full Irish embassy, to be based in Ramallah.

Harris said that a two-state solution is “the only way for Israel and Palestine to live side by side in peace and security,” and called on Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “stop the humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.

Ireland, Norway and Spain each publicly announced plans on May 22 torecognize a Palestinian state on Tuesday, which are all now formally in effect.

Aid trucks carrying food supplies and humanitarian aid arrive in Gaza via Beit Lahiya, north of Gaza City, on May 27.

More than 370 trucks carrying humanitarian aid went into Gaza on Monday, including 154 trucks that had arrived at the Kerem Shalom crossing from Egypt, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said.

Some 70 World Food Programme (WFP) trucks, that had arrived to Ashdod Port, entered Gaza carrying flour, COGAT said.

Hundreds of aid trucks have not yet been picked up by UN agencies for distribution inside the territory, COGAT said. The UN have said the retrieval and distribution of aid remains difficult due to the conditions on the ground.

UNRWA said on Monday that the aid agency picked up only 30 trucks for distribution on the Gaza side due to heavy movement restrictions, ongoing Israeli airstrikes, the launch of rockets by Hamas and limitations on the routes that can be used.

Norway's foreign minister Espen Barth Eide speaks during a press conference in Brussels on Monday, May 27.

Norway’s foreign minister said Tuesday marks “a milestone in the relationship between Norway and Palestine,” as the country officially recognizes a Palestinian state.

“For more than 30 years, Norway has been one of the strongest advocates for a Palestinian state,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eidesaid in astatementTuesday, as the country’s formal recognition came into effect. “I have confidence that the Palestinian government will continue the difficult job of reform and lay the foundations for governing both the West Bank and Gaza after a ceasefire.”

“The international community must increase its political and economic support for Palestine and continue the work for a two-state solution,” he added.

Eidehanded the Prime Minister of the Palestinian AuthorityMohammed Mustafa “a formal document of recognition” when they met in Brussels on Sunday.

Norway, Spain and Ireland each publicly announced plans on May 22 to formally recognize a Palestinian state on May 28. Earlier today, Spain announced it had done so.

Norwegian Prime MinisterJonas Gahr Støre said last week that “there will be no peace in the Middle East without a two-state solution.” Støre added that a Palestinian state was “a prerequisite for achieving peace in the Middle East.”

Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares addresses a press conference on May 28 in Madrid, Spain.

The Spanish government officially recognized a Palestinian state on Tuesday in a cabinet meeting, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albarestold a news conference in Madrid.

Just before the cabinet meeting, Spanish Prime MinisterPedro Sánchezsaid in a nationally televised address that Spain would join “more than 140 countries that already recognize Palestine” and that it “is the only way to realize the solution that we all recognize as the only possible one to achieve a future of peace: that of a Palestinian State that coexists alongside the State of Israel in peace and security.”

Spain, Ireland and Norway each publicly announced plans on May 22 to formally recognize a Palestinian state on Tuesday.

The Slovenian government will consider a proposal this week to recognize an independentPalestinian state, according to Prime Minister Robert Golob.

A government meeting on Thursday will consider forwarding “the recognition of Palestine” to the country’s legislature for approval, Golob in astatement.

“In the meantime, we will continue to coordinate with a group of like-minded countries in order to create maximum pressure for an immediate ceasefire and release of the hostages,” the prime minister said.

Golob initiated the process “of recognizing Palestine as an independent and sovereign state” on May 9.

On Sunday, Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon toldAl Jazeera: “We’ve decided we have a moral duty, at least a symbolic duty, to give hope to Palestinians with this further step on recognition.” Fajon added there is a need to help “reform Palestinian authorities in Ramallah to be able, one day, also to control Gaza,” as she also expressed hope that “other countries will follow us.”

Last week, the governments of Ireland, Norway and Spain announced plans to formally recognize a Palestinian state.

Palestinians search for food among burning debris in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in Rafah, on May 27.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron has weighed in on the airstrike in Rafah that killed at least 45 people on Sunday — many of whom were women and children — calling for the investigation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to be “swift, comprehensive & transparent.”

The foreign secretary also called for an urgent deal “to get hostages out & aid in” and reiterated the need for a pause in fighting to enable work towards a long-term sustainable ceasefire.

The Israeli military General Staff’s Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism is investigating the airstrike carried out in Rafah on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement Monday. In addition to those killed, at least 200 were wounded in the strike on a camp for displaced people in Rafah, according to the government media office in Gaza.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers a speech regarding Spain's official recognition of a Palestinian state, at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid, on May 28.

Spain will not recognize any changes to Palestinian borders after 1967 “other than those agreed to by the parties,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Tuesday.

Spain will approve the official recognition of a Palestinian state today, Sanchez said, just before his cabinet was due to meet to take that step.

Norway and Ireland will alsoformally recognizea Palestinian state from today — a move that will bolster the global Palestinian cause but has further strained relations between Europe and Israel.

Irish Foreign minister Micheal Martin speaks during a joint press conference with his Spanish and Norwegian counterparts in Brussels on May 27.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday for the first time engaged in a “significant discussion” on sanctioning Israel if the country doesn’t comply with a ruling from the UN’s top court, Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said after the meeting.

On Friday, the UN’s top court, theInternational Court of Justice(ICJ), ordered Israel to immediately halt its controversial military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, further increasing international pressure on Israel over its war against Hamas.

Martin said “Israel should adhere to those provisional orders to open the border crossing at Rafah and also to cease its military operation in Rafah.”

The Irish foreign minister said that within the EU, “there’s some distance between people articulating the need for a sanctions-based approach” if Israel does not comply with the International Court of Justice’s rulings, versus “an agreement at an EU Council meeting, given all of the different perspectives there.”

Women and children carry their belongings as they flee Rafah on May 15.

About one million people have fled Rafah over the past three weeks, according to the UN’s main relief agency in Gaza (UNRWA).

“Day after day, providing assistance & protection becomes nearly impossible,” the agency said.

Over a million Palestinians had been sheltering in Rafah before Israel ramped up airstrikes and ground operations there, many having fled to the city from other areas of Gaza after Israel launched its war on Hamas.

Israel had ordered thousands of civilians to leave some areas of Rafah as it intensified its military operations in the city.

Remember: Israel has vowed to press on with its Rafah offensive despite international outrage and a US warning not to proceed. The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to halt its offensivein the city, adding to the unprecedented level of diplomatic pressure that Netanyahu is facing over the war in Gaza.

Days after the ICJ ruling, an Israeli airstrike on a displacement camp in Rafah killed at least 45 people, drawing global condemnation.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is seen on a screen in a bar in Madrid, Spain, during a live news TV broadcast announcing Spain's recognition of the Palestinian state, on May 28.

The Spanish government will approve the official recognition of a Palestinian state today, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, just before his cabinet was due to meet to take that step.

He called the recognition “a historic decision — to contribute to Israelis and Palestinians living in peace.”

Norway, Spain and Ireland willformally recognizea Palestinian state from today — a move that will bolster the global Palestinian cause but has further strained relations between Europe and Israel.

Smoke billows following Israeli strikes in Rafah on May 28.

Formally recognizing a Palestinian state “will not bring Israelis and Palestinians any closer to a comprehensive conflict-ending solution,” a former peace negotiator for the US State Department said Tuesday.

Norway, Spain and Ireland will formally recognize a Palestinian state from today — a move that will bolster the global Palestinian cause but has further strained relations between Europe and Israel.

“Right now in the wake of the October 7 attack, we are still a very long way away from any sort of negotiation that could create a better pathway to states living alongside in peace and security,” he said.

President Joe Biden speaks with CNN during an interview on May 8 in Racine, Wisconsin.

US President Joe Biden told CNN earlier this month that he’d halt some shipments of American weapons to Israel – which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza – if it invades Rafah.

In giving Netanyahu this ultimatum in May, Biden set a red line on Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Deadly strike: Israel’s strike on a displacement camp in Rafah on Sunday killed at least 45 people and wounded 200 others. It is among the deadliest strikes by the Israeli military on Gaza’s southernmost city since Israel beganits operation there on May 7.

What the US is saying: Biden is yet to comment publicly on Sunday’s strike. A US National Security Council spokesperson said the strike was“heartbreaking,” and that the US was “actively engaging” with Israel to determine what happened. But the spokesperson also said that “Israel has a right to go after Hamas.”

The US has supported Israel’s efforts to go after Hamas while warning against an invasion of Rafah, which would lead to widespread civilian casualties. In recent weeks, Biden’s top national security aide JakeSullivan engaged Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, emphasizing the US position. Sullivan said he had detected “refinements” to Israel’s Rafah plan, which he said was now more “targeted and limited” in scale.

Israel digs in: Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would expand its ground operation in Rafah. After meeting Sullivan, he said: “I emphasized to him Israel’s duty to expand the ground operation in Rafah, to dismantle Hamas and return the abductees.”

Global outcry: The strike on the Rafah camp, which killed and wounded many women and children, has sparked a mounting global outcry. The UN is holding an emergency session on the strike on Tuesday — adding to the unprecedented pressure on Israel over its Gaza offensive, and on its staunch ally the United States.

Mounting pressure: It also came just days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to “immediately halt” its military operation in Rafah, and any action in the city “which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Irish Foreign minister Micheal Martin, left, Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Albares, center, and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide hold a joint press conference in Brussels on May 27.

Spain, Ireland and Norway are set to formally recognize a Palestinian state today — a move that will bolster the global Palestinian cause but has further strained relations between Europe and Israel.

The three European nations say their landmark decision is the best way to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East, but it sparked swift condemnation from Israel, as its foreign minister ordered the immediate recall of its ambassadors from those countries.

Most of the world already recognizes Palestinian statehood: More than 140 out of 193 member states of the United Nations have made their recognition official. But only some nations in the 27-member European Union are among them. Nations that don’t include staunch allies of Israel such as the United States and Germany.

On May 10, a non-binding vote at the UN General Assembly showedoverwhelming international supportfor an independent Palestinian state, leaving the US and a few of Israel’s allies isolated. Israel and the US maintain that a Palestinian state should only be established through a negotiated settlement.

Pressure on Israel: The planned recognition symbolizes the huge amounts of pressure Israel is under after seven months of war that has devastated Gaza, caused a humanitarian crisis and killed more than 36,000 people in Gaza since October 7.

It comes after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel toimmediately haltits military operation in Rafah. And Israel is facing unprecedented levels of diplomatic pressure to rein in its military offensive in Gaza.

Read the full story.

Israeli bombings in various areas of Gaza killed at least six people and wounded several others, the Palestinian news agency Wafasaid early Tuesday morning, citing medical sources in Gaza.

An Israeli strike on a housein the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City killed at least two people and woundedothers, Wafa said.

Israeli artillery shelling targeting a tent of displaced people inTal al-Sultan, northwest of Rafah, killed three people and wounded several others, Wafa reported.

Israeli artillery shellingin the city of Rafah killed a young man, according to Wafa.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

International outcry is mounting over Israel’s airstrike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah that killed at least 45 people and wounded 200 others, many of whom were women and children.

In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the strike a “tragic error” and said that Israel was investigating the incident.

Footage obtained by CNN showed the camp in flames, with scores of men, women and children frantically trying to find cover from the nighttime assault. Burned bodies, including those of children, could be seen being pulled by rescuers from the wreckage.

Graphic video shows scale of devastation in Rafah:

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03:30 - Source: cnn

The strike came days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel tohalt its offensivein the city, and several humanitarian organizations have called on the UN Security Council to enforce the court’s orders, saying “immediate action is required.”

A growing list of countries, world leaders and aid agencies have now condemned the strike, saying “there is no safe space in Gaza.”

Here are some of the international reactions:

This post has been updated after additional review of the translation from Hebrew to English, to clarify the wording used by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he referred to a deadly Israeli strike on Rafah, Gaza.The word “error” was originally translated as “mistake”.

Palestinians are gathering at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah, on May 27.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting today to discuss a deadly Israeli airstrike on a displaced person tent camp in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday, according to a UN diplomat.

The meeting was requested by Algeria, the diplomat said.

The Security Council will hold private discussions on Tuesday afternoon at 3.30 p.m., the diplomat said.

UN Secretary-GeneralAntònio Guterres issued a blistering condemnation on Monday.

Palestinians with disabilities in Gaza fear they will be killed first because of limited opportunities to flee due to their impairment, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons and Disabilities (CRPD) said in a release on Monday.

Among the examples cited was that of a 14-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who had lost her assistive devices, including a wheelchair, and had to be carried by her parents while fleeing from the north of Gaza to the south amid Israel’s offensive.

At one point, the girl told her family: “Leave me here, and you run away,” the committee said. The girl survived but is at risk of being displaced again, it added.

The CPRD called for an immediate ceasefire and underscored the obligation to the Convention on the Rights of Persons and Disabilities, which calls for all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of people with disabilities in situations of risk, including in armed conflict.

CNN has previously reported on the struggles of disabled Palestinians in Gaza.

The Israeli attack on the Philadelphi corridor creates an “uncontrollable situation, in the field and psychologically, that can lead to an escalation,” Egyptian state-affiliated Al-Qahera News reported on Monday, citing an Egyptian security source.

What’s happening: The relationship between Egypt and Israel became tense after Israeli troops moved into an area known as the Philadelphi Corridor and took control of the Rafah crossing earlier this month. The corridor is a 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) long and 100-meter-wide strip along the border between Gaza and Egypt.

Egypt’s military spokesperson said a person was killed during a shooting Monday on the border. Israel’s military also acknowledged that a “shooting incident” had occurred. Investigations are underway.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an event in Jerusalem on May 5.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Sunday’s deadly Israeli airstrike on a Rafah camp had gone tragically wrong, but that he would not end the war in Gaza until the military’s goals were completed.

At least 45 people were killed and 200 wounded after the Israeli strike hit a camp for displaced people, according to the government media office in Gaza.

The Israeli military’s General Staff’s Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism is investigating an airstrike carried out in Rafah on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statementonMonday.

Speaking in Hebrew to the Knesset, Netanyahu said he would not “surrender” or “end the war before all its objectives are completed.”

This post has been updated after additional review of the translation from Hebrew to English, to clarify the wording used by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he referred to a deadly Israeli strike on Rafah, Gaza.The word “error” was originally translated as “mistake”.

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albaressaid he will ask European Union member states to officially back the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order for Israel to halt its military operation in Rafah.

Speaking Monday alongside the Irish and Norwegian foreign ministers at a news conference in Brussels, Albares said he would ask the other 26 EU members to declare their backing of the ICJ’s decision and that, if Israel opposes the court’s decision, “to take the right measures to enforce that decision and to back one of the most important bodies of the UN charter.”

Last week, Spain, Ireland and Norway announced they will formally recognize a Palestinian state.

Some background: On Friday, theICJ ordered Israelto immediately halt itsmilitary operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, further increasing international pressure on Israel as it wages its war against Hamas.

Palestinians at the scene of an Israeli attack in Rafah, Gaza, on May 27.

Qatar said Israel’s strike on a Rafah displacement camp could “hinder” ongoing negotiations aiming for the release of hostages and reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Qatari foreign ministry said Monday that the strike is a “serious violation of international laws” and expressed concern that it “would complicate the ongoing mediation efforts.”

Israel said it killed two Hamas commanders using “precise munitions” in the strike. Gaza health authorities said 35 people were killed, mostly women and children. Video obtained by CNN shows tent-like structures on fire and charred bodies being pulled from rubble.

Talks to resume: Negotiations between Israel and Hamas for aceasefire-and-hostage-swap dealare set toresumein CairoonTuesday, according to anEgyptianofficial.Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled for months, with both parties failing to reach an agreement over differences on key demands. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed strong opposition to the demands made by Hamas.

The Kuwaiti Hospital in central Rafah was forcedto close on Monday after the Israeli military attacks increased around the hospital.

Recent, “repeated and deliberate” attacks by Israeli forces had led to the death of two staff working in the hospital, as well as the injury of five medical staff, according to Dr. Suhaib Al-Hims, director of the Kuwaiti hospital.

The remaining medical teams were being transferredto a field hospital that is beingpreparedin the Al-Mawasiarea of Gaza, Al-Hims said.

Earlier on Monday,the Ministry of Health in Gazareported that an Israeli drone strike killed two staff members while they were on duty in front of the gate.They were identified as Rashid Mohammed Saeed Barhoum, 23,andMusab Sami Dakhlallah Al-Araj, 22.

Several global aidorganizations penned a joint letter on Monday calling on the UN Security Council to enforce the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) orders that Israel “immediately halt” its military offensive in Rafah.