Israeli forces raided Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday in an operation that the Palestinian health ministry said killed seven Palestinians, including a doctor, and left nine others wounded. The army said it was an operation against militants and that a number of Palestinian gunmen were shot. There was no immediate word of any Israeli casualties. The health ministry account of the casualties was quoted by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. Among the Palestinians killed was a surgical doctor, the head of the Jenin Governmental Hospital said. He was killed in the vicinity of the hospital, the director said. The West Bank is among territories Israel seized in a 1967 Middle East war. The Palestinians want it to be the core of an independent Palestinian state. U.S.-sponsored talks on a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict broke down in 2014. Stay with TOI for live updates of Israel-Palestine war news:
19:15 (IST) May 22
Israeli envoy Gilon thanks India for support after Oct 7 Hamas attack
India stood on the side of Israel following the October 7 Hamas attack and its support is a testimony of the extraordinary ties between the Indian and the Jewish people, Israeli ambassador Naor Gilon has said. He made the remarks at an event hosted by the Israeli embassy to celebrate the 76th National Day of Israel. "From October 7, both the government and the people of India stood on the side of Israel. And this we will never forget," he said. "The amount of support we get here is nothing short of amazing. It's a testimony of the extraordinary relations between the Indian and the Jewish people," Gilon said in his address at the event last night. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra also attended the event.
16:42 (IST) May 22
Saudi praises European countries' recognition of Palestinian state
Saudi Arabia praised the decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain on Wednesday to recognise a Palestinian state and called on other countries to do the same.The foreign ministry "expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's welcome of the positive decision taken by the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Ireland to recognise the sisterly State of Palestine," according to a statement posted on X. "The kingdom appreciates this decision issued by friendly countries, which affirms the international consensus on the inherent right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and calls on the rest of the countries to quickly make the same decision."
14:18 (IST) May 22
Hamas calls recognition of Palestinian state by 3 countries 'important step'
Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas on Wednesday welcomed a decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain to recognise a Palestinian state as an "important step" and urged other countries to follow suit."We consider this an important step towards affirming our right to our land," Hamas said in a statement, calling "on countries around the world to recognise our legitimate national rights"
14:01 (IST) May 22
Israel's more than seven-month war in Gaza since the October 7 attack has revived a global push for Palestinians to be given a state of their own. Norway, Spain and Ireland all announced plans on Wednesday to recognise a State of Palestine, breaking with the long-held position of Western powers that a Palestinian state can only come as part of a negotiated peace with Israel.
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13:31 (IST) May 22
Israel Palestine war: UN halts food distribution in Rafah due to lack of supplies, insecurity
Amid high levels of hunger and acute shortage of food in Gaza, the United Nations has suspended food distribution in Rafah due to a lack of supplies and insecurity in the densely populated area, as reported by Voice of America (VOA).
13:30 (IST) May 22
Gaza Israel war: Israel recalls envoys to Ireland, Norway over Palestine recognition moves
Israel recalled its envoys from Ireland and Norway for "urgent consultations" Wednesday ahead of the two governments' expected moves to formally recognise a Palestinian state. "Today, I am sending a sharp message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not go over this in silence. I have just ordered the return of the Israeli ambassadors from Dublin and Oslo to Israel for further consultations in Jerusalem," foreign minister Israel Katz said in a statement. "The hasty steps of the two countries will have further serious consequences. If Spain realises its intention to recognise a Palestinian state, a similar step will be taken against it." Norway will recognise Palestine as a state as of May 28, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told a news conference Wednesday.
09:07 (IST) May 22
Israel Hamas war: Israel revokes order to cut AP live Gaza video feed
srael walked back its decision to shut down an Associated Press live video feed of war-torn Gaza on Tuesday, following a protest from the US news agency and concern from the White House. Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said he had revoked an earlier order that accused the AP of breaching a new ban on providing rolling footage of Gaza to Qatar-based satellite channel Al Jazeera. "I have now ordered to cancel the operation and return the equipment to the AP agency," Karhi said in a statement, after Washington called on Israel to reverse the move. "We've been engaging directly with the government of Israel to express our concerns over this action and to ask them to reverse it," a White House spokesperson said.
04:05 (IST) May 22
Cyprus says Gaza maritime aid 'on track' as US details problems onshore
Four ships from the United States and France are transporting aid from Larnaca port in Cyprus to the Gaza Strip amid the spiralling humanitarian crisis there, the Cyprus presidency said on Tuesday. However a US Defence Department spokesman said that none of the 569 tonnes of humanitarian assistance that has arrived at a US-built pier in the besieged territory had been distributed to those in need.
04:04 (IST) May 22
Blinken unsure Israel will make compromises for Saudi deal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday he was unsure whether Israel was ready to make compromises to reach a deal to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, notably on a pathway to a Palestinian state. "I can't tell you whether Israel -- whether it's the prime minister or the country as a whole -- is prepared to do in this moment what would be necessary to actually realize normalization," Blinken told a Senate committee. "Because that requires an end to (the war in) Gaza and that requires a credible pathway to a Palestinian state," he said.
04:03 (IST) May 22
In his testimony before the Senate on Tuesday, secretary of state Antony Blinken addressed various foreign policy issues, including the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the recent death of Iran's president. Throughout the hearing, protesters repeatedly interrupted Blinken, accusing him of being a war criminal and responsible for a genocide against the Palestinian people.
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03:43 (IST) May 22
Israel has reversed its decision to shut down an Associated Press (AP) live video feed from Gaza, following protests from the US news agency and concerns raised by the White House. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi had initially ordered the confiscation of AP's equipment, accusing the agency of breaching a new ban on providing rolling footage of Gaza to Al Jazeera. However, after Washington called on Israel to reverse the move, Karhi revoked the order and instructed the return of the equipment to AP.
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01:29 (IST) May 22
Belgium, Slovenia and France each said Monday they backed the decision by International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, who accused Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence minister and three Hamas leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. While no one faces imminent arrest, the announcement deepens Israel's global isolation at a time when it is facing growing criticism from even its closest allies over the war in Gaza. Support for the warrants from three European Union countries also exposes divisions in the West's approach to Israel.
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23:12 (IST) May 21
UN plans new routes for halted Gaza aid deliveries from US-built pier
The United Nations is planning new routes to distribute aid from a US-built pier in Gaza, a spokesperson said, after crowds of needy residents intercepted trucks, causing a halt to deliveries that continued for a third day on Tuesday.
The temporary, floating pier is meant to help ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, though aid workers say that only deliveries through land borders can ensure relief on the scale that is needed.
Operations at the pier began on Friday and the UN said 10 truckloads of food aid - transported from the pier by UN contractors - were received at a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Deir El Balah in Gaza. But on Saturday, only five truckloads made it to the warehouse after 11 others were intercepted.
Distribution was then paused as logistics teams planned new routes and coordination of deliveries in an effort to prevent more aid being intercepted, said Abeer Etefa, a WFP spokesperson in Cairo.
23:00 (IST) May 21
Blinken says he'll work with US Congress to respond to ICC move on Gaza
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said the Biden administration would be happy to work with Congress to formulate an appropriate response to the International Criminal Court prosecutor seeking to issue arrest warrants on Israeli leaders over the Gaza war.
Speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Blinken called the move "a profoundly wrong-headed" decision which would complicate the prospects of reaching a hostage deal and a ceasefire in Israel's conflict with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said on Monday he had reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's defense chief and three Hamas leaders "bear criminal responsibility" for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity."
Washington roundly criticized Khan's announcement, arguing the court does not have jurisdiction over the Gaza conflict and raising concerns over process.
The United States is not a member of the court, but has supported past prosecutions, including the ICC's decision last year to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.
22:59 (IST) May 21
WHO chief asks Israel to ease curbs on Gaza medical aid
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) called on Tuesday for Israel to lift restrictions on aid into Gaza, saying that the primary pipeline for emergency medical aid into the enclave from Egypt had been cut off.
Israel seized and closed the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on May 7, disrupting a vital route for people and aid into and out of enclave.
"At a time when the people of Gaza are facing starvation, we urge Israel to lift the blockade and let aid through," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva, describing the situation in the Palestinian enclave as "beyond catastrophic".
"Without more aid flowing into Gaza we cannot sustain our lifesaving support of hospitals and populations," he said.
Israel says U.N. agencies are to blame for not distributing aid more efficiently within the enclave, creating backlogs of supplies.
22:59 (IST) May 21
UN halts all food distribution in Rafah after running out of supplies in the southern Gaza city
The United Nations says it has suspended food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah due to lack of supplies and insecurity. It also said no aid trucks entered via a pier set up by the US for sea deliveries for the past two days. The UN has not specified how many people remain in Rafah after the Israeli military launched an intensified assault there on May 6, but there appears to be several hundred thousand.
Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the UN's World Food Program, warned that "humanitarian operations in Gaza are near collapse." If food and other supplies don't resume entering Gaza in "in massive quantities, famine-like conditions will spread," she said.
22:58 (IST) May 21
Israeli decision to cut AP Gaza video feed 'shocking': UN spokesman
Israeli decision to cut AP Gaza video feed 'shocking': UN spokesman
22:58 (IST) May 21
RSF slams 'outrageous' Israel decision to cut AP Gaza video feed
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders denounced Israel's decision to shut down an Associated Press live video feed of war-ravaged Gaza on Tuesday, describing it as "outrageous censorship".
"After banning Al Jazeera, Israel goes after AP. RSF denounces the seizure of a news agency's camera and the shut down of a live feed showing a view of Gaza... this is outrageous censorship," RSF said on X, formerly Twitter.
19:58 (IST) May 21
Israeli forces raze parts of Gaza's Jabalia, hit Rafah with airstrikes
Israeli forces thrust deeper into the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza on Tuesday, laying waste to residential districts with tank and air bombardments, residents said, while Israeli airstrikes killed at least five people in the southern city of Rafah.
Simultaneous Israeli assaults on the northern and southern edges of the Gaza Strip this month have caused a new exodus of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing their homes, and sharply restricted the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine.
In Jabalia, a sprawling refugee camp built for displaced civilians 75 years ago, the Israeli army used bulldozers to clear shops and property near the local market, residents said, in a military operation that began almost two weeks ago.
Israel said it has returned to the camp, where it had claimed to have dismantled Hamas months ago, to prevent the militant group that controls Gaza from regrouping.
The health authorities and Gaza Civil Emergency Service said dozens of bodies were trapped under rubble of houses and on the roads in Jabalia, but were out of reach of rescue teams.
19:58 (IST) May 21
Israel defence minister says ICC arrest bid 'despicable'
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant described as "despicable" Tuesday a push by the International Criminal Court's prosecutor for warrants to arrest him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
"The attempt made by the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, to turn things around will not succeed -- the parallel he has drawn between the Hamas terrorist organisation and the State of Israel is despicable," Gallant said in his first reaction to Khan's bid at the ICC.
"Prosecutor Karim Khan's attempt to deny the state of Israel the right to defend herself and ensure the release of the hostages held in Gaza must be rejected explicitly," Gallant said in a statement.
Top Israeli officials including President Isaac Herzog have slammed Khan's arrest bid against Netanyahu and Gallant.
Khan applied for arrest warrants against the two Israeli officials as well as three top Hamas leaders on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
19:37 (IST) May 21
Gaza battles flare as Israel slams arrest warrant bid for 'war crimes'
Israeli forces battled Hamas in Gaza on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu angrily dismissed a bid for an international arrest warrant against him on war crimes charges in the Palestinian territory.
US President Joe Biden backed Netanyahu in condemning as "outrageous" the bid by the International Criminal Court's prosecutor who also sought warrants against leaders of Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Israel's military reported ground combat and air strikes on 70 targets in Gaza in 24 hours, while its forces were also engaged in deadly clashes in the other major Palestinian territory, the occupied West Bank.
At least seven Palestinians were killed in the northern city of Jenin, the Ramallah-based health ministry said, as the army said it was "fighting armed men" in a pre-dawn "counterterrorism operation".
Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported that a hospital surgeon, a school teacher and a student were among those killed in Jenin, a stronghold of Palestinian militant groups.
The bloodiest ever Gaza war started after Hamas's October 7 attack which sparked an Israeli retaliation that has brought a spiralling civilian death toll and levelled vast swathes of Gaza.
19:21 (IST) May 21
US says Israel-Saudi normalisation needs Gaza quiet, talks on Palestinian rule
Forging formal Israeli-Saudi relations as part of an emerging trilateral deal involving Washington would require a calming of the Gaza war and a discussion of prospects for Palestinian governance, the U.S. envoy to Jerusalem said on Tuesday.
"There's going to have to be some period of quiet, I think, in Gaza, and there's going to have to be a conversation about how do you deal with the question of the future of Palestinian governance," ambassador Jack Lew said.
"My view is, that strategic benefit is worth taking the risk of getting into that conversation about. But that's a decision that the government of Israel will have to make and the people of Israel will have to make," he told a conference hosted by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) think-tank.
The United States on Monday described as "near final" a bilateral defence pact with Saudi Arabia. Once completed, it would be part of a broad deal presented to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to decide whether to make concessions to secure a normalisation of ties with Riyadh.
Netanyahu has long promoted such a diplomatic prize. But, seven months into a war with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip whom Israel has sworn to eradicate, a ceasefire is elusive and he says it is premature to discuss day-after Palestinian rule.
"Of course we want to expand the circle of peace. We haven't been shy about this," Israeli government spokesperson Tal Heinrich said. "(But) any peace initiative that jeopardises Israel's security is not something that we see as real peace."
19:20 (IST) May 21
Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 35,647
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Tuesday that at least 35,647 people have been killed in the territory during more than seven months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The toll includes 85 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 79,852 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.
19:12 (IST) May 21
Qatar says Gaza truce, hostage release talks remain 'close to stalemate'
Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said on Tuesday the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release talks between Israel and Hamas remain “close to a stalemate”.
Asked about the International Criminal Court prosecutor's decision to seek arrest warrants against some Israeli and Hamas leaders, Al-Ansari said it was too early for Qatar to comment directly on that but that all states and organisations should be "held responsible for the killing of civilians".
18:50 (IST) May 21
Israeli officials seize AP equipment and take down live shot of northern Gaza, citing new media law
Israeli officials seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press in southern Israel on Tuesday, accusing the news organization of violating the country’s new ban on Al Jazeera.
The Qatari satellite channel is among thousands of clients that receive live video feeds from the AP and other news organizations. The AP denounced the move.
“The Associated Press decries in the strongest terms the actions of the Israeli government to shut down our longstanding live feed showing a view into Gaza and seize AP equipment,” said Lauren Easton, vice president of corporate communications at the AP. “The shutdown was not based on the content of the feed but rather an abusive use by the Israeli government of the country’s new foreign broadcaster law. We urge the Israeli authorities to return our equipment and enable us to reinstate our live feed immediately so we can continue to provide this important visual journalism to thousands of media outlets around the world.”
Officials from the Communications Ministry arrived at the AP location in the southern town of Sderot on Tuesday afternoon and seized the equipment. They handed the AP a piece of paper, signed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, alleging it was violating the country’s new foreign broadcaster law.
18:49 (IST) May 21
Cyprus says maritime aid shipments to Gaza 'on track'
Four ships from the United States and France are transporting aid from Larnaca port to the Gaza Strip amid the spiralling humanitarian crisis there, the Cyprus presidency said on Tuesday.
Victor Papadopoulos from the presidential press office told state radio 1,000 tonnes of aid were shipped from Cyprus to the besieged Palestinian territory between Friday and Sunday.
He said the vessels were shuttling between Gaza and the east Mediterranean island, a distance of about 360 kilometres (225 miles).
Large quantities of aid from Britain, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and other countries have accumulated at Larnaca port.
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides told reporters on Tuesday the maritime aid effort was "on track".
"We have substantial assistance from third countries that want to contribute to this effort," he said.
18:29 (IST) May 21
Israeli officials seize AP equipment and take down live shot of northern Gaza, citing new media law, reports AP
18:23 (IST) May 21
Israel urges 'civilised nations' to spurn any ICC warrants against its leaders
Israel urges "nations of the civilised world" to oppose the International Criminal Court prosecutor's request for arrest warrants against its leaders and to declare they would not honor any such warrants, a government spokesperson said on Tuesday.Asked if Prime Minister BenjaminIsrael urges "nations of the civilised world" to oppose the International Criminal Court prosecutor's request for arrest warrants against its leaders and to declare they would not honor any such warrants, a government spokesperson said on Tuesday.Asked if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Defence Minister Yoav Gallant would avoid travelling to ICC-signatory countries in the event arrest warrants are issued against them, the spokesperson, Tal Heinrich, said: "Let's wait and see." Netanyahu or Defence Minister Yoav Gallant would avoid travelling to ICC-signatory countries in the event arrest warrants are issued against them, the spokesperson, Tal Heinrich, said: "Let's wait and see."
17:40 (IST) May 21
Palestinian ministry says Israel troops kill 7 in West Bank raid
Palestinian health officials said Israeli troops killed seven Palestinians during a raid Tuesday in the West Bank city of Jenin, where the military said it had launched a counterterrorism operation.
The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said nine people had been wounded, including two who were in critical condition.
The Israeli military said that troops had launched a "counterterrorism operation in Jenin and they were fighting with armed men", without providing further details.
Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported that among those killed was a surgeon, Usaeed Jabareen, from the Jenin government hospital.
A school teacher and a student were also among the dead, Wafa reported, quoting hospital director Wissam Bakr.
Following the raid, all schools in Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp had been evacuated, Wafa said.
In early afternoon, the streets near the camp were deserted, except for Israeli bulldozers moving debris.
16:31 (IST) May 21
Gaza battles flare as Israel slams arrest warrant bid for 'war crimes'
Israeli forces battled Hamas in Gaza on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu angrily dismissed a bid for an international arrest warrant against him on war crimes charges in the Palestinian territory.
US President Joe Biden backed Netanyahu in condemning as "outrageous" the bid by the International Criminal Court's prosecutor who also sought warrants against leaders of Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Israel's military reported ground combat and air strikes on 70 targets in Gaza in 24 hours, while its forces were also engaged in deadly clashes in the other major Palestinian territory, the occupied West Bank.
At least seven Palestinians were killed in the northern city of Jenin, the Ramallah-based health ministry said, as the army said it was "fighting armed men" in a pre-dawn "counterterrorism operation".
16:28 (IST) May 21
Israel tries to contain fallout over ICC warrant requests after allies voice support for the move
Israel's foreign minister was headed to France on Tuesday in a bid to contain the fallout from the decision by the prosecutor of the world court to request arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, a move supported by several European countries, including key ally France. France, as well as Belgium and Slovenia, each said Monday they backed the move by International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, who accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders - Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh - of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
Their support exposes divisions in the West's approach to Israel and deepens the country's global isolation over its conduct in the war in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz' meetings with his French counterpart and other senior officials could set the tone for how countries navigate the warrants - if they are eventually issued - and whether they could pose a threat to Israeli leaders.
14:35 (IST) May 21
Israel-Palestine War: Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claim they shot down another US drone
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed on Tuesday they shot down an American drone over the impoverished Arab county. The US military did not immediately acknowledge the claim. If confirmed, this would be the second MQ-9 Reaper drone downed by the Houthis over the past week as they press their campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.Last Friday, the Houthis claimed downing an American drone over the province of Marib, hours after footage circulated online of what appeared to be the wreckage of an MQ-9 Reaper. And early Saturday, a vessel also came under attack in the Red Sea.Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said Tuesday the drone was shot down with a locally made surface-to-air missile. He did not say when it took place but alleged the drone "was carrying out hostile missions" over Yemen's southern province of Bayda.The US Mideast-based Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding the incident.
13:22 (IST) May 21
Israeli forces kill at least 7 Palestinians in a West Bank raid
Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, killing at least seven Palestinians, including a doctor, according to local authorities, in some of the deadliest violence in the territory since the war in the Gaza Strip erupted seven months ago. The military said its forces struck militants during an operation in Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank, which along with an adjacent urban refugee camp has long been a bastion of armed struggle against Israel. The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least seven Palestinians were killed and another nine wounded. Their identities were not immediately known.
13:13 (IST) May 21
Israel-Palestine War: Italy says 'unacceptable' to put Israel, Hamas on same level
Italy's foreign minister said Tuesday it was "unacceptable" and "absurd" to compare Israel and Hamas after the International Criminal Court's prosecutor applied for arrest warrants for leaders on both sides."It is completely unacceptable that Hamas and Israel are put on the same level," Antonio Tajani said in an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper, adding: "Be careful not to legitimise anti-Israeli positions that can fuel anti-Semitic phenomena."
12:22 (IST) May 21
Israel-Palestine War: Israeli army raids West Bank's Jenin, Palestinians say seven killed
Israeli forces raided Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday in an operation that the Palestinian health ministry said killed seven Palestinians, including a doctor, and left nine others wounded.The army said it was an operation against militants and that a number of Palestinian gunmen were shot. There was no immediate word of any Israeli casualties.The health ministry account of the casualties was quoted by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
09:18 (IST) May 21
Israel-Palestine War: Israel, Hamas reject bid before ICC to arrest leaders for war crimes
Israel and Hamas, engaged in heavy fighting in the Gaza Strip, both angrily rejected on Monday moves to arrest their leaders for war crimes made before an international court.The International Criminal Court's prosecutor Karim Khan said he had applied for arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders over the conflict.Israel slammed as a "historical disgrace" the demand targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, while the Palestinian militant group Hamas said it "strongly condemns" the move.
08:53 (IST) May 21
Israel-Palestine War: Yale graduates stage pro-Palestinian walkout of commencement
Scores of graduating students staged a walkout from Yale University's commencement exercises on Monday, protesting the Israeli war in Gaza, Yale's financial ties to weapons makers, and its response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the Ivy League campus.
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08:39 (IST) May 21
Israel- Palestine War: Biden says Israel's Gaza offensive 'not genocide'
US President Joe Biden denied Monday that Israel's war in Gaza was genocide, as he slammed an "outrageous" request by the International Criminal Court's prosecutor for an arrest warrant for Israeli leaders."What's happening is not genocide," Biden told a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House as he discussed the conflict sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.His remarks referred specifically to a case at a different tribunal, the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is dealing with allegations by South Africa that Israel's war in Gaza is genocidal.But he also amped up his criticism of the ICC, a separate war crimes court, saying that "we reject" ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan's bid to arrest Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its defense minister.
04:42 (IST) May 21
Gaza aid piles up in Egypt, US pier delivery falters
Food and medicine for Palestinians in Gaza are piling up in Egypt because the Rafah crossing remains closed and there has been no aid delivered to a UN warehouse from a US-built pier for two days, UN officials warned on Monday. The closure of Rafah crossing from Egypt had stopped the delivery of at least 82,000 metric tonnes of supplies, while access at Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing was limited due to "hostilities, challenging logistical conditions, and complex coordination procedures." Egypt said on Monday that the crossing is closed due to the threat posed to aid work by Israel's military operation.
04:40 (IST) May 21
Amal Clooney helped ICC weigh Gaza war crimes evidence
Amal Clooney helped the International Criminal Court weigh evidence that led to the decision to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders, the human rights lawyer said Monday. The high-profile British-Lebanese barrister posted a statement on the website of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which she founded with her husband, American actor George Clooney. Both she and the foundation had previously been criticized on social media for not speaking out over the civilian death toll in Gaza.
04:39 (IST) May 21
"What's happening is not genocide," Biden told a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House as he discussed the conflict sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.
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04:37 (IST) May 21
NYC mayor defends police response after videos show officers punching pro-Palestinian protesters
New York City Mayor Eric Adams defended the police department's response to a pro-Palestinian street demonstration in Brooklyn over the weekend, calling video of officers repeatedly punching men lying prone on the ground an “isolated incident.”“Look at that entire incident,” Adams said on the “Mornings on 1” program on the local cable news channel NY1. He complained that protesters who marched through Brooklyn's Bay Ridge section on Saturday had blocked traffic, spit at officers and, in once instance, climbed on top of a moving city bus. “I take my hat off to the Police Department, how they handled an unruly group of people.”“People want to take that one isolated incident that we’re investigating. They need to look at the totality of what happened in that bedroom community,” Adams added.
04:33 (IST) May 21
Five killed in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon
At least five people, including four Hezbollah fighters, were killed on Monday in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, a source close to the group and state media said. Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, has traded near daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces since the Palestinian group's October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
04:32 (IST) May 21
No US pier aid to UN in Gaza for two days after truck incident
The United Nations has not received any aid from a US-built pier in Gaza for the past two days after an incident on Saturday in which food was taken from 11 out of 16 trucks before they reached a U.N. warehouse, a U.N. official told Reuters on Monday. Aid deliveries began arriving at a U.S.-built pier on Friday as Israel comes under growing global pressure to allow more supplies into the besieged coastal enclave, where it is at war with Palestinian militants Hamas and a famine looms.
The UN said that 10 truckloads of food aid - transported from the pier site by UN contractors - were received on Friday at a World Food Programme warehouse in Deir El Balah in Gaza, a short distance away. But on Saturday, only five truckloads of aid made it to the warehouse after 11 others were cleaned out by Palestinians during the journey through an area that the U.N. official said has been hard to access with humanitarian aid.
04:30 (IST) May 21
A furious Netanyahu lashed out at the ICC and the prosecutor, stating that the 'absurd' move was 'exactly what new anti-Semitism looks like'. Vowing to bring down Hamas and achieve total victory, Netanyahu said Israel was fighting a "just war".
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04:27 (IST) May 21
War crimes prosecutor seeks arrest of Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Netanyahu
The chief prosecutor of the world's top war crimes court sought arrest warrants Monday for leaders of Israel and Hamas, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over actions taken during their seven-month war. While Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, do not face imminent arrest, the announcement by the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor was a symbolic blow that deepened Israel’s isolation over the war in Gaza.
