Gaza live: Israel to build 'different government' in Gaza, says defence minister

Following its official recognition of Palestine the Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said in a statement:

"The Government recognises Palestine as a sovereign and independent state and agreed to establish full diplomatic relations between Dublin and Ramallah".

"An Ambassador of Ireland to the State of Palestine will be appointed along with a full Embassy of Ireland in Ramallah," said Harris. 

"This decision of Ireland is about keeping hope alive. It is about believing that a two-state solution is the only way for Israel and Palestine to live side by side in peace and security," he said in the statement.

"I again call on Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel to listen to the world and stop the humanitarian catastrophe we are seeing in Gaza," he added.

Norway and Ireland have formally recognised a Palestinian state on Tuesday despite Israeli threats.  

“Norway has been one of the most fervent defenders of a Palestinian state for more than 30 years,” said the Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide following the announcement. 

The Irish government also officially recognised a Palestinian State, adding that an ambassador to it will be appointed to establish diplomatic relations between Dublin and Ramallah.

More than 36,096 Palestinians have been killed and 81,136 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian health ministry said on Tuesday. 

In the last 24 hours at least 46 people were killed and 110 wounded the ministry added. 

Spain formally recognised the State of Palestine on Tuesday, a government spokesperson said following a decision approved by the cabinet.

The Spanish government “adopted an important decision to recognise a Palestinian state”, said the government spokesperson which had “one objective: to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace”.

The Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris has said Europe could be doing a “hell of a lot more” to exert pressure on Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“If everybody says they want to see a cessation of violence – the United States says it, the European Union says it – it’s not enough to just say it,” said Harris on Tuesday.

“We have to challenge ourselves: what more can we do to make it effective,” he said adding that so far any steps towards a ceasefire has been “ineffective”.

The Palestinian flag has been raised over Ireland’s parliament’s as Dublin prepares to officially recognise a Palestinian state on Tuesday alongside Spain and Norway. 

Israeli strikes on Rafah have killed at least 16 Palestinians, first responders said on Tuesday as Israel pushes deeper into the southern Gaza city.

Overnight strikes pummelled the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood in northwest Rafah, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence and the Palestinian Red Crescent, AP reports.

The latest strikes occurred in the same area where Israel killed at least 45 Palestinians on Sunday, causing global outrage.

The head of Mossad threatened the International Criminal Court's (ICC) prosecutor over her decision to open a formal investigation into Israeli war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, a joint investigation by the Guardian and +972 mag has revealed. 

Yossi Cohen, who at the time was director of the Israeli spy agency, helmed an operation to pressure Fatou Bensouda into abandoning her inquiry.

In the years leading up to Bensouda's decision to open the inquiry in 2021, Cohen allegedly deployed “despicable tactics”, according to accounts by ICC officials who likened his behaviour to “stalking”.

According to one account, Cohen told Bensouda: “You should help us and let us take care of you. You don’t want to be getting into things that could compromise your security or that of your family.”

Read more: Mossad chief Yossi Cohen ‘stalked’ ICC prosecutor over war crimes inquiry

Six people, including a doctor, have been killed near the hospital in northern Gaza, as Israeli raids continue in the area, Al-Jazeera is reporting. 

Several Israeli tanks on Tuesday reached the centre of Rafah, witnesses told Reuters. 

The tanks were spotted near Al-Awda mosque, a central Rafah landmark, the witnesses said.

Israel has been bombing the city with air strikes and tank fire for weeks, despite an order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday to immediately halt its offensive in the city crowded with displaced Palestinians.

British Foreign Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday that an investigation by the Israeli army into air strikes that killed at least 45 Palestinians, mostly women and children, must be "swift, comprehensive and transparent".

A dazzling spectacle of cinema, fashion, and glamour, the Cannes Film Festival is known for celebrating arthouse and European cinema at its finest.

Since its inception in 1946, photographers have eagerly snapped the great and the good of showbusiness as they descend upon the French Riviera city for the annual festival. 

But this year, a photo taken by the French subsidiary of American monthly magazine Vanity Fair went viral for unexpected reasons.

Australian actor Guy Pearce joined fellow actors Cate Blanchett and Pascale Kann, supermodel Bella Hadid and Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir in displaying acts of solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza, as he wore a Palestine flag pin and a bracelet in the colours of the country's flag.

On 21 May, Vanity Fair included a photograph of Pearce in an article titled 'Diary cannois du jour' (Daily Cannes diary), which showcased several photos of celebrities attending the festival.

Read more: Outrage after magazine edits out Guy Pearce's Palestine pin

In the past three weeks around one million people have been forced to flee Rafah, said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa).

"This happened with nowhere safe to go & amidst bombardments, lack of food & water, piles of waste & unsuitable living conditions," they added in a post on X.

In a bizarre rant Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz took to X on Tuesday, saying that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Spain's deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz Perez and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar "call for the elimination of Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian Islamic terrorist state from the river to the sea".

Earlier on Tuesday, the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez formally started the process to recognise a Palestinian state. 

“The recognition of the state of Palestine is not only a matter of historical justice, but we are all aiming at establishing peace,” said Sanchez. 

“The state of Palestine must be viable, with the West Bank and Gaza connected by a corridor and with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he added.