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

Some Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip have been forcibly displaced up to six times since Israel launched its war on the besieged enclave, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, has said.

Amid large-scale destruction, the families are forced to seek shelter in makeshift tents or damaged buildings while bombardments continue and vital supplies are lacking, Unrwa added in a post on X.

Displaced families in #Gaza are forced to flee again & again - some of them even 6 times.

They seek shelter in makeshift tents or damaged buildings, including @UNRWA schools & facilities. But safety doesn't exist in #GazaStrip. Bombardments continue & vital supplies are lacking. pic.twitter.com/ffq2dIy4Eo

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) May 25, 2024

Good morning Middle East Eye readers, 

It's 11:25 am in Palestine and Israel. Here are the latest developments from Israel's war on Gaza, which is now in its eighth month. 

• Israeli air strikes targeted areas across the Gaza Strip overnight, killing at least 10 people north of the Nuseirat refugee camp and near the Wadi Gaza area, according to Arabic media. 

• Tanks and troops continued their attacks on two hospitals in northern Gaza as they pushed deeper into the Jabalia refugee camp and the heart of Rafah in the south. 

• The director of Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia told Al Jazeera the facility was still out of service on Saturday due to the ongoing siege by Israeli soldiers, who were still present in the vicinity. 

• Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, said UN member states should impose sanctions on Israel and suspend diplomatic relations until it complies with the International Court of Justice's ruling to cease the Rafah ground offensive. 

Good evening, Middle East Eye readers.

Our live coverage of Israel's assault on Gaza will shortly be closing for the evening.

Here are the day's key developments:

• Egypt agreed to allow aid outside Rafah to be trucked to Israel for delivery into Gaza, but refused to reopen the Rafah border crossing
• Israel launched multiple missiles on Rafah on Friday, defying the ICJ’s ruling to halt its operations in the city
• Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Turkey and Oman welcomed the ICJ’s ruling against Israel
• The death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza has killed a total of 35,857 Palestinians and wounded an additional 80,293, the Palestinian health ministry said on Friday
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed South Africa’s claims against Israel as "false, outrageous and disgusting"
• Yemen's Houthis say they launched attacks on three ships, including one in the Mediterranean Sea
• Human Rights Watch said Israel was flouting the International Court of Justice's ruling
• Hamas’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed mortar attacks on Israeli troops and attacks on Israeli tanks

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on Egypt and Israel to reach an agreement on reopening the Rafah border crossing in a call on Friday with Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, the State Department said.

Blinken also said the US opposed a major Israeli military operation in Rafah.

Three Palestinian human rights groups welcomed the ICJ’s ruling ordering Israel to stop its assault on Rafah.

Al-Haq, Al Mezan and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights issued a joint statement on Friday welcoming the top UN court’s ruling against Israel. 

The groups noted that the implementation of the ruling is mandatory under international law, adding that “third states must take firm and unequivocal action to ensure Israel’s compliance”.

The groups called for sanctions on Israel and a complete arms embargo.

French President Emmanuel Macron held talks on Friday with Qatar's prime minister and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan on the Gaza war, the French presidency said.

Efforts to revive a "two-state" solution to the conflict and humanitarian efforts for Gaza dominated the talks. 

The officials also discussed "all the levers that could be activated in order to obtain the reopening of all crossing points" into Gaza, the Elysee palace said in a statement.

The meeting took place ahead of an expected visit to Paris by CIA chief Bill Burns aimed at reviving stalled hostage deal talks.

The White House said on Friday that it has been "clear and consistent" on its position on Rafah after the ICJ ordered Israel to stop its offensive on the southern Gaza border city. 

The Biden administration has yet to reply to the ICJ’s ruling ordering Israel to stop its offensive on Rafah and surge aid into Gaza.

But the world is steadily reacting to the decision, with major Middle Eastern states and US allies welcoming the decision, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Oman.

Meanwhile, pro and anti-Israel lawmakers in the US have weighed in.

The whole world is taking action to stop the genocide of Palestinians, including the International Court of Justice. Where is President Biden’s red line?" American Palestinian Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib wrote on X.

"As far as I’m concerned, the ICJ can go to hell," Republican Senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham tweeted. "This will and should be ignored by Israel". 

Read More: World welcomes ICJ ruling to halt Rafah offensive but US response pending

Oman has welcomed an ICJ ruling ordering Israel to stop its assault on Rafah and surge aid into Gaza.

“The Sultanate of Oman welcomes the decision of the International Court of Justice issued today in the Hague regarding the case of genocide charges against Israel,” Oman said according to the Oman News Agency.

Oman called on the UN Security Council to implement the courts decision “to immediately stop aggressive actions in the Palestinian territories”.

Any further Israeli attacks on Rafah could constitute underlying acts of genocide, Amnesty International warned, commenting on the ICJ’s ruling against Israel.

“With this order the International Court of Justice...has made it crystal clear: the Israeli authorities must completely halt military operations in Rafah, as any ongoing military action could constitute an underlying act of genocide,” Heba Morayef, Amnesty’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa said in a statement on Friday. 

“The ground incursion and the associated mass forced displacement it has caused, pose further irreparable risk to the rights of the Palestinian people protected under the Genocide Convention,” she added.

Qatar has welcomed an ICJ ruling ordering Israel to stop its assault on Rafah and surge aid into Gaza.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers that the decision reflects the international community’s categorical rejection of the war on the Gaza Strip,” Qatar said in a statement.

Qatar called on Israel to fully commit to implementing the ruling and provide a timely report to the ICJ.

Hamas targeted Merkava tanksHamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, says it attacked two Israeli Merkava tanks and an Israeli military bulldozer with Yassin-105 rockets in the Beit Lahiya area.

Hamas also released a new video showing a soldier planting a demolition charge behind an Israeli tank, and another soldier firing mortar rounds.

The UAE has welcomed an ICJ ruling ordering Israel to stop its assault on Rafah and surge aid into Gaza.

"The UAE welcomes the decision of the International Court of Justice to impose additional temporary measures on Israel, demanding that it immediately stop the attack on Rafah,” the UAE said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that between 7 May and 23 May, only 906 truckloads of aid entered Gaza, amid warnings of a looming famine.

Roughly 800 of those truckloads were food supplies, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

According to the OCHA, 143 trucks passed through the Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing in Gaza's south. Sixty-two entered Gaza through the Erez crossing and 604 entered via the Western Erez crossing.

Just 97 truckloads entered through a US-built floating pier in central Gaza.

Egypt said any agreement to send aid to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing will take place with the coordination of the Palestinian Authority, Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera news TV reported Friday, citing a senior Egyptian official.

In the meantime, Egypt will allow aid that has piled up on its territory to be transported to Israel. The aid will enter Gaza via the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing.