The Israeli military has denied conducting a strike in a designated humanitarian area in western Rafah. It did not deny a strike took place, but disputed the location of where it hit. Meanwhile, the US has been forced to suspend aid deliveries into Gaza by sea.
Tuesday 28 May 2024 22:11, UK
Members of a kibbutz - a type of Israeli settlement - who were recruited as reservists have taken part in a military training session.
The training took place amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in northern Israel.
The reservists were pictured in military uniform, with helmets and weapons.
The White House has said that the strikes on Rafah both on Sunday and today do not prompt the withdrawal of US military assistance to Israel.
White House spokesman John Kirby called the strike that killed 45 Palestinians after a fire in a tent camp "heartbreaking" but stopped short of saying the violence crossed President Joe Biden's metaphorical red line.
He did however acknowledge that there is a "real danger" Israel could "become further isolated from the international community because of how they are conducting this operation".
"We have not turned a blind eye and have raised issues with Israel," Mr Kirby continued.
It comes after various global leaders spoke out about Sunday's strike, including France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Olaf Scholz.
UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said earlier that the scenes coming out of Rafah were "very, very concerning".
Reacting to the IDF's denial that it was targeting designated humanitarian zones in strikes, Mr Kirby said everything the US has seen supports this.
He said: "Everything that we can see from the Israelis shows they are not moving in with a major ground operation in population centres."
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is working with Algeria on "a joint resolution" on Gaza to push for a ceasefire and address the desperate need for humanitarian aid.
He said France is supporting Algeria after the request for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council over the situation in Rafah.
The response to the Israel-Hamas war "can only be a political one," Mr Macron said when speaking in Meseberg, Germany, on the third day of a state visit in the country.
"We are ready to actively work at a peaceful solution, it's reachable with political will."
He said French diplomats will work in the "coming hours and days" at convincing "all our partners" over the resolution proposal.
The French leader reaffirmed that recognising a Palestinian state is not yet a "taboo" for his country, adding that the decision must be made "at a useful moment" and shouldn't be an "emotional" reaction to what happened in Rafah.
Mr Macron said yesterday that he was "outraged by the Israeli strikes that have killed many displaced persons in Rafah".
He called for the operations by the Israeli military to stop.
Earlier, we reported that the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that a full incursion on Rafah by the Israeli military could force the closure of the last remaining hospital.
In another update, WHO spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris said there are only 14 hospitals in Gaza that are officially still functioning - but not accepting new patients.
"They [the hospitals] have had to limit what they can do, particularly in Rafah," Dr Harris said.
She said the al Helal al Emarati in the city is the only one that remains "barely functional" - as well as five field hospitals, but all are "overwhelmed" and "undersupplied".
At least 36,100 Palestinians have been killed and 81,150 have been injured since 7 October, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has said.
It said of those killed, 7,823 are children and 4,980 are women.
An estimated 85% of the population of Gaza - 1.93 million people - have been displaced.
While 1.4 million people are seeking refuge at facilities run by the United Nations.
For context: While some Israeli officials have sought to cast doubt on fatality figures given out by the Palestinian Health Authority in Gaza, a number of independent groups say they have proved to be largely reliable and broadly in line with those later produced by the UN and Israel itself.
Examination of data from previous Gaza conflicts - the Hamas-run health ministry's counts compared with the post-war United Nations analysis - shows that the initial data is largely accurate with, at most, a 10-12% discrepancy.
The US department of defence has said the temporary pier built to carry aid into Gaza by sea will be removed from the coast for repairs.
It comes after officials said earlier that bad weather had damaged a causeway (a type of track) that is attached to the beach in Gaza.
The Pentagon said in a statement that once repairs have been done, the pier will be returned.
It did not give any kind of timeframe.
The setback is the latest for the $320m pier, which only started properly operating in the last few weeks and has seen three US service members injured and four vessels beached.
However, as of Friday the pier was proving successful, with more than 820 metric tonnes of food aid having been delivered from the sea onto the Gaza beach.
A video showing an Israeli hostage has been released by Islamic Jihad, the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters has said.
The 30-second clip of Alexander Trufanov - known as Sasha - was released today, the charity said, and shows him identifying himself.
He also allegedly said he will speak about what happened to him and other hostages in Gaza in the next few days, according to The Times of Israel.
It is unknown when the video was recorded, but the 28-year-old has spent about 235 days in captivity.
Reacting, the Families Forum said: "The proof of life from Alexander (Sasha) Trufanov is additional evidence that the Israeli government must give a significant mandate to the negotiating team, which will be able to lead to a deal for the return of all the hostages - the living to rehabilitation and the murdered to burial."
The 28-year-old was kidnapped on 7 October from the area of Nir Oz along with his mother, Yelena, grandmother, Tati, and girlfriend, Sapir Cohen, The Times of Israel said.
All the women were released in a hostage deal in late November. His father, Vitaly Trufanov, was murdered in the attack by Hamas.
Kamala Harris has said "the word tragic doesn't even begin to describe" an Israeli airstrike that triggered a fire in a tent camp in the Gazan city of Rafah, killing 45 Palestinians.
Speaking outside an event in Washington, the US vice-president of the US responded to a reporter's question about the weekend strike.
It comes as a spokesperson for the US State Department said that Washington reached out to the Israeli government to express deep concern over the strike as soon as it saw reports of the incident.
Matthew Miller said the government will be closely watching the results of Israel's investigation and will continue to emphasise its obligation to comply fully with "international humanitarian law, minimise the impact of its operations on civilians and maximise the flow of humanitarian assistance".
"It's important that if accountability is merited in relation to the Rafah incident, that accountability is what takes place," Mr Miller said.
A French left-wing MP who waved a Palestinian flag in the lower house of the country's National Assembly has been suspended for 15 days.
Sebastien Delogu, from the Les Insoumis (LFI) party, waved the flag to draw attention to the situation in Gaza (see 3.54pm post)
His actions halted proceedings in parliament for about an hour.
Suspending the session this afternoon, assembly president Yael Braun-Pivet said the move was "not tolerable".
Mr Delogu later posted on X that he would be attending what is believed to be a pro-Palestinian protest at Place de la Republique in Paris at 6.30pm local time.
His pay for the next two months has also been halved.
The Israeli military has denied conducting a strike in a designated humanitarian area in al Mawasi in western Rafah.
The IDF did not deny that it had carried out a strike today, but said the location of the strike was not within the designated zone, where the Israel military has directed people to shelter.
Earlier, a Palestinian health official said that as many as 21 people were killed and dozens injured after the alleged strike on a tent area.
In a statement, the Israeli military said: "Contrary to the reports from the last few hours, the IDF did not strike in the humanitarian area in al Mawasi."
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