Israel-Gaza war live: US aid deliveries to Gaza out of reach amid heavy seas as Biden boasts of efforts in military academy speech | Israel-Gaza war

As Joe Biden boasted about US aid efforts in Gaza during his West Point military academy commencement speech, saying that the US army and navy has built a temporary pier in the Mediterranean “in record time” to deliver aid to Palestinians, efforts on the ground tell a different story.

On Saturday, US Centcom announced that four US army vessels were affected by “heavy sea states”:

The vessels broke free from their moorings and two vessels are now anchored on the beach near the pier. The third and fourth vessels are beached on the coast of Israel near Ashkelon. Efforts to recover the vessels are under way with assistance from the Israeli navy.

No US personnel will enter Gaza and no injuries have been reported. The pier remains fully functional, US Centcom added, saying that it will release additional updates as they come.

Spanish defence minister says Gaza war is ‘real genocide’

Amy Sedghi

The Spanish defence minister said on Saturday that the conflict in Gaza is a “real genocide”, as relations between Israel and Spain worsen after Madrid’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state, reports Reuters.

Reuters said it could not immediately reach Israeli officials for comment on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.

Israel has strongly rejected accusations made against it by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that it is committing a genocide against Palestinians, saying it is waging war on the Hamas militant group that attacked Israel on 7 October.

According to Reuters, the remark by Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles in an interview with TVE state television echoed a comment by Spanish deputy prime minister Yolanda Díaz, who earlier this week also described the Gaza conflict as a genocide.

“We cannot ignore what is happening in Gaza, which is a real genocide,” Robles said in the interview, during which she also discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and conflicts in Africa.

Reuters reports that Robles also said Madrid’s recognition of Palestine was not a move against Israel, adding that it was designed to help “end violence in Gaza”.

“This is not against anyone, this is not against the Israeli state, this is not against the Israelis, who are people we respect,” she said.

Spain, along with Ireland and Norway, said this week it would recognise a Palestinian state on 28 May, prompting an angry response from Israel, which said it amounted to a “reward for terrorism” and recalled its ambassadors from the three capitals.

Judges at the ICJ, the top UN court, on Friday ordered Israel to immediately halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in a landmark emergency ruling in the case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide.

It is 5.45pm in Gaza and Tel Aviv. I will shortly be handing the Israel-Gaza war live blog over to the US team.

But first, here are the key developments from today:

• The Spanish government demanded on Saturday that Israel comply with an order by the top UN court to immediately stop its bombardment and ground assault on Rafah. “The precautionary measures set out by the ICJ, including that Israel should cease its military offensive in Rafah, are compulsory. Israel must comply with them,” Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares wrote on X. “The same goes for a ceasefire, the release of the hostages and access for humanitarian aid [to Gaza],” he wrote, adding that “the suffering of the people of Gaza and the violence must end”.

• Mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas to reach a deal to free Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip are due to restart next week, an official with knowledge of the matter said on Saturday. According to Reuters, the decision to restart the talks came after the head of Israel’s the Mossad intelligence agency met the head of the CIA and the prime minister of Qatar, which has been a mediator, said the source, who declined to be identified by name or nationality given the sensitivity of the issue.

• The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, spoke with Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz over the phone about new efforts to achieve a ceasefire and reopen the Rafah border crossing, Washington said. The brief statement from Blinken’s office made no mention of the international court of justice’s (ICJ) ruling, while a White House spokesperson said that “we’ve been clear and consistent on our position on Rafah.”

• French president Emmanuel Macron received the prime minister of Qatar and the Saudi, Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers on Friday “to press for a ceasefire”, according to Cairo. The French presidency said they held talks on the Gaza war and ways to set up a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

• The UK government has criticised the ICJ for ordering Israel to immediately halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, saying the ruling would strengthen Hamas. “The reason there isn’t a pause in the fighting is because Hamas turned down a very generous hostage deal from Israel. The intervention of these courts – including the ICJ today – will strengthen the view of Hamas that they can hold on to hostages and stay in Gaza,” a UK foreign ministry spokesperson said late on Friday. The spokesperson added: “And if that happens there won’t be either peace, or a two-state solution.”

• Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani announced on Saturday that Rome would resume funding for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), at a meeting with Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa. Tajani said he had informed Mustafa that Rome had “arranged new funding for the Palestinian population, of a total of €35m ($38m)”. He said: “Of this, €5m will be allocated to Unrwa.” The remaining €30m will be allocated to Italy’s “Food for Gaza” initiative in coordination with UN aid agencies.

• In spite of the ICJ ruling, Israel carried out strikes on the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning as fighting raged between the army and Hamas’s armed wing. Palestinian witnesses and AFP teams reported Israeli strikes in Rafah and the central city of Deir al-Balah.

• The Kuwait Speciality hospital in Rafah pleaded for fuel deliveries on Saturday “to ensure its continued operation”, saying it was the only one in Rafah governorate still receiving patients.

• Israeli forces killed more than 30 people in new attacks in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical officals said on Saturday. They do not distinguish between civilian and militant casualties.

• The Israeli military said it had carried out “operational activity in specific areas of Rafah” on Friday, including killing militants, dismantling part of Hamas’s tunnel system, and locating stashes of weapons.

• Residents and civil emergency services said Israeli tanks entered deep into the area of Jabalia, destroying dozens of houses, shops, and roads. The Israeli military said its troops in Jabalia “eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat and aerial strikes”. Palestinian medical teams were unable to reach the area, where they believed more people were killed.

• Hamas and Islamic Jihad said their fighters had fired anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs at Israeli troops in the north.

• At least 35,903 Palestinians have been killed and 80,420 injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, according to the Gaza health ministry’s latest statement on Saturday. The Hamas-run health ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.

• Ten Palestinians, including children and women, were killed and several others injured on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the city of Beit Hanoun, north of the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. The news agency reported that medical sources had confirmed the death toll and said that 17 others had sustained injuries in the attack. The Guardian has been unable to independently verify the report.

• G7 finance leaders will call on Israel to maintain correspondent banking links between Israeli and Palestinian banks to allow vital transactions, trade and services to continue, according to a draft joint statement seen by Reuters on Saturday. The statement, which Reuters say is to be released at the end of a G7 finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting in northern Italy, also calls for Israel “to release withheld clearance revenues to the Palestinian Authority, in view of its urgent fiscal needs”.

• An Israeli military strike targeted a family home in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood, killing a woman and injuring other people, reported Al Jazeera on Saturday. It attributed the information to “colleagues on the ground”. The publication, citing the Palestinian news agency Wafa, reported that “numerous other neighbourhoods of Gaza City have come under heavy artillery shelling … including Sheikh Ajlin, Tal al-Hawa and Zeitoun”.

• UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths described Friday’s ICJ ruling as “a moment of clarity”, in a post on social media site X. “At a time when the people of Gaza are staring down famine … it is more critical than ever to heed the calls made over the last seven months: Release the hostages. Agree a ceasefire. End this nightmare,” he wrote.

• An Israeli drone strike in central Syria killed two fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement on Saturday, a war monitor said. “An Israeli drone fired two missiles at a Hezbollah car and truck near the town of Qusayr in Homs province, as they were on their way to al-Dabaa military airport, killing at least two Hezbollah fighters and wounding others,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

• A French court has found three Syrian officials of the regime of Bashar al-Assad guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes, sentencing them in absentia to life imprisonment on Friday after a landmark trial in Paris.

• A car explosion killed one person in Damascus on Saturday, the official Syrian news agency Sana reported, without identifying the victim. Sana quoted a police official as saying “one person was killed when an explosive device exploded in their car in the Mazzeh district”. It did not provide any other details.

• Yemen’s Houthis postponed the release of about 100 prisoners belonging to government forces that had previously been announced to take place on Saturday. The head of the Houthi Prisoner Affairs Committee, Abdul Qader al-Murtada, said on X that the delay was caused by “technical reasons”.

Israeli forces killed more than 30 people in new attacks in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics said on Saturday, reports Reuters.

The Israeli military said it had carried out “operational activity in specific areas of Rafah” on Friday, including killing militants, dismantling part of Hamas’s tunnel system, and locating stashes of weapons.

So far, fighting has taken place on Rafah’s southern edge and eastern districts, away from the most populated areas, reports Reuters. The US, has called on Israel not to enter more central neighbourhoods, saying Israel has yet to show a credible plan for how this can be done without causing mass casualties.

One Rafah resident, who asked not to be named, told Reuters: “The occupation forces keep the city under bombing, not only east where they invaded but at the center and the western sides, they want to scare people to leave the whole city.”

Reuters also reports that farther north in the coastal territory, where the Israeli military says it is trying to prevent Hamas from reestablishing its hold, Palestinian medical workers reported Israeli airstrikes that they said killed at least 17 people.

A total of 31 Palestinians were killed in the past day in the Gaza Strip, according to local medical officials. They do not distinguish between civilian and militant casualties.

Hamas, which governs Gaza, and the smaller armed group Islamic Jihad said their fighters had fired anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs at Israeli troops in the north.

According to Reuters, residents and civil emergency services said Israeli tanks entered deep into the area of Jabalia, destroying dozens of houses, shops, and roads.

The Israeli military said its troops in Jabalia “eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat and aerial strikes.”

Reuters reports that Palestinian medical teams were unable to reach the area, where they believed more people were killed.

At least 35,903 Palestinians have been killed and 80,420 injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, according to the Gaza health ministry’s latest statement on Saturday.

The Hamas-run health ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.

The Spanish government demanded on Saturday that Israel comply with an order by the top UN court to immediately stop its bombardment and ground assault on Rafah, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

According to AFP, Spain stressed that the ruling on Friday by the international court of justice (ICJ) was legally binding.

“The precautionary measures set out by the ICJ, including that Israel should cease its military offensive in Rafah, are compulsory. Israel must comply with them,” Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares wrote on X.

“The same goes for a ceasefire, the release of the hostages and access for humanitarian aid [to Gaza],” he wrote, adding that “the suffering of the people of Gaza and the violence must end”.

Spain is one of the European countries to have been most critical of Israel over the war in Gaza.

On Wednesday, Spain, Ireland and Norway said their governments would recognise a Palestinian state from next week.

Israel summoned their envoys to “reprimand” them for the decision and on Friday said it would ban Spain’s consulate in Jerusalem from helping Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The UK government has criticised the international court of justice (ICJ) for ordering Israel to immediately halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, saying the ruling would strengthen Hamas, reports Reuters.

The ICJ, which is the highest UN body for hearing disputes between states, made the emergency ruling on Friday in South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide.

“The reason there isn’t a pause in the fighting is because Hamas turned down a very generous hostage deal from Israel. The intervention of these courts – including the ICJ today – will strengthen the view of Hamas that they can hold on to hostages and stay in Gaza,” a UK foreign ministry spokesperson said late on Friday, according to Reuters.

The spokesperson added: “And if that happens there won’t be either peace, or a two-state solution.”

The ICJ, or world court, has no means to enforce its orders, but the ruling highlighted Israel’s global isolation over its military campaign in Gaza.

An Israeli drone strike in central Syria killed two fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement on Saturday, a war monitor said, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“An Israeli drone fired two missiles at a Hezbollah car and truck near the town of Qusayr in Homs province, as they were on their way to al-Dabaa military airport, killing at least two Hezbollah fighters and wounding others,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

AFP report that it was the third strike against Hezbollah targets in Syria in about a week.

On Monday, Israeli strikes in the Qusayr area, which is close to the Lebanese border, killed eight pro-Iranian fighters, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor with a network of sources in Syria.

At least one Hezbollah fighter was among those killed, a source from Hezbollah told AFP at the time.

Another strike, on 18 May, targeted “a Hezbollah commander and his companion”, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It did not report any casualties.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes in Syria but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to expand its presence there.

The Kuwait Speciality hospital in Rafah pleaded for fuel deliveries on Saturday “to ensure its continued operation”, saying it was the only one in Rafah governorate still receiving patients, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said on social media site X on Friday that the situation had reached “a moment of clarity”.

“At a time when the people of Gaza are staring down famine … it is more critical than ever to heed the calls made over the last seven months: Release the hostages. Agree a ceasefire. End this nightmare,” he wrote.

French court finds three Syrian officials guilty of crimes against humanity

Kim Willsher

Kim Willsher is a foreign correspondent based in Paris.

A French court has found three Syrian officials of the regime of Bashar al-Assad guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes, sentencing them in absentia to life imprisonment on Friday after a landmark trial in Paris.

The verdicts against Ali Mamlouk, head of the Syrian secret services and security adviser to Assad, Jamil Hassan, who was head of the Syrian air force intelligence unit until 2019 and a member of Assad’s entourage, and Abdel Salam Mahmoud, intelligence director at the notorious Mezzeh detention centre, send a strong message about the long arm of international justice.

The judges ordered that international arrest warrants against the three officials should remain in force. The verdict gives some hope of justice for the families of thousands of Syrians believed to have been tortured to death by intelligence officials working for the Damascus regime.

Mamlouk, 78, Hassan, 72, and Mahmoud, who is in his early 60s, were charged with complicity in the arrest, torture and death of student Patrick Dabbagh, 20, and his father, Mazzen, 48, both Franco-Syrians.

You can read Kim’s full piece here: