Gaza live: Gaza death toll rises to 35,80
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Only around 30 to 35 percent of Hamas fighters have been killed after more than seven months of operations by Israel in the Gaza Strip, US intelligence sources told Politico.
According to Politico, the majority of fighters who were members of the Palestinian movement prior to the 7 October attack in southern Israel are still alive, even as the death toll in Gaza has reached over 35,000 dead, mostly women and children.
In addition, around 65 percent of Hamas' tunnel infrastructure remains intact, Politico's sources said, and thousands of new members are said to have been recruited to the group in recent months.
The report comes as Washington has become increasingly concerned about the viability of Israel's stated aim of destroying the Palestinian group.
On Monday, General Charles Brown, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, criticised Israel's strategy in Gaza, warning that the failure of Israeli forces to both secure captured territory and eliminate Hamas from northern Gaza was hampering its ability to achieve its military objectives.
READ MORE: Israel has killed just 30-35 percent of Hamas fighters, US reportedly believes
The Gaza government media office has said that medical services are no longer available in the Gaza City and North Gaza governorates.
In a post on its official Telegram channel the office said that the closure of Kamal Adwan Hospital and the ongoing siege of al-Awda Hospital "has led to a cessation of all services, including those relating to primary health, maternity health and children's vaccinations".
"We demand the establishment of field hospitals and the entry of medical delegations immediately and urgently," it added, warning that without this, 700,000 people could face a "humanitarian catastrophe".
A young Palestinian man was shot and injured by Israeli forces on Monday, with several others detained during its raid of the city of Jenin and its refugee camp, which has been ongoing since Tuesday, Wafa news agency is reporting citing local sources.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that its crews had transported an injured young man who had been shot in different parts of his body from Jenin refugee camp to hospital.
Local sources also reported that Israeli forces had detained several people during the raids, including a woman.
Israeli forces launched a large scale assault on the West Bank city on Tuesday, killing at least seven Palestinian students, a teacher and a doctor.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) has said that 75 percent of Gaza's population have been forcibly displaced, many of them up to four or five times.
In the latest wave of displacements, over 900,000 people have fled Rafah after Israeli forces ordered residents to evacuate, the UN said on Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, Unrwa said that the population sheltering in its facilities in Khan Younis alone had surged by 36 percent.
It added that families sheltering there lacked tents, essential services and vital supplies.
"No one is safe in Gaza," the agency said in a post on X.
75% of the population of #Gaza have faced forced displacement, many up to 4 or 5 times.
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) May 22, 2024
For thousands of Palestinian families there is nowhere left to go: military operations & bombardments pose a continuous threat, buildings have been turned to rubble. Nowhere is safe in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/u0I5jEtfi2
A cross-party group of British MPs and Lords have called on the UK government to "do all it can" to support the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC), following the chief prosector's request for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders.
An open letter signed by 105 MPs from 11 parties, organised by Labour MPs Richard Burgon and Imran Hussain, called for the UK government "take a clear stance against any attempts to intimidate an independent and impartial international court", adding that "the court, its prosecutor and all its staff must be free to pursue justice without fear or favour".
The parliamentarians also urged Foreign Secretary David Cameron "to condemn any threats and attempts to undermine the independence and impartiality of the International Criminal Court in its investigations into crimes in Gaza".
A number of US senators have warned that the ICC would be sanctioned if it issued arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.
In response to the announcement of the chief prosecutor's decision on Monday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the move was a "deeply unhelpful development".
A White House spokesperson has said that US President Joe Biden believes that a Palestinian state should be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties following Ireland, Spain and Norway's announcement that they would recognise a Palestinian state.
The spokesperson emphasised that Biden "is a strong supporter of a two-state solution and has been throughout his career", but that "he believes a Palestinian state should be realised through direct negotiations between the parties, not through unilateral recognition".
The death toll of Palestinians killed in Gaza by Israeli forces since 7 October has risen to 35,709, with another 79,990 injured, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Ireland's Foreign Minister Micheal Martin has said that his country plans to recognise the Palestinian state based on the armistice lines of 1949, or what's commonly referred to as the June 1967 borders.
"When we recognise a state, we don't recognise the government of the day, we recognise the state in terms of a permanent population of people in terms of defined borders, and in this case it's the 1967 borders," Martin told RTE radio.
That is "a defined territory involving Gaza, the West Bank and... a capital of both an Israeli state and a Palestinian state in Jerusalem," he said.
He added that formal recognition would take place on Tuesday.
Reporting by Reuters
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the decision to recognise the state of Palestine by Norway, Ireland and Spain, saying that it was an important step in the establishing of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.
The ministry called on all countries to join the move, and reiterated its call to the UN Security Council for the immediate implementation of a ceasefire.
Reporting by Wafa
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has submitted a complaint to Scotland Yard's War Crimes Team, addressing Israel's suspected use of "starvation as a method of warfare" and for "wilfully causing great suffering" to Palestinians during its war on Gaza.
The complaint follows an initial submission in January, which accused four UK ministers of "alleged complicity and criminal responsibility in Israeli war crimes".
The latest complaint includes a fifth senior government minister.
"The alleged criminal acts are prosecutable in the United Kingdom and will now be considered by Scotland Yard's War Crimes Investigation Team before a decision is made by them whether to open a formal criminal investigation, which could see alleged perpetrators questioned, arrested and prosecuted," the ICJP said in a statement.
The submission is based on 800 pages documenting evidence including "firsthand eyewitnesses, expert reports and expert evidence from 19 medical professionals who have worked in Gaza since October".
🚨BREAKING🚨
— ICJP (@ICJPalestine) May 22, 2024
ICJP submitted a war crimes Complaint to Scotland Yard's War Crime Unit mere hours after the @IntlCrimCourt arrest warrants announcement, expanding suspects list to five UK Ministers.https://t.co/PRkCFWeoi9
Israel's national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on the day a number of European countries recognised a Palestinian state, amid the ongoing war on Gaza.
Images showed Itamar Ben Gvir entering the complex flanked by heavily armed Israeli forces.
In a video taken from the courtyards of the mosque, the far-right minister said the Jerusalem site "belongs only to the state of Israel".
His visit came as Spain, Ireland and Norway announced their recognition of the state of Palestine, which in turn prompted Israel to recall its ambassadors.
Read more: Al-Aqsa 'belongs only to Israel', says Ben Gvir during 'incendiary' visit
Saudi Arabia welcomed the decision made by Norway, Ireland and Spain to recognise a Palestinian state in a statement released by its foreign ministry in a post on X.
In the statement, 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”.
Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi welcomed the coordinated move by Ireland, Norway and Spain to recognise Palestine as a state as an “important and essential step towards Palestinian statehood”.
“We value this decision and consider it an important and essential step towards a two-state solution that embodies an independent, sovereign Palestinian state along the July 1967 borders,” he told a news conference on Wednesday.
The far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take action against the Palestinian Authority (PA) following the steps taken on Wednesday by Norway, Ireland and Spain to recognise Palestine as a state.
Smotrich is calling for stopping the transfer of tax funds collected by Israel on behalf of the PA and told Netanyahu that he was halting the transfer of tax funds “until further notice”.
Additionally, Smotrich seemed to hint that he would cancel a recently agreed arrangement under which Israel transfers these Palestinian tax funds via Norway, which was set up after far-right coalition members opposed the direct transfer of the funds to the PA.
“Norway was the first to unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state today, and it cannot be a partner in anything related to Judea and Samaria,” he stated, using the Biblical term for the occupied West Bank.
France has refused to follow three other European countries who recognised Palestine on Wednesday.
Recognising Palestine as a state is not “taboo” for the country, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne wrote in a statement to AFP.
“Our position is clear: the recognition of a Palestinian state is not a taboo for France,” he said, adding that “France does not consider that the conditions have been present to date for this decision to have a real impact in this process”.
In a coordinated step earlier on Wednesday, Norway, Ireland and Spain recognised Palestine as a state despite Israeli condemnation.
The move has been described as a historic attempt to bring peace to the Middle East.
