10:29
Israel reports reopening of Kerem Shalom border crossing
Israel has reopened the Kerem Shalom border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel for the delivery of humanitarian aid. This was reported by Cogat, the Israeli agency that monitors deliveries to the Palestinian territories. Kerem Shalom is the most important border crossing after Rafah for the delivery of food, medicine and other goods to Gaza. The Rafah border crossing has been closed since the Israeli military took it yesterday.
The closure of the Rafah border crossing puts further pressure on the already scarce food and medical supplies in Gaza. Senior UN officials have warned Al Jazeera that fuel supplies needed for drinking water pumps, communications and providing humanitarian aid could run out as early as today.
The reopening of the border crossing at Kerem Shalom should bring some relief. According to Cogat, the first trucks with relief supplies have now arrived at the border crossing. These cars are allowed to cross the border after a ‘thorough safety inspection’. Israel closed the crossing on Sunday after a rocket attack by Hamas. The Palestinian group had fired rockets at Israeli soldiers at the border post. Four soldiers were killed and ten others were injured.
Tom Kieft
Also read: Israeli offensive at Rafah disrupts food aid to Palestinian population
09:48
Devastation in Rafah neighborhood due to Israeli airstrike
Despite international pressure, Israel appears to have begun its offensive in Rafah. On Monday evening, the Israeli army carried out several airstrikes on the city, until recently the only city in Gaza that had largely remained unaffected. Yesterday, Israeli tanks rolled into the city, home to an estimated 1.4 million displaced Gazans. International government leaders and NGO‘s fear a humanitarian disaster.
Reuters news agency has several photos‘s published of the devastation caused by an Israeli airstrike on a home in Rafah.
Tom Kieft
08:36
CIA director speaks to Netanyahu today about ceasefire and invasion of Rafah
CIA Director Bill Burns will travel to Israel today to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an anonymous source told Reuters. The CIA director will probably talk to Netanyahu there about the possibilities for a ceasefire and the invasion of Rafah. Burns attended ceasefire negotiations in Cairo in recent days.
The CIA director’s visit comes as Israel appears to have begun its long-awaited offensive in Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt. Yesterday, the Israeli army announced that it has captured the Palestinian side of the border crossing with Egypt. It has also ordered residents of the city to evacuate.
An offensive on Rafah is extremely sensitive internationally. European government leaders and the administration of US President Joe Biden have repeatedly urged Israel to refrain from an offensive on the city. Last night it was announced that the United States has halted a delivery of heavy ammunition to Israel – at least temporarily – due to concerns about the offensive on Rafah.
Rafah is so far the only city in the Gaza Strip that the Israeli army has not yet fully entered, and is home to an estimated 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom have had to flee the war in places further north.
That Israel has invaded Rafah, despite repeated warnings from Western allies not to do it, has raised doubts about the viability of the ongoing ceasefire negotiations. Delegations from Israel, Hamas, the US, Qatar and Egypt will meet again today in Cairo as part of those talks. Israel this week rejected a ceasefire proposal accepted by Hamas.
Tom Kieft
Also read the analysis by Middle East Correspondent Jenne Jan Holtland: Turbulent day in Gaza: ‘In fact, Netanyahu prefers the most fanatical members of his government over the relationship with the US’
05:21
US interrupted ammunition supply to Israel over ‘concerns’ over Rafah
The United States last week halted a delivery of ammunition after Israel failed to address American “concerns” over Israeli plans for a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. A senior US official said this on Tuesday.
‘We stopped one arms shipment last week. This consists of 1,800 bombs of 907 kilograms and 1,700 bombs of 226 kilograms,” the government official said on condition of anonymity.
04:11
Police put an end to pro-Palestinian protest on the grounds of Utrecht University
On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the police in Utrecht arrested pro-Palestinian students who demonstrated against the war in Gaza by occupying the university grounds on the Drift in the center. The police reported this on X.
Earlier in the evening, Utrecht University, with the support of the police, ordered the demonstrators in the courtyard of the University Library on the Drift to leave the site. “Partly because the house rules were not followed, serious concerns arose about safety,” said a university spokeswoman. “Unfortunately, our request for consultation and our calls to leave have not been responded to on several occasions.”
In total, about two hundred demonstrators are said to have gathered on the university grounds on Tuesday. According to RTV Utrecht fifty students who did not want to leave were arrested and taken away by city buses. The activists demanded that Utrecht University cut its ties with Israel.
03:11
Temporary pier off the coast of Gaza ready but not yet in use
The construction of the temporary pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip has been completed, the US Department of Defense reports. The temporary port is intended for the delivery of humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza Strip, but due to bad weather conditions the pier cannot yet be installed and put into use.
The two sections of the man-made pier are now complete and should be moved to their final location, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said. However, strong winds cause waves and swell, making this still too dangerous. The pier is currently located in the Port of Ashdod in Israel.
According to the Pentagon, the construction will cost at least 320 million dollars (299 million euros). The American military did not set foot in the Gaza Strip during the operation.
03:05
Protesters attack UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem
A group of Israeli protesters have attacked the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the agency, reports this on X.
Earlier, an Israeli municipal councilor had called for a protest against UNRWA in East Jerusalem. The protest took place on Tuesday, “under the watchful eye of the Israeli police,” Lazzarini said: “This has nothing to do with free speech. Host countries, in this case Israel, are expected to protect United Nations buildings, operations and personnel at all times.”
Israel has seized the border crossing in Rafah, in the south of the strip, thus cutting off the Gaza Strip from urgent emergency aid.
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11:59 PM, Yesterday
Welcome to this live blog
This was the most important news of Tuesday, May 7:
• Israeli forces have captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in the far south of Gaza. The Rafah border crossing, between Gaza and Egypt, is an important access point for humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
• Several international aid organizations have expressed their concerns about the Israeli offensive in Rafah. They point to the humanitarian crisis that is looming now that Israel has closed important border crossings between Egypt and Gaza.
• EU buEuropean Union country chief Josep Borrell criticizes Israeli conduct in the run-up to the ground offensive in Rafah. Borrell predicts that the offensive will cause many civilian casualties, and emphasizes that Israel has ignored several calls from EU member states and the US not to carry out the operation in the southern Gazan city.
Read Tuesday’s full live blog here.
