Israel claims to have killed a high-ranking Hamas commander. Foreign Minister Baerbock warns of the consequences of the Rafah offensive. More information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Israel claims to have killed high-ranking Hamas commander
3:43 a.m.: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli secret service (Shin Bet) say they have killed high-ranking Hamas commander Ahmed Ali in Gaza City. Accordingly, the terrorist died on Tuesday in a targeted bomb attack in the Gaza Strip, as the “Jerusalem Post” reports.
Ali headed the naval forces (Nukhba) of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the terrorist organization Hamas. He is said to have recently been involved in various operations against Israeli forces in the center of the Gaza Strip.
USA could suspend further ammunition deliveries to Israel
9:05 p.m.: In addition to an ammunition delivery to Israel that has already been withheld, the USA is also examining the delivery of further upcoming military aid. This was announced by US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in Washington. Shortly before, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the US was putting a shipment on hold because of Israel’s actions in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Miller declined to comment on the type of ammunition, the length of the interruption or what exactly Israel must do now. “I will not go into our internal discussions with the Israeli government,” he says. However, it was clearly communicated that the US government does not support a large-scale military offensive in Rafah. He emphasizes several times that nothing has changed in the long-term support of Israel by the USA.
Miller reiterates the US government’s position that the Israeli side has not yet presented a credible plan that would ensure both the protection of the civilian population in Rafah and their humanitarian care. “We just don’t believe it’s possible to move these people to other locations within the Gaza Strip,” says Miller. Israel has already taken “important steps” to limit the impact on the civilian population. However, far too many innocent people continue to be killed. Miller would not answer directly whether the ammunition was withheld because of concerns that Israel could use it to commit human rights violations.
49 bodies reportedly exhumed from new mass grave at Al-Shifa Hospital
7:10 p.m.: According to the radical Islamic group Hamas, 49 bodies were exhumed from another mass grave on the grounds of the Al-Shifa hospital in the city of Gaza. The Palestinian organization ruling the Gaza Strip said a “third mass grave” was discovered there. An AFP journalist at the scene saw around a dozen body bags at the site.
At the end of April, Hamas announced that it had exhumed around 30 bodies from two mass graves on the site. The hospital was largely destroyed in fighting in March. According to Israeli sources, there was an underground Hamas command post there, which Hamas denies.
Hospital: At least 36 dead in Israeli attacks in Rafah
6:52 p.m.: According to hospital information, at least 36 Palestinians were killed within 24 hours in Israeli attacks and fighting in the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. According to the Kuwait Hospital in Rafah, these include children who were killed in an air strike on their home. The Israeli army says 30 terrorists from the Islamist Hamas were killed in fighting in eastern Rafah.
The Hamas-controlled health authority reported 55 deaths in the entire Gaza Strip within 24 hours. Since the beginning of the war, 34,844 people have been killed in the coastal strip. The numbers, which do not distinguish between fighters and civilians, cannot be independently verified.
Hamas attacks Kerem Shalom border crossing again
6:31 p.m.: For the third time in just a few days, the military wing of the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas shelled the Israeli border crossing at Kerem Shalom. The Qassam Brigades say they fired rockets at Israeli troops in Kerem Shalom. According to the Israeli army, there was a rocket alarm in the area.
