May 24, 2024 Israel-Hamas war | CNN (2024)

The United Nations’ top court on Friday ordered Israel to stop its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah — something Israel has signaled it will not do.

The order, which calls on Israel to submit a progress report within a month, further increases international pressure on Israel over its handling of the war with Hamas.

The order was condemned by Israeli officials.

Here’s what else to know:

The 15-member United Nations Security Council, led by Switzerland and supported by over 90 nations, passed a resolution Friday emphasizing the need for increased safety and security of humanitarian workers in Gaza, particularly those who were recruited locally and face significant risks.

The resolution, adopted by 14 countries with Russia abstaining, expresses “deep concern” about the aid workers’ vulnerability and urges “concerted efforts and concrete risk mitigation strategies.”

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths welcomed the decision and highlighted the severe impact of Israel’s military operations in the southernmost Gaza city of Rafah.

“With today’s adoption of Security Council Resolution 2730 calling for the protection of humanitarian workers and the International Court of Justice’s order to open the Rafah crossing to provide aid at scale and stop the military offensive there, this is a moment of clarity,” Griffiths added, alluding to a Friday ruling from the world court.

Kamal Adwan Hospital's health team evacuate Palestinian patients after Israeli airstrikes on May 21.

Two of the remaining hospitals in northern Gaza remain under Israeli siege, according to staff from the medical centers.

On Friday morning, Israeli military vehicles at the northern gate of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia prevented ambulances from reaching the hospital, according to the remaining medical staff inside.

The medical center has been providing basic services for a couple of days, the staff said. Due to strikes atthe hospital earlier this week, patients from Kamal Adwan Hospital were transferred out of the facility for care, according to the staff.

The Israeli military forced mostmedical staff at Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalya to leave on May 22, according to the hospital’s director. Dr. Mohammed Salha warned on Friday he and other colleagues were still insidethe facility because they could not leave 11 vulnerable patients and two of their companions.

The latest death toll: At least 57 people were killed across Gaza in the past 24 hours, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said on Friday. At least 35,857 have been killed in Gaza since the October 7 attack, according to the ministry, with 80,293 more injured.

CNN cannot verify the ministry’s numbers due to lack of international media access to the strip.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to immediately cease its controversial military operations in Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip.

The ruling has drawn reaction from governments and agencies around the globe:

Israel has not and will not carry out military activity in Rafah “that creates living conditions that could lead to the destruction of the Palestinian civilian population,” a joint statement by the country’s National Security Council and Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday.

The statement follows a ruling by the InternationalCourt of Justice (ICJ) that ordered Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

The order was read out after a request by South Africa, which has accused Israel of conducting genocide in Gaza.

The Israeli statement called these accusations “false, outrageous, and disgusting.” It claimed that Israel’s actions in Gaza are part of a “just defensive war to eliminate the Hamas organization and free our hostages” following the October 7 terror attack.

In response to other orders by the ICJ, including keeping the Rafah border crossing open, the statement said that Israel will “continue its efforts to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip” and “reduce as much as possible the harm to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.”

Remember: More than a million Palestinians — many displaced by Israel’s military campaign elsewhere in Gaza — were taking shelter in Rafah before Israeli forces began their operation in the southernmost city. Gazans say they have nowhere left to go.

Meanwhile, Israel’s closure of the Rafah border crossing has deepened its already tight siege on desperately needed food and humanitarian aid.

Joe Biden speaks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the COP27 UN Climate Summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on November 11, 2022.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and US President Joe Biden agreed to facilitate humanitarian aid and fuel delivery to the United Nations at the Kerem Shalom crossing on a temporary basis until a legal mechanism is established to reopen the Rafah border crossing into Gaza from the Palestinian side, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

In a phone call Friday, Biden expressed appreciation for Egypt’s efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire and truce agreement, according to the statement.

A White House readout said Biden also welcomed Egypt’s commitment. “This will help save lives,” the statement said.

Both leaders underscored the necessity of intensifying international efforts to achieve a breakthrough in negotiations, the Egyptian presidency said.

Biden also agreed to send a senior team to Cairo next week for further discussions on efforts to reopen the Rafah crossing.

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed reporting to this post.

People check the rubble left in the aftermath of Israeli army operations in Nour Shams camp near Tulkram, West Bank, on April 21.

Israel has responded to comments from the head of a United Nations agency highlighting destruction in the West Bank, claiming it encountered ammunition stockpiles and roadside explosives in the devastated refugee camp of Nour Shams.

The Israel Defense Forces said it dismantled dozens of explosives and found “noteworthy stockpiles of life-threatening ammunition” in civilian buildings at Nour Shams. The IDF also claimed “terrorist operatives and organized terrorist forces”in West Bank refugee camps operate out of civilian buildings and use civilian infrastructure.

The military blamed the damage to civilian infrastructure on the “terror organization’s exploitation” of those buildings, and claimed it tried to keep damage “to the bare minimum.”

What the UN agency said: Philippe Lazzarini, who leads the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said his staff described intense destruction after visiting the refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank.

“What was once a bustling area with markets and life lays in destruction now,” Lazzarinisaid. He said buildings and roads are destroyed, and water and electricity networks are dismantled following the IDF operation.

The agency head said “another war goes unnoticed” in the West Bank, as focus remains on the Israeli bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza.

More background: Violence and destruction by extremist settlers and the IDF in the West Bank — long a reality for Palestinians in the occupied territory — has surged during the current war in Gaza.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 518 Palestinians, including 129 children, in the occupied West Bank since October 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah.

CNN’s Kareem Khadder and Sana Noor Haq contributed reporting to this post.

At least five Palestinians were killed on Thursday by an Israeli airstrike on al-Zaytoun, in Gaza City, according to local officials.

Several other people were injured by the assault on the northern Gaza neighborhood, which struck just before midnight, the spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense told CNN. One child is still unaccounted for, Mahmoud Bassal said.CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.

Further north, two “huge airstrikes” hit Jabalya at around 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. local timeon Friday,Bassal said. The Israel Defense Forces said it launched an “operation” with “intense combat” in Jabalya overnight, claiming to have “eliminated dozens of terrorists.”

The IDF and the ISA, Israel’s domestic security agency, said Friday they recovered the bodies ofthree hostagestaken by Hamas, in Jabalya.

Scene on the ground: Gaza’s Civil Defense teams could not reach the area, according to Bassal. Israel’s offensive in the enclave has razed neighborhoods and batteredkey roadsrendering parts ofthe northlargely inaccessible to local crews and humanitarian agencies trying to aid Palestinians.

A CNN stringer on the ground filmed dozens of people fleeing a school-turned-shelter in the Falluja neighborhood, west of Jabalya. Other footageposted onlineof the aftermath showed entire walls blasted from the shell of the Falluja block in the Jabalya camp.

The makeshift medical unit in the area was receiving the dead and the injured, but the staff there are only able to provide advanced first aid. Two of the remaining hospitals in the north are under Israeli siege.

Benjamin Brown contributed reporting to this post.

CIA Director Bill Burns is meeting with Mossad Director David Barnea and the Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al Thani on Friday, according to a US official.

The latest ceasefire talks are taking place in Paris, a second official familiar with the discussions tells CNN.

It is unclear whether the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel, will participate in the meeting, as he has in the past.The “quad,” as it’s known, has previously met in Paris.

Some background: This week, Egypt threatened to withdraw from acting as a mediator in the ceasefire and hostage talks followingCNN reporting that Egyptian intelligence quietly changed the terms of a ceasefireproposal that Israel had already signed off on earlier this month.

The same US official on Thursday emphasized that Egypt is still involved, saying, “Both Egypt and Qatar are very engaged, as are the Israelis.”

US President Joe Biden is also speaking with his Egyptian counterpart on Friday, according to a source.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appears during a hearing on Capitol Hill on May 22 in Washington, DC.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the various international “legal developments” concerning Israel this week with the minister of the country’s war cabinet on Friday, according to a statement.

Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz’s office said the two leaders talked about the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order for Israel to halt its military operations in Rafah and the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leader of Hamas.

According to the statement, Blinken also stressed the “importance of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.” Gantz, in turn, “conveyed that Israel allows humanitarian aid to reach all parts of Gaza, in parallel tothefighting.”

Gantz vows to continue offensive:Separately, the minister said in a statement that despite the ICJ’s ruling, “the State of Israel is committed to continue fighting to return its hostages and promise the security of its citizens — wherever and whenever necessary — including in Rafah.”

Gantz said that Israel “set out on a just and necessary campaign” after the October 7 attack by Hamas and that it will “continue operating in accordance with international law.”

It’s been a tumultuous month for Israel. Never before has the Jewish state come under such intense and sustained international pressure from multiple fronts for its policies toward the Palestinians.

This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined the ranks of world leaders branded as international pariahs when he became the target of the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor is seeking an arrest warrant against him and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant for suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s war in Gaza.

The court has previouslysought warrantsagainst the likes of Sudan’s Omar Al Bashir, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi.

And on Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel toimmediately haltits controversial military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, saying the humanitarian situation there is “disastrous” and expected to “intensify further.”

Seven months after Hamas attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, Israel’s retaliatory war has failed to achieve its goals. Top Hamas leaders remain at large and 125 hostages remain captive in the enclave. Gaza is now in ruins and more than 35,000 Palestinians have died during Israel’s onslaught.

Pressure on Israel to end the war is mounting from all sides:US college campuses, international courts,American celebrities, Israel’s Western allies, and even the families of the Israeli hostages.

But the most significant of those may be the legal and diplomatic action taken against Israel this month.

Israeli officials are scrambling to contain the fallout.

They have accused criticsof antisemitismand vowed not to relent in the face of international pressure.

Readthe full analysis.

The Spanish and European Union flags flutter on the consulate of Spain building in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on May 22.

Israel will ban the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians from the West Bank, in response to Spain’s plans to recognize a Palestinian state and remarks made by Spain’s deputy prime minister.

The Spanish consulate in Jerusalem provides consular services, including the issue of visas for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Friday, “In response to Spain’s recognition of a Palestinian state and the antisemitic call by Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister to not just recognize a Palestinian state but to ‘liberate Palestine from the river to the sea,’ I have decided to … prohibit the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians from the West Bank.”

Yolanda Díaz, Spain’ssecond deputy prime minister and minister of labour and social economy on Wednesdayposted a video to X in which she said: “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.”

For context: The phrase “from the river to the sea”has long been heard at pro-Palestinian rallies around the world and is often accompanied by thephrase“Palestine will be free.” There has been debate regarding the phrase, with some saying it demands equal rights and the independence of Palestinians, whileothers say it is a denial of Israel’s right to exist.

Katz’s decision to “sever the connection between Spain’s representation in Israel and the Palestinians”comes days after Spain – together with Ireland and Norway – announced it would formally recognize a Palestinian state.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has delivered its decision following South Africa’s request for additional measures against Israel amid the Rafah offensive. Here’s a breakdown of the ruling:

What did the court order?: The ICJ told Israel it must “immediately halt” its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, warning that it could make the “disastrous” humanitarian situation even worse. The court also said Israel must allow aid to flow through the Rafah crossing, as well as allowing UN investigators to enter Gaza, and that it must report back to the Court on its compliance within one month.

Why did the court issue this ruling?: Friday’s ruling is part of South Africa’s ongoing case against Israel. Late last year, South Africa accused Israel of violating international laws on genocide. While the ICJ can take years to consider the full merits of a case, it can issue “provisional measures,” intended to stop the conflict getting worse in the meantime. South Africa filed an urgent request on May 10 for additional measures, accusing it of using forced evacuation orders in Rafah to “endanger rather than protect civilian life.”

Did the court agree unanimously?: No. The four new provisional measures ordered each passed by 13 votes to two. The measures were opposed by Vice-President Julia Sebutinde, a Ugandan judge, and Aharon Barak, an ad-hoc judge from Israel brought in specifically for this case, along with a judge from South Africa.

Hasn’t the court already issued provisional measures?: Yes. The ICJ has issued provisional measures on two separate occasions, and can continue to do so if it believes conditions in Gaza have changed. Since the court last issued measures in March, the court’s president, Judge Nawaf Salam, said the humanitarian situation had deteriorated “even further” and could now be called “disastrous.”

How did Israel respond?: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly held a call with his war cabinet. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted a picture of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founder and first prime minister, on X, with the quote: “Our future does not depend on what the Gentiles will say, but on what the Jews will do.”

How did South Africa respond?: South Africa praised the court’s ruling. “This order is groundbreaking as it is the first time that explicit mention is made for Israel to halt its military action in any area of Gaza,” Zane Dangor, director of South Africa’s department for international relations (DIRCO), said in a video statement. He said the ruling was a “de facto” call for a ceasefire.

Palestinian Authority welcomes the decision: The Presidency of the Palestinian Authority expressed its strong support for the ICJ decision and urged the international community to ensure Israel’s compliance with the orders and to exert pressure on Israel to adhere to international legitimacy and law.

And Hamas?: Hamas strongly approved of the court’s decision to impose measures on what the militants called the “criminal Zionist entity.” The group said it anticipated a broader ruling addressing the entire Gaza Strip – rather than just Rafah – stressing that the situations in Jabalya and other cities are equally dire.

Will Israel comply with the ruling?: Israel has signaled it will not comply with the ruling, and the court has no way of enforcing its decision. For weeks, Israeli officials have said the offensive in Rafah is necessary to defeat Hamas and return the hostages held in Gaza, many of whom are believed to be in Rafah. Responding to Friday’s ruling, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said the court’s failure to “connect the end of the military operation in Rafah to the release of the hostages” was an “abject moral failure.”

This post has been updated with additional reactions to the ICJ decision.

The Presidency of the Palestinian Authority expressed strong support for the recent decisions by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which call on Israel to cease its aggression against Palestinians in Rafah.

The Palestinian Presidency urged the international community to ensure Israel’s compliance with the ICJ orders and to exert pressure on Israel to adhere to international legitimacy and law.

Furthermore, the presidency emphasized the need for Israel to halt its aggressive actions across Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. It highlighted that the ICJ’s ruling aligns with previous international resolutions recognizing that Israel’s actions amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The presidency called for immediate international intervention to halt these actions.

The statement also conveyed appreciation for the countries supporting Palestinian rights, noting that the international consensus underscores Israel’s isolation alongside its supporters who grant it protection and impunity.

Electrical power has been restored at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after receiving a partial fuel supply, according to a statement from the hospital, the largest health facility serving central Gaza. The hospital received 15,000 liters (3,963 gallons) of fuel for its generators this morning, enabling operations to resume.

However, it warned that this amount will only last for three days, with the hospital requiring 4,000 to 5,000 liters (1,057 to 1,321 gallons)of fuel daily to ensure uninterrupted services.

The hospital said it faced a severe crisis during the outage, nearly losing numerous patients.

The administration expressed gratitude to the World Health Organization, the International Red Cross, and other entities for their prompt response to the humanitarian appeal. The hospital stressed the need for ongoing maintenance of its generators and a stable fuel stock to prevent future crises.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said Thursday that the hospital faces imminent shutdown due to lack of fuel. Officials also warned of a health catastrophe if the power generators ran out of fuel.

Remember: The Israeli military has limited entry of fuel into the Gaza Strip since the Rafah assault started, according to aid agencies.

US President Joe Biden is expected to hold a call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Friday, according to a source.

They are expected to discuss resuming aid to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing and the state of hostage talks.

CNN reporting on ceasefire proposal: Egyptian intelligence quietly changed the terms of a ceasefireproposal that Israel had already signed off on earlier this month, ultimately scuttling a deal that could have released Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and set a pathway to temporarily end the fighting in Gaza, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Services, issued a lengthyresponsecalling the story “wrong” and “devoid of any information or facts,” without offering specifics.

The South African government expressed support for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling Friday that orders Israel to “immediately halt” its military offensive in Rafah.

“While legally the court can not use the term ceasefire… this is de-facto calling for a ceasefire. It is ordering the major party in this conflict to end its belligerent action against the people of Palestine,” Dangoradded.

Johannesburg will approach the United Nations Security Council with this order for the latter to implement it, including allowing an independent investigation of claims of genocide in Gaza, according to Dangor.

“This order, like others, are obligating, they are binding and Israel has to adhere to them,” he added.

Remember: South Africa filed an urgent request on May 10 for additional measures against Israel, accusing it of using forced evacuation orders in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to “endanger rather than protect civilian life.”

The request was part of a larger case brought by Pretoria against Israel in which South Africa accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians during the seven-month-long conflict.

Rulings by the court are final and binding, but the ICJ doesn’t have a mechanism to enforce them, and they have been ignored in the past.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, on February 18

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began a telephone call 5 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET) with members of hiscabinet regarding the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling, his office said.

TheForeignMinister, theMinister ofStrategic affairs, theMinister ofJustice, theMinister ofDefense, the head of the National Security Council and the Attorney General are all speaking with Netanyahu, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

Israel’sfar-rightFinance MinisterBezalel SmotrichandNationalSecurityMinisterItamar Ben Gvir havealready responded totheruling delivered Friday. In a statement, Smotrich said those who “demand that the State of Israel stop the war” are by proxy demanding that Israel “decree itself to cease to exist.”

Ben Gvir also responded to the order in a statement Friday, calling the ICJ antisemitic.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) expressed grave concern over the fate of the hostages abducted by Hamas and other armed groups in the October 7 attacks in Israel.

Ahead of the ruling, families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza stepped up pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring the captives home,releasing graphic footageof female members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) before they were abducted.

British jurist Malcolm Shaw, center, and Yaron Wax, left, look on during a ruling at the International Court of Justice in TheHague, Netherlands, on May 24.

Here are the provisional measures the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to take, regarding its military operations in Gaza.

Israel must:

What are provisional measures?: Provisional measures act like a restraining order while the court considers the full merits of the case of genocide brought against Israel by South Africa.

The measures are intended to prevent a dispute from escalating while the court reaches a full decision, which could take years.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling comes days after the International Criminal Court (ICC), a separate court in The Hague, sought arrest warrants for Hamas leaders as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the October 7 attacks on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza.

The international pressure facing Israel today is “unprecedented,” Yossi Mekelberg, an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the Chatham House think tank in London, told CNN. “Because this war is unprecedented, and the way Israel conducts the war is unprecedented.”

While there has always been criticism of some of Israel’s actions, such as regarding the expansion of settlements, “this is on a different scale, a different universe altogether,” he said.

The ICJ ruling will create “unprecedented legal pressure” on the Israeli state and its officials, Eliav Lieblich, a professor of international law at Tel Aviv University, told CNN.

Action against Israel at international courts is placing Israel “under extreme isolation even among its allies, which might affect its ability to receive weapons, and might lead to other sanctions, ” he said, adding: “It also leads to a strong feeling of isolation within Israeli society.”

The Israeli legal team, with Yaron Wax, Malcolm Shaw and Avigail Frisch Ben Avraham, attend the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, on May 24.

Israel must submit a report within one month on progress related to measures ordered by the UN’s top court.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Israel must take effective measures to ensure access to fact-finding missions and investigative bodies from the United Nations to investigate “allegations of genocide” andto open the Rafah border crossing for humanitarian assistance.

The court’s president, Judge Nawaf Salam, said officials in the United Nations indicated that the situation was set to “intensify even further” if the Israeli “operation continues” in Rafah.

Rulings issued by the ICJ are binding, but it has no way of enforcing them. Although Israel is a signatory to the Genocide Convention, the court cannot compel the Israeli government to change its military plans in Gaza.

Israel is unlikely to abide by the order, Eliav Lieblich, a professor of international law at Tel Aviv University, told CNN. “That would be the immediate end of Netanyahu’s coalition, the preservation of which seems to be one of his main concerns.”

But Lieblich said the ruling will nonetheless create “unprecedented legal pressure” on the Israeli state and its officials, “which would also translate to significant harm in terms of global public opinion.”

Presiding Judge Nawaf Salam, center, reads the ruling of the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, on May 24.

The United Nations’ top court has ordered Israel to halt its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The court, which sits in The Hague, the Netherlands, made the ruling on Friday as part of the ongoing genocide case brought by South Africa.

In its ruling, the court said that the humanitarian situation in Gaza had deteriorated “even further” since the court last ordered provisional measures in March.

The court noted that around 800,000 Palestinians had been displaced from Rafah as of May 18, after Israel began its military offensive on May 7.

Israel had warned civilians in parts of the city to evacuate ahead of its operation, but the court said these efforts were not “sufficient to alleviate the immense risk to which the Palestinian population is exposed as a result” of Israel’s incursion.

Judge Nawaf Salam, center, presides over the International Court of Justice (ICJ), during a ruling on South Africa's request to order a halt to Israel's Rafah offensive in Gaza in TheHague, Netherlands, on May 24.

The United Nations’ highest court is set to deliver its ruling in a case against Israel brought by South Africa, which could see it order Israel to halt its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

South Africa filed an urgent request on May 10 for additional measures in its genocide case against Israel, accusing it of using forced evacuation orders in Rafah to “endanger rather than protect civilian life.”

The panel of judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands, has been seated and proceedings have now begun.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz claims that it isn’t time to recognize a Palestinian state, as there is “no clarity on the territory of the state” as well as “other issues.”

“What we need is a negotiated solution between Israel and the Palestinians that amounts to a two-state solution,” the German chancellor said Friday during a joint news conference with Portugal’s prime minister in Berlin. Scholzadded that a solution must include “a Palestinian Authority that is responsible for the West Bank and Gaza.”

Some background: The comments follow Ireland, Spain and Norway announcingplansto formally recognize a Palestinian state next week, in a move that is likely to bolster the global Palestinian cause, but further strain relations between Europe and Israel.

The three European nations say their landmark decision is the best way to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East, but it sparked swift condemnation from Israel, as its foreign minister ordered the immediate recall of its ambassadors from those countries.

An Israeli delegation will travel to Paris soon, an Israeli official has told CNN. The trip comes as CNN reported Thursday that CIA Director Bill Burns is traveling back to Europe to try to get the ceasefire and hostage deal back on track, according to a US official.

The Israeli official did not confirm the exact timeline or provide further information on the reason for the Israeli delegation’s trip and who they would meet.

The US official told CNNthat the director of the CIA is “in frequent discussions with the Egyptians, Qataris and Israelis. Both Egypt and Qatar are very engaged, as are the Israelis.”

A Qatari official also told CNN that Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani will participate in the talks. The prime minister is currently in Paris.

Neither official would confirm theother participants.

In previous talks, they have been joined in Paris by Israel’s Mossad Director David Barnea and the head of Egyptian intelligence Abbas Kamel.

CNN’s Alex Marquardt contributed reporting to this post.

Israeli forces say they found the bodies of three hostages taken by Hamas, in Jabalya, following “intense combat” in the northern Gaza neighborhood overnight.

Elsewhere, the UN warned of “another war” faced by Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ramp up attacks on the occupied territory.

Here are the latest developments:

Yael Alexander, the mother of hostage Edan Alexander, speaks at the “International Rally - United We Bring Them Home” rally in Hostage Square on May 18 in Tel Aviv, Israel. The rally calls for the immediate release of the remaining hostages that are still being held hostage in Gaza.

Friday’s announcement that the bodies of three hostages were recovered by Israeli forces means 121 hostages from the Hamas-led October 7 attacks into southern Israel are being held in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) believes that at least 37 hostages from the October 7 attack are dead, with their bodies being held in the Gaza Strip.

More hostages: In addition, four people have been held since before October 7. The total number of people kidnapped from Israel and being held in the Gaza Strip is 125, according to a count based on numbers from the PMO.

Of the four hostages being held in Gaza prior to October 7, two are Israeli soldiers and are dead. The other two are believed to be alive.

European Union flags fly outside the European Commission building in Brussels, Belgium, on April 12.

More than 200 EU civil servants and other staff members havewrittento the bloc’s top three officials to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a halt to member states’ arms exports to Israel.

The letter titled “Not In Our Name,” says that the EU’s “continued apathy” to the plight of Palestinians risks “normalising the rise of a world order where it is the sheer use of force, as opposed to a rule-based system, that determines state security, territorial integrity, and political independence.”

They add: “It was precisely to avert such a grim world order that our grandparents, witnesses of the horrors of World War II, created Europe. To stand idly by in the face of such an erosion of the international rule of law would mean failing the European project as envisaged by them.”

Signatories say they have signed the letter, which was delivered to the presidents of the European Commission, parliament, and the European Council on Thursday, in a “personal capacity as EU citizens” to express their “growing concern over the EU’s inaction in the context of the ongoing crisis in Gaza.”

The calls come in the same week that three European countries – Ireland, Spain and Norway -announced plansto formally recognize a Palestinian state.

Although Norway is not an EU member, the plans do have the potential toexert greater pressureon the countries’ western allies to take a tougher stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. But the move is not a coordinated European effort and the bloc has long struggled to speak with one voice.

Palestinian children look at a damaged building after Israeli forces raided the West Bank city of Jenin, on May 23.

Palestinians in the West Bank are gripped by a cycle of “fear, uncertainty and anxiety,” a UN agency has warned, as violence from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza spills into the occupied territory.

“As one war rages in Gaza, in the West Bank another goes unnoticed,” the UN’s agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) posted on X on Friday.

Residents in the occupied West Bank are sliding “into poverty,” according to the agency. “Separation, isolation and movement restrictions are spiraling this cycle.”

Increased violence: Earlier this week, the Israeli military launched a two-day assault on Jenin, in the West Bank, killing 12 Palestinians, including four children, local officials said. Two of those killed were a surgeon and a teacher. Israeli forces left swathes of destruction after withdrawing, according to the city’s mayor.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 518 Palestinians, including 129 children, in the occupied West Bank since October 7, according to the Ministry of Health in Ramallah.

Burnt out cars at the scene as Israeli soldiers continue to search for ID and belongings among the cars and tents at the Nova Music Festival site in Israel on October 12.

Two of the hostages whose bodies were found in Jabalya, in northern Gaza, had gone to the Nova festival before it was attacked by Hamas. One was killed as he was picking up his granddaughter.

All three of those kidnapped were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks into southern Israel, and their bodies were taken to Gaza by the militant group, according to the Israeli military.

Orion Hernandez Radoux, 30, a French-Mexican tourist, went to the music event with his partnerShaniLouk, according to a group of families of hostages. Louk’s body was recovered from the Gaza Strip last week. She was a 23-year-old German-Israeli woman.

Hanan Yablonka, 42, a father-of-two from Tel Aviv, was at the festival with friends, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said.

Michel Nisenbaum, 59, a Brazilian-Israeli citizen from the city of Sderot, in southern Israel, was killed while traveling to pick up his four-year-old granddaughter, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said on Friday.

The recovery of the bodies of three hostages from northern Gaza on Thursday “provides important closure,” according to a group of families of people taken by Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, offered condolences, saying they “bowed our heads in deep sorrow and embrace the grieving families in their difficult time.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that Israel must “bring everyone back — those still alive, and those we must bring for burial.”

Mounting tensions: For months, there has been growing pressure on Netanyahu to secure the release of the Israelis still held by Hamas, which his government has made a key goal of its war in Gaza.

Numerous attempts to strike a hostage-for-ceasefire deal with Hamas have faltered in recent months, infuriating those in Israel campaigning for the return of the captives.

Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, and Orion Hernandez

The bodies of three hostages taken by Hamas have been found in Jabalya, in northern Gaza, the Israeli military said on Friday.

All three were killed on October 7 at the Mefalsim intersection near Israel’s border with Gaza, and their bodies were taken into the enclave by Hamas, according to the military.

Identities of victims: The three victims were identified as Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, and Orion Hernandez, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. Authorities have informed their families.

Their bodies were recovered by the IDF and the ISA, Israel’s domestic security agency, in a military operation in Jabalya overnight.

Remember: Israel launched its war in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel, where the militant group killed around 1,200 people and abducted more than 250 people.

There are still 121 hostages who were abducted on October 7 in Gaza. Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office believes that at least 37 of those hostages are dead, with their bodies being held in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli attacks in Gaza have since killed at least 35,800 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health there.

Judges arrive at the International Court of Justice for a hearing where South Africa requested new emergency measures over Israel's attacks on Rafah, in The Hague, Netherlands, on May 17. The hearing was part of an ongoing case South Africa filed at the ICJ in 2023 accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention.

South Africa filed an urgent request on May 10 for additional measures in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case against Israel.

A decision will be handed down by the court today.

South Africa accused Israel of using forcedevacuation ordersin the southern Gaza city of Rafah to “endanger rather than protect civilian life.”

A lawyer for South Africa, Professor Max du Plessis,condemned the forcedevacuation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Rafah and the Israeli designation of “humanitarian zones” elsewhere in Gaza.

The measures “endanger rather than protect civilian life,” Du Plessis told a hearing of the ICJ in The Hague on May 16.

“Genocidal intent”:Israel’s “full scale bombardment” of Rafah, and the sealing of entry and exit for “life-saving aid to an already devastated population” suggests a “genocidal intent,” the lawyer argued, saying that the Israeli military’s assault on the city has “deliberately inflicted” conditions to bring about Palestinians’ “physical and biological destruction.”

ICJ hearing:Israel, which has rejected South Africa’s claim that it is violating the 1949 Genocide Convention as“baseless,”responded to the claims, with the Deputy Attorney General for International Law Gilad Noam arguing “calling something a genocide again and again doesn’t make it genocide. Repeating a lie does not make it true.” Armed conflict, Noam argued, was not synonymous with genocide.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini speaks during a press conference on the situation in Gaza at the United Nations offices in Geneva, on April 30.

Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said his staff have described intense destruction after visiting the Nour Shams refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank.

“People are sinking into poverty,” he said on X.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

Lazzarini went on to say: “All over the West Bank, the story repeats: fear, uncertainty and anxiety engulf the communities.”

He said Palestinian armed groups are also causing instability.

Violence has risen in the occupied West Bank since Israel declared its war on Hamas and continued to strike Gaza.

Israeli forces are conducting operations in Rafah against Hamas militants “in a targeted and precise way” with “accurate intelligence,” according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief spokesperson Daniel Hagari.

The military “has gained a lot of experience in conducting precise operations in complex areas and targeted raids against Hamas based on accurate intelligence,” he said.

He described the operation as a “critical mission” to bring back all hostages home and to ensure “an enduring defeat of Hamas.”

Hagari repeated his callto civilians in Gaza “to temporarily evacuate to humanitarian areas,” butdid not provide further details.

Some context: US President Joe Biden said he was halting some weapons shipments to Israel, fearing they could be usedto kill civilians in Rafah if a large-scale Israeli operation went ahead.

People walk down a stairway lit by sunlight, after a partial power cut at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah on May 23.

Hospital officials have warned of animminent health catastrophe if the power generators run out of fuelat Al AqsaMartyrs Hospital inDeir al-Balah, Gaza.

Officialssaid Thursday that some medical equipment that relies on electricity will be shut down entirely in six hours.

The hospital serves more than 1,200 patients.

Medical facilities in Gaza have been crippledby months of intense fighting and fuel shortages.

The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday admitted it had failed to defend its personnel on October 7, after a graphic video was released showing female soldiers from Israel’s Nahal Oz military base being abducted during the Hamas attack.

The video shows five female soldiers lined up against a wall with hands bound behind their backs, surrounded by Hamas fighters. Some of the women have bruised and bloodied faces.

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The footage, recorded by Hamas fighters during their attack, was released by families of the hostages in the hope of galvanizing Israeli officials to do more to free the captives after hostage deal negotiations had stalled.

Remember: Fifteen female troops from the Nahal Oz base were killed on October 7, and seven were abducted, according to Israel.Ori Megidish was rescued by IDF forces after 23 days in captivity. Noa Marciano was killed in Gaza while in captivity — her body was returned to Israel by the IDF for burial.Five female Israeli soldiers, Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa, and Naama Levy, have been held in Gaza for more than seven months.

CIA Director Bill Burns at the State Department in Washington, DC, on May 21.

CIA Director Bill Burns is traveling back to Europe to try to get the talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas that would halt thewar in Gazaback on track, a US official told CNN.

Burns has acted as a key interlocutor for the US in the talks between Israel, Hamas, Egypt and Qatar, and he has been dispatched during previous rounds of talks, only to see them later collapse.

A Qatari official told CNN that Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani will also take part. The prime minister is currently in Paris, the official said.

Neither official would confirm the other participants. In the past they have been joined in Paris by Israel’s Mossad Director David Barnea and the head of Egyptian intelligence Abbas Kamel.

The talks were paused three weeks ago after Burns crisscrossed the region trying to close the remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas. CNNreported Tuesdaythat Egypt muddied the negotiations after independently changing the terms of a framework that Israel had signed on to and presenting it to Hamas who then declared they accepted it.

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The International Court of Justice is expected to rule today in a case against Israel that was brought by South Africa.

South Africa filed an urgent request on May 10 for additional measures in its genocide case against Israel, accusing it of using forcedevacuation ordersin the southern Gaza city of Rafah to “endanger rather than protect civilian life.”

The allegation was rejected by Israel. Deputy Attorney General for International Law Gilad Noam said the picture South Africa painted was “completely divorced from the facts and circ*mstances.”

South Africa filed its claim to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), not the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICJ is the main legal arm of the United Nations. It is based in The Hague, in the Netherlands, and wasset up by the UNin 1945. It is a civil court and seeks to settle disputes between states.

Conversely, the ICC is a permanent, autonomous court — not affiliated with the United Nations — that prosecutes individuals.

The court can only prosecute individuals from countries that have ratified the Rome Statute — which gives it jurisdiction — or if a crime has taken place in a country that is a signatory.

This week, the ICC said it is seeking arrest warrants for the Hamas leader in Gaza,Yahya Sinwar, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the October 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Israeldoesn’t recognizethe ICC so the court has no jurisdiction over it.

Israel, however, is a signatory to the Genocide Convention, which gives the ICJ jurisdiction.

A destroyed building in the city of Jenin, in the aftermath of a raid by Israeli forces, on May 23.

Israeli military forces withdrew from the occupied West Bank city of Jenin following a two-day incursion that killed 12 people, including four children, according to Palestinian officials.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah confirmed that 12 people had been killed, including 4 children.

CNN has contacted the Israeli military for confirmation of the withdrawal.

Obaidi said the incursion had been “by far” the biggest of dozens in the city by Israeli forces and had caused over $8 million in damage to local infrastructure, including roads, sewage, and water systems.

Obaidi added that electrical generators had also been struck, knocking out power to a large part of the community. He said it would take months to repair the damage.

A truck carries humanitarian aid across Trident Pier, a temporary pier to deliver aid, off the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, near the Gaza coast, on May 19.

Aid groups have begun distributing humanitarian assistance offloaded from a US-built pier in Gaza to Palestinians after obstacles on distribution routes, including Hamas drones and looting, delayed the deliveries.

More than 500 metric tons of food and other aid offloaded at the pier has now been handed off to humanitarian partners, and two-thirds of that aid has been distributed to or is in the process of reaching those in need, a top US Agency for International Development (USAID) official said Thursday.

The distribution comes several days after the US military’s pier operation launched and had a rocky start.

Aiddeliveries from the pier to warehouses inside Gaza were hindered by a Hamas drone attack on the Israeli military “several miles away” from the pier that led to a freeze on convoy movements, and some trucks were looted along one of the distribution paths,Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the deputy commander of United States Central Command, said.

The USmilitaryhad to help USAID devise alternative, safer routes for trucks leaving the marshaling area on the beach near the pier and traveling to the warehouses.

Remember: More than 1,000 US troops helped to build the humanitarian pier and causeway off the coast of Gaza over the last two months, and the operation launched last week.By Tuesday, however, the Pentagon said that none of the aid that had been unloaded from the pier had been delivered to the broader Palestinian population yet.

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From his days as a clerical student, to overseeing executions as part of the judiciary,Ebrahim Raisi’slife has been intimately tied with Iran’s tumultuous modern history. Yet after all that, his presidency was notably unremarkable.

Unlike previous Iranian presidents, Raisi seemed content to serve as an empty vessel that carried out the reactionary policies ofSupreme Leader Ali Khamenei,the final arbiter on policymaking. He showed none of the subtle pushback of his predecessor, the moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani. He also lacked the charisma of conservative former presidents who were happy to do Khamenei’s biddingbut who sought to carve out autonomy for the position of the presidency.

Raisi’s absence, in contrast, is unlikely to be felt. Yet his untimely death could hardly have come at a more pivotal time for Iran.

Iran is deeply enmeshed in the war in Gaza, with Tehran-back armed groups engaged in a low-rumbling tit-for-tat with Israel and its allies across four different countries.

In April, it launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel from its territory after an apparent Israeli airstrike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus.

The president’s death also comes after years of diplomatic efforts to achieve a rapprochement with former regional nemeses, such asGulf powerhouses Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,both of which were represented at the funeral.

Qatar’s emir, as well as the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, attended Raisi’s funeral on Thursday. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who the International Criminal Court is seeking an arrest warrant for alongside Israeli leaders, was also in attendance.

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White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has criticized Israel forwithholding funds for the Palestinian Authorityafter several European nationsmoved to recognize a Palestinian state.

“And I think it’s wrong to withhold funds that provide basic goods and service to innocent people,” he said.

He also called on Israel to release the funds.

Three European countries’plan to formally recognizea Palestinian state may not have any meaningful impact on the ground, but it carries political and symbolic weight.

Spain, Norway and Ireland on Wednesday pledged to join more than 140 other nations that have recognized Palestinian statehood. That recognition, however, is unilateral and does not mean a Palestinian state will be recognized by the United Nations, where the Palestinian state only has observer status.

“It is obviously political recognition by states that don’t have a presence on the ground.”

But the recognition does add pressure on Israel as it fights a controversial war in Gaza. Most of the international community considers the enclave, the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory.

If more nations join, Israel could find itself further isolated on the world stage as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to reject the prospect of an independent Palestinian state as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hellyer said the Jewish state risks becoming an “international pariah” given that Western nations are now beginning to recognize a Palestinian state. While many countries recognize Palestinian statehood, few Western nations do — with the exception of some European Union states that had granted recognition when they were part of the Soviet Union.

Themajority 193-member UN General Assemblyhas previously voted in favor of granting the state of Palestine full membership in the UN. Israel’s US ally has, however,blocked Palestine’s bidfor membership during the Security Councilvote in April.