Military and Diplomatic Highlights:
· Israeli bombardment from the air, land, and sea continues to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure.
· Ground incursions and heavy fighting also continue to be reported, including in Jabalya, south of Gaza city, northern An Nuseirat, eastern Deir al Balah, and Rafah.
· Between May 27-29, three Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza.
· The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed two Hamas leaders; they were:
o Yassin Rabia
o Khaled Nagar
Civil Protection and Humanitarian Assistance Highlights:
· The UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported on May 30th, that over the last two days, 32,000 people have fled Rafah.
· Humanitarian Border Crossings:
o There is an urgent need for both Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings to operate at their full capacity.
o While the maritime corridor and northern crossings are essential, they cannot replace the scale and geographical coverage of Kerem Shalom and Rafah.
o Between May 27-28, the temporary floating dock created by U.S. Central Command was damaged due to bad weather conditions:
ü The U.S. Defense Department is working to recover three of four vessels associated with its temporary dock.
· Humanitarian Aid Missions Status (May 28th):
o A total of 72 missions were coordinated with Israel in Northern Gaza:
ü 43% were facilitated.
ü 35% were initially approved but later impeded.
ü 7% were denied access.
ü 15% were cancelled by humanitarian organizations.
o A total of 235 mission were coordinated with Israel in Southern Gaza:
ü 52% were facilitated.
ü 18% were initially approved of but later impeded.
ü 14% were denied access.
ü 16% were cancelled by humanitarian organizations.
o Many missions that were classified as impeded experienced delays of up to nine hours, including extended delays imposed by Israeli authorities at insecure holding points located 2-3 kilometers south of Israeli military checkpoints in-route to northern Gaza.
· On May 28th, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in partnership with the Turkish Red Crescent, distributed food parcels to displaced 4,000 families and camps in the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Yunis.
· Healthcare and Public Health Update:
o Currently, the Al Emirati Maternity Hospital is the only hospital in Rafah that remains partially functional.
o On May 29th, the PRCS was forced to evacuate the Al Quds Field Hospital in Al Mawasi area of Rafah due to growing insecurity, including artillery and air bombardments, and evacuation of residents.
o The PRCS is in the process of relocating its field hospital to Khan Younis.
o There are only 13 World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Medical Teams that are still operating in Gaza.
o WHO and its partners have reached the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza city. They were able to delivery:
ü 14 hospital beds
ü Medicines and trauma supply to cover the needs of 1,500 people.
ü 15,000 liters of fuel.
ü They also escorted five PRCS ambulances to the north to expand services.
Violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Highlights:
· As of May 26th, a total of 192 UNRWA employees has been killed.
· On May 26th, the IDF targeted an informal tent site housing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) which was near the UNRWA Logistics Base in Rafah:
o The exact numbers of fatalities and injuries have not been confirmed. However, Doctors Without Borders reported that the Trauma Stabilization Point that they support in the Tal as Sultan area reported 28 fatalities and 180 people injured. Most of these individuals suffered from shrapnel wounds, fractures, traumatic injuries and burns.
o The UNRWA has been unable to access the site and internet and communication outages have delayed full verification of this attack.
o Both the UNRWA base and the IDP site were outside Israeli prescribed evacuation zones.
· The PRCS reported on May 30th, that the IDF deliberately targeted a PRCS ambulance which killed paramedics Haitham Tubasi and Suhail Hassouna.
· On May 28th, Issam Rouhi Mohammed Aqel who was a member of the PRCS Al-Quds Hospital staff was killed when his home was targeted in the Al-Bureij refugee camp.
· On May 29th, UNRWA reported that their health center in the West Bank’s Jenin camp was ransacked by an Israeli Security Forces’ incursion.
· On May 20th, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity for the following individuals:
o Yahya Sinwar
o Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri
o Ismail Haniyeh
o Benjamin Netanyahu
o Yoav Gallant
Sources:
· Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #172
· WFP Palestine Emergency Response External Situation Report #22 (29 May 2024)
· UNRWA Situation Report #110 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem - All information from 23-26 May 2024, is valid as of 26 May 2024
· Israeli Defense Forces Twitter Page
· Palestine Red Crescent Society Twitter Page
· UN Agency for Palestine Refugees Twitter Page
· WHO in occupied Palestinian territory Twitter Page
· U.S. Department of Defense Twitter Page
· International Criminal Court Twitter Page
Resources
FAO, On the ground in Gaza Website
ADL, We Stand with Israel Website
Monetary Donations:
Before you donate please review the organization’s track record by using CharityWatch and Charity Navigator.
· UN Crisis Relief, Occupied Palestinian Territories
· IsraAID
· WHO Foundation, Gaza Crisis: Help Save Lives
· UN Migration Agency, Gaza
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