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Skip next section Rubio discusses Gaza with Netanyahu, State Department saysMay 17, 2025
Rubio discusses Gaza with Netanyahu, State Department saysUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Rome on Saturday, the US State Department said in a statement.
“Secretary Rubio spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tonight from Rome,” spokesperson Tammy Bruce said. “They discussed the situation in Gaza and their joint efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4uWfr
Skip next section Gaza: UN’s Guterres calls for ‘permanent ceasefire now’May 17, 2025
Gaza: UN’s Guterres calls for ‘permanent ceasefire now’The situation in Gaza has dominated a summit of the Arab League in Baghdad, Iraq.
Speaking to delegates UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres insisted that the United Nations will not participate in any aid operations that do not adhere to international law.
“Nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” Guterres said, calling for a permanent ceasefire.
Gaza: UN’s Guterres calls for ‘permanent ceasefire now’To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
https://p.dw.com/p/4uWdL
Skip next section German Foreign Ministry says new Israeli Gaza offensive ‘deeply concerning’May 17, 2025
German Foreign Ministry says new Israeli Gaza offensive ‘deeply concerning’Germany’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the Israeli army’s intensified offensive in the Gaza Strip raised concerns both with regard to Israel’s strategic goals and the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.
“Israel has, like every other state, the right to defend itself within the framework of international law,” it said in a statement.
“But the current course of action could cost the lives of the remaining hostages, including of the German hostages who are still having to fear for their chances of survival after almost 600 days in Hamas’ dungeons,” the statement continued.
The ministry said the offensive also risked worsening the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation of Gaza residents and the plight of the hostages and made the prospects of a long-term ceasefire even more remote.
According to the statement, new German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul held a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, on Saturday to discuss the situation and remains in close contact with other partners in the region.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uWbp
Skip next section Italian foreign minister urges Israel military to end Gaza offensiveMay 17, 2025
Italian foreign minister urges Israel military to end Gaza offensiveItalian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has urged Israel to stop its military offensive in Gaza, saying Palestinian civilians must no longer pay the price of war.
“We have to tell the Israeli government: ‘That’s enough,'” Tajani said in a statement. “We no longer want to see the Palestinian population suffer. Stop the attacks, let’s secure a ceasefire, free the hostages, but leave in peace a people who are victims of Hamas.”
His remarks came after Israel’s military said it was mobilizing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian health authorities meanwhile said at least 146 people had been killed in the past 24 hours in continuing Israeli airstrikes.
Tajani is due to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Rome on Saturday. The Italian government has been one of Israel’s most vocal supporters within Europe, but calls for a ceasefire have been growing amid the devastation being wrought on Gaza.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uWMD
Skip next section Hamas confirms new ceasefire talks underwayMay 17, 2025
Hamas confirms new ceasefire talks underwayA new round of indirect negotiations with Israel has begun in Doha “without any preconditions,” a senior Hamas official has said, adding that the talks were aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
“This round of negotiations began without any preconditions from either side, and the negotiations are open to discussing all issues,” senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said.
“Hamas will present its viewpoint on all issues, especially ending the war, [Israel’s] withdrawal and prisoner exchange.”
A two-month ceasefire in Gaza fell apart when Israel resumed its operations in the enclave on March 18, severely intensifying its blockade. Other attempts to stop the war, even temporarily, failed to materialize.
UN human rights chief accuses Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing’To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
UN agencies have warned that Israel’s total aid blockade on the territory has created critical shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicines, with warnings of famine on the rise.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz argued that the intensified campaign was what brought Hamas back to the negotiating table.
“With the opening of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ in Gaza, which is being led by the IDF command with great force, the Hamas delegation in Doha announced a return to negotiations on a hostage deal, in contrast to the recalcitrant position they had taken up until that moment,” he claimed.
Previous negotiations to end the war had often failed, as Hamas remains adamant that any deal must involve a permanent end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Negotiations for the release of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been ongoing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that he had instructed a negotiating team to head to the Qatari capital.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uWJG
Skip next section Spain’s PM calls for ‘pressure’ to stop Israel’s offensiveMay 17, 2025
Spain’s PM calls for ‘pressure’ to stop Israel’s offensiveSpanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Saturday called for pressure to stop Israel’s “massacre in Gaza” as forces continue to expand their offensive.
Sanchez added that Madrid is planning a UN resolution requesting a world court ruling on aid access to the Palestinian territory.
He told an Arab League summit in Baghdad that the war triggered by Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel has led to “unacceptable numbers” of victims in Gaza, violating the “principle of humanity.”
“The extremely grave humanitarian crisis Gaza has endured since October 2023 has caused more than 50,000 dead, 100,000 wounded and 2 million displaced,” Sanchez said.
World leaders should “intensify our pressure on Israel to halt the massacre in Gaza, particularly through the channels afforded to us by international law.”
Spain will “submit to the United Nations General Assembly a proposal to ask the International Court of Justice to rule on Israel’s compliance with its international obligations on humanitarian aid access to Gaza”, which has been under a complete aid blockade since March 2, according to Sanchez.
He added his country would also back another draft UN resolution calling on Israel to “end the humanitarian blockade” and guarantee “full and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid” to enter Gaza.
Speaking in Baghdad on Saturday, he said promoting “a political solution” to the conflict was a priority. “The only path toward peace in the region” is “the implementation of the two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said. “I wish once again to urge other countries to recognize the State of Palestine.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4uW72
Skip next section Israeli strikes kill more than 150 in past 24 hours, Gaza’s Health Ministry saysMay 17, 2025
Israeli strikes kill more than 150 in past 24 hours, Gaza’s Health Ministry saysIn the last 24 hours, 153 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.
That’s according to a Hamas-controlled Health Ministry post on the Telegram messaging app.
The ministry said 459 people were injured and that a number of people are still trapped under rubble.
The figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The latest death toll comes as Israel has intensified its attacks on Gaza.
After heavy strikes in the north of Gaza on Beit Lahia and the Jabalia refugee camp, Israel’s military on Friday ordered people in Gaza to move south.
But residents in Khan Younis, in the south of Gaza, told Reuters news agency that tanks were advancing toward their city.
The Israeli military said an offensive had been launched, code-named Gideon’s Chariots, to pursue Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aim of eliminating Hamas.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uW7l
Skip next section Iran’s supreme leader accuses Trump of lying on Gaza peaceMay 17, 2025
Iran’s supreme leader accuses Trump of lying on Gaza peaceIran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has slammed US President Donald Trump for “lying” about his intent of using US power to bring about peace in Gaza, while also calling Israel a “cancerous tumor.”
In his first reaction to Trump’s recent visit to the Gulf, Khamenei said in a televised address: “Trump claimed he wants to use power to achieve peace. He and the American officials, and American administrations, have used power to support the massacre in Gaza, to ignite wars wherever they could and to back their own mercenaries.”
Khamenei also referred to the US allegedly providing Israel with 10-ton bombs, which he said Israel was using to “drop on Gaza children, hospitals, houses of people in Lebanon and anywhere else when they can.”
In February, Israel’s Defense Ministry said it had taken delivery of a shipment of 2,000-pound (900 kg) bombs — thus, 1-ton bombs and not 10-ton bombs — from the United States after Trump lifted a suspension on their export imposed by his predecessor, Joe Biden. The bombs, nonetheless, still have a huge destructive impact in built-up areas.
“With the determination of the region’s nations, America must and will leave this region,” Khamenei said, criticizing what he called a failed US model aimed at keeping Gulf states dependent on US support.
In his televised address, he also referred to the “Zionist regime” of Israel, saying it was “a lethal, dangerous, cancerous tumor” that “should be certainly eradicated, and it will be.”
Khamenei has frequently called for the destruction of Israel.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uW21
Skip next section Gaza’s hospital in ‘catastrophic’ situation: directorMay 17, 2025
Gaza’s hospital in ‘catastrophic’ situation: directorThe director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, Marwan Sultan, has called the situation there “catastrophic” after nearby Israeli strikes overnight.
These caused the “collapse of ceilings and cracks in the walls,” Sultan told AFP news agency on Saturday.
“The operating rooms and intensive care units are completely full, and we are unable to receive any more critical cases,” he said.
The hospital was suffering a “severe shortage of blood units, medicines, medical and therapeutic supplies and surgical procedures,” he added.
Sultan said doctors had been forced to source blood for transfusions from other patients and even from themselves “due to the impossibility of donations from citizens due to malnutrition.”
Last hospital for cancer patients closes, health care ‘shattered’ The last facility providing cancer treatment across Gaza, the European Hospital in Khan Younis, was “out of service” after being struck by Israeli forces, the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders said on Thursday.
Pre-dawn Israeli strike hits hospital in Gaza cityTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
“This was one of the last remaining lifelines in Gaza’s shattered healthcare system,” the MSF wrote on X.
Israeli forces launched 670 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza between October 2023 and March 2025, according to the World Health Organization, affecting 122 facilities.
Israel has repeatedly said Hamas hides its operations in and under hospitals.
No way into Gaza for medical supplies Gaza’s Hamas-led Health Ministry has said 43% of essential drugs are out of stock and that hospitals are overwhelmed by critical shortages of medical equipment.
Israel’s 10-week humanitarian blockade means medical supplies have not entered the Gaza Strip since March 2, 2025.
No way out of Gaza for sick, injured In its most recent update, the UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA, said only one patient had been evacuated out of Gaza since April 22, 2025.
It estimates that some 10,500 patients, including 4,000 children, need medical treatment abroad.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uVyf
Skip next section Freed US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander returns to grandmother’s houseMay 17, 2025
Freed US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander returns to grandmother’s houseEdan Alexander, seen here reuniting with his parents before being flown to a hospital in Tel Aviv, is now homeImage: GPO/REUTERSEdan Alexander, the dual Israeli-American citizen who was released earlier this week by Hamas, has returned home to his grandmother’s house.
“Our Edan is home, in Grandma Varda’s house where he spent Friday dinners as a lone soldier,” his parents said in a statement posted on X by Bring Them Home, an organization lobbying for the return of those taken hostage by Hamas during the October 2023 attacks.
Alexander will continue to receive treatment for injuries, said his parents, Adi and Yael Alexander, including injuries to his hands caused when a tunnel collapsed on him.
Adi Alexander said earlier in the week that Edan was gaunt and his skin was in “terrible condition” from lack of sunshine and bedbug bites during his 19 months of captivity.
Hamas released Edan Alexander on Monday, but he spent four days in a Tel Aviv hospital before returning home.
Hamas releases US-Israeli hostage held in GazaTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
At least 21 hostages still alive Alexander’s parents said in the statement that they would continue to fight to bring home the 58 hostages still held in Gaza.
Only 21 of the hostages have been confirmed as alive, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday. The fates of another three are unknown.
Hamas has insisted it will only release these hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.
Netanyahu has previously justified Israel’s latest offensive on Gaza by saying it would pressure the Palestinian militant group to release the remaining hostages.
But speaking on Tuesday, Netanyahu said there is “no way” Israel will halt its war in Gaza, even if a deal is reached to release more hostages.
He said the destruction of Hamas remains the Israeli mission.
Israel vows ‘full-force’ Gaza push as famine threatensTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
https://p.dw.com/p/4uVnF
Skip next section Israeli airstrikes kill 58 in Gaza ahead of new ground offensiveMay 17, 2025
Israeli airstrikes kill 58 in Gaza ahead of new ground offensiveIsraeli airstrikes killed at least 58 Palestinians overnight, health officials in Gaza said on Saturday.
Over 300 people have been killed since Thursday in one of the deadliest phases since the truce collapsed in March, as Israel prepares for a major ground offensive.
Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, said the hospital had received 58 bodies since midnight. He added that “a large number of victims remain under the rubble.”
Israel’s military has confirmed ongoing strikes and troop mobilizations as part of Operation Gideon’s Wagons, aimed at defeating Hamas and recovering hostages.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said in early May that his government is planning an intensive offensive against Hamas. Meanwhile, Israel’s security cabinet approved plans that could involve seizing the entire Gaza Strip and controlling aid.
The United Nations has warned that famine is imminent after 76 days without aid deliveries, with UN aid chief Tom Fletcher calling for the Security Council to act to “prevent genocide.”
UN human rights chief accuses Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing’To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
https://p.dw.com/p/4uVmO
Skip next section Arab League to meet in Iraq amid regional crisesMay 17, 2025
Arab League to meet in Iraq amid regional crisesArab League ministers are to meet in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Saturday for an annual summit.
Gaza is expected to top the agenda, especially after Israel started ramping up its offensive and spoke of the “conquest” of the territory earlier this week.
Arab national security and counterterrorism are also priorities, an Iraqi government spokesperson said ahead of the meeting.
Among the attendees are Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and UN chief Antonio Guterres.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who has sharply criticized Israel’s Gaza offensive, is expected to address the summit as a guest.
Some Arab leaders to miss summit Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was imprisoned for years in Iraq on charges of belonging to al-Qaeda, will miss Baghdad’s summit after several powerful Iraqi politicians voiced opposition to his visit.
Sudan’s military leader, Abdel-Fattah Burhan, will also be absent, although Sudan will be represented by a delegation.
Burhan is reportedly frustrated over the Arab League’s failure to respond to his request for an emergency meeting about nations interfering in Sudanese internal matters.
Sudan’s military has accuse the United Arab Emirates of providing arms to the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. It has been fighting the RSF for more than two years in a devastating civil war.
Iraq calls for greater Arab unity The summit will also consider five Iraqi-backed initiatives, according to Iraq’s government, which is hosting the summit for the first time in more than a decade.
These are the setting up of a joint Arab security cooperation room, Arab centers to fight terrorism, drugs and organized crime and also establishing a fund to support Arab recovery and reconstruction after crises.
The meeting comes against a volatile regional backdrop and as Arab economies face renewed uncertainty amid falling oil prices.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uVcY
Skip next section Have Trump and Netanyahu fallen out over Gaza?May 17, 2025
Have Trump and Netanyahu fallen out over Gaza?Are relations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and US President Donald Trump as friendly as they seem?Image: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty ImagesUS President Donald Trump chose not to vist Israel on his tour of the Middle East this week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already visited the White House twice since Trump’s inauguration.
But some Israeli commentators believe Trump’s absence is a sign that something isn’t quite right between the two leaders.
Tania Krämer, DW’s correspondent in Jerusalem, explores whether Trump and Netanyahu have fallen out over Gaza.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uVZK
Skip next section UN aid chief says time should not be wasted on US-backed Gaza aid planMay 17, 2025
UN aid chief says time should not be wasted on US-backed Gaza aid planTom Fletcher, the United Nations’ aid chief, said time should not be wasted on an alternative US-backed proposal to deliver assistance to Gaza.
“To those proposing an alternative modality for aid distribution, let’s not waste time. We already have a plan,” he said in a statement as Israel blocked the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza for the 75th consecutive day.
He also said that the UN has a proven plan and 160,000 pallets of relief supplies ready to enter the Palestinian enclave.
“We have thousands of trucks of food at the border. Let us in. Let us work,” he wrote on X.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uVU2
Skip next section Seven European countries appeal to Israel to lift Gaza blockadeMay 17, 2025
Seven European countries appeal to Israel to lift Gaza blockadeSeven European countries have called on Israel to “reverse its current policy” and “immediately” lift its aid blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In a joint statement, the leaders of Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, Spain and Norway said they would not remain silent in the face of “the man-made humanitarian catastrophe taking place before our eyes in Gaza.”
“More than 50,000 men, women, and children have lost their lives. Many more could starve to death in the coming days and weeks unless immediate action is taken,” the leaders warned.
They also called on the government of Israel “to refrain from further military operations” and rejected any plans of “forced displacement or the expulsion of the Palestinian people.”
The letter was released as Israel ramps up its offensive in Gaza.
https://p.dw.com/p/4uVUJ
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