Israel-Gaza war live: Fresh strikes reported on Rafah as US says Israel’s actions do not cross red line | Israel-Gaza war

David Smith is on the Guardian Washington bureau chief.

US relief efforts for Gaza have suffered an embarrassing setback since a temporary wharf built by the military broke up in a heavy sea, The Pentagon said on Tuesday.

The $320 million pier is designed to provide a vital shipping line for aid by sea to reach the starving Palestinians and alleviating a humanitarian disaster. The effort is now on hold for at least a week.

Sabrina Singhthe deputy press secretary of the Ministry of Defense said this to reporters high seas and weather system of North Africa caused part of the pier to come off Tuesday morning.

The pier will be removed and sent south Israeli city Ashdodwhere US Central Command (Centcom) will repair it.

“The restoration and repair of the wharf will take at least more than a week and, once completed, it will need to be re-moored to the shore of GazaSingh said.

“Thus, once the repair and assembly of the jetty is complete, the intention is to re-anchor the temporary jetty to the shore of Gaza and resuming humanitarian aid for the people who need it most.

Israeli spy chief ‘threatens’ ICC war crimes probe prosecutor

Harry Davis

Harry Davies is an investigative correspondent for the Guardian.

The former head of Mossad, IsraelUS foreign intelligence allegedly threatened the attorney general of international criminal court (icc) in a series of secret meetings in which he tried to pressure her to drop a war crimes investigation, the Guardian can reveal.

Yossi Cohensecret contacts with the then ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensoudatook place in the years leading up to her decision to open a formal investigation in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestinian territories.

That investigation, which began in 2021, culminated last week when Successor to Bensouda, Karim Khanannounced that he wanted an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahufor the conduct of the country in its war in Gaza.

The prosecutor’s decision to refer to the pre-trial chamber of the ICC for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallantalong with three Hamas leaders, is an outcome that the Israeli military and political elite have long feared.

Cohen’s personal involvement in the operation against the ICC took place when he was director of the Mossad. His activities were authorized at a high level and justified on the basis that the court posed a threat of prosecution against military personnel, according to a senior Israeli official.

You can read the entire material here:

The Biden administration said recently Israeli operations and attacks in Gazathe southern city of Rafa do not constitute a major ground operation that crosses any US red lines and that he was also closely monitoring the investigation into Sunday’s deadly attack on a tent camp, which he called “tragic.”

Speaking after Israeli tanks were seen nearby Al-Awda Mosquea landmark in Rafah’s downtown, a spokesman for the National Security Council John Kirby told reporters that the US is not turning a blind eye to the plight of Palestinian civilians.

“The Israelis said it was a tragic mistake,” Kirby said, referring to the air strike and fire in an area packed with tents of refugees who Gaza health officials said had been killed at least 45 people on Sunday.

Asked if there was anything the White House saw from Sunday — to continued ground operations this week — that would prompt the U.S. to withdraw more military aid, Kirby said, “I believe that’s what I’ve been saying here.”

“We’ve also said that we don’t want to see a major ground operation in Rafah that would make it really difficult for the Israelis to go after Hamas without causing major damage and potentially a large number of deaths.” We haven’t seen it yet,” he said stating this Israel’s operations on Tuesday were mostly in a corridor on the outskirts of Rafah.

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It’s past 9.30am Gaza and Tel Avivwelcome to our latest live blog on Israel-Gaza war and beyond Middle East crisis.

Israel struck new blows in Rafa on Wednesday, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

AFP journalists in Rafah reported fresh strikes early Wednesday, hours after witnessing and a Palestinian A security source said Israeli tanks had penetrated into the heart of the city.

“People are currently in their homes because anyone who moves is being shot at by Israeli drones,” a resident Abdel Khatib said AFP.

It comes as the White House it says in Israel’s Rafah operation has not crossed the US red line.

“We haven’t seen them break Rafah,” said a spokesman for the US National Security Council. John Kirby.

Meanwhile, Algeria has submitted a project for a decision on United Nations Security Council members calling for an end to Israel’s offensive in Rafah and for an “immediate ceasefire,” according to draft text seen by several news agencies.

The UN Security Council is due to discuss the war again on Wednesday, but it is unclear when the vote on the resolution will take place.

More on that in a bit, but first, here’s a rundown of the latest developments:

• Israeli tanks reached Rafa’s middle on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing witnesses. They also moved towards the western districts, taking up positions at Top of Zurub Hill, after a heavy bombardment. Not all Palestinians sheltering there can move, and some have decided it is more dangerous to move because fighting continues in much of Gaza and there is little shelter, food, water or sanitation elsewhere. The Israeli military stated that his forces continued to operate in Rafa area without commenting on the reported progress in the city center.

• The Israeli army denied attacking a tent camp west of Rafah on Tuesday after Gaza health officials said Israeli tank fire killed at least 21 people there, in an area that Israel has designated as a civilian evacuation zone, Reuters reports. Two days after an Israeli airstrike on another camp sparked global condemnation, Gaza’s emergency services said four tank shells on Tuesday hit a group of tents in al-Mawasia coastal strip designated by Israel as an extended humanitarian zone, where it advised civilians in Rafah to go for safety.

• Ann a Guardian investigation revealed how the former head of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, threatened the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in a series of secret meetings in which he tries to pressure her to drop a war crimes investigation. An investigation with Israeli magazines +972 and Local Call may also reveal how Israel worked almost decade-long secret “war” against the court. The country deployed its intelligence agencies to conduct surveillance, hacking, pressure, defamation and alleged threats against senior ICC officials in an attempt to thwart the court’s investigations.

• US aid efforts to Gaza have since failed the temporary wharf built by the military broke up in a heavy sea, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The $320 million pier was intended to provide a key shipping line for aid by sea to reach starving Palestinians and ease the humanitarian disaster. The effort is now on hold for at least a week.

• Ireland, Spain and Norway have officially recognized a Palestinian state. A joint decision by two EU countries plus Norway, a nation with a strong diplomatic tradition of peacemaking, could generate momentum for the recognition of a Palestinian state by other EU countries and could spur further steps at the UN that would deepen the international conflict of Israel isolation.

• Denmark’s parliament voted against a bill to recognize a Palestinian state on Tuesdayafter the Danish foreign minister had earlier stated that the necessary prerequisites for an independent state were lacking.

• Nikki Haley, the failed Republican presidential candidate, signed Israeli artillery shells with the caption “Finish them!” on a Memorial Day visit to Israel. The graphic show of support from the former South Carolina governor came during a trip to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where she was accompanied by Danny Danon, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations and a prominent hawkish member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party in the Knesset .