Israel-Gaza war live: 1 million people flee Rafah as tanks reported in city centre | Israel-Gaza war

Israeli strikes on Rafah have killed at least 16 Palestinians, first responders said on Tuesday as residents reported an escalation of fighting in the southern Gaza city.

Strikes overnight killed a total of 16 people in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in northwest Rafah, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense and the Palestinian Red Crescent, AP reports.

“It was a night of horror,” said Abdel-Rahman Abu Ismail, a Palestinian from Gaza City who has been sheltering in Tel al-Sultan since December. He said he heard “constant sounds” of explosions overnight and into Tuesday morning, with fighter jets and drones flying over the area.

He said it reminded him of the Israeli invasion of of his neighborhood of Shijaiyah in Gaza City, where Israel launched a heavy bombing campaign before sending in ground forces in late 2023. “We saw this before,” he said.

Sayed al-Masri, a Rafah resident, said many families have been forced to flee their homes and shelters, with most heading for the crowded Mawasi area, where giant tent camps have been set up on a barren coastline, or to Khan Younis, a southern city that suffered heavy damage during months of fighting.

“The situation is worsening” in Rafah, al-Masri said.

The latest strikes occurred in the same area where Israel targeted what it said was a Hamas compound on Sunday night. That strike ignited a fire in a camp for displaced Palestinians and killed at least 45 people, according to local health officials, sparking worldwide outrage.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was a “tragic mishap” on Sunday and the military said it was investigating.

Israel says it is carrying out limited operations in eastern Rafah along the Gaza-Egypt border. But residents reported heavy bombardment overnight in western parts of Rafah as well.

Revealed: Israeli spy chief ‘threatened’ ICC prosecutor over war crimes inquiry

Harry Davies

The former head of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, allegedly threatened a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in a series of secret meetings in which he tried to pressure her into abandoning a war crimes investigation, the Guardian can reveal.

Yossi Cohen’s covert contacts with the ICC’s then prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, took place in the years leading up to her decision to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestinian territories.

That investigation, launched in 2021, culminated last week when Bensouda’s successor, Karim Khan, announced that he was seeking an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, over the country’s conduct in its war in Gaza.

The prosecutor’s decision to apply to the ICC’s pre-trial chamber for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, alongside three Hamas leaders, is an outcome Israel’s military and political establishment has long feared.

Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, has stepped up his attacks on Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, accusing him of being “complicit in inciting the murder of the Jewish people and war crimes”.

As the Guardian reported earlier, the accusation comes after Spain’s labour minister and deputy PM, Yolanda Díaz, used the controversial slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” in a video statement last week.

Díaz later denied allegations of antisemitism and clarified her remarks, saying: “We’ve always had the same position, the recognition of two states from the river to the sea, which share an economy, which share rights, and which, above all, share a peaceful future.”

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Katz said: “Prime minister Sánchez, by not sacking Yolanda Díaz and announcing the recognition of the Palestinian state you are complicit in inciting the murder of the Jewish people and war crimes.”

Several Israeli tanks on Tuesday reached the centre of Rafah, witnesses told Reuters, three weeks into a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip city.

The tanks were spotted near Al-Awda mosque, a central Rafah landmark, the witnesses said. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on their account, saying it would issue a statement about the Rafah operation later.

Israel has been pounding the city with airstrikes and tank fire today, pressing its offensive despite international condemnation of an attack that sparked a blaze in a tent camp for the displaced, killing at least 45 people.

Around one million people have fled Rafah in the past three weeks, the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said on Tuesday.

UNRWA said the flight from Rafah “happened with nowhere safe to go and amidst bombardments, lack of food and water, piles of waste and unsuitable living conditions” with assistance and protection now becoming nearly “impossible”.

Since early May, Israel’s military has been carrying out what it says is a limited operation in Rafah to kill fighters and dismantle infrastructure used by Hamas.

It has told civilians to go to an “expanded humanitarian zone” some 20 km (12 miles) away.

The Spanish, Irish and Norwegian decision to recognise a Palestinian state has drawn a furious reaction from Israel, which has recalled its ambassadors from Madrid, Dublin and Oslo.

In a series of tweets, Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, has accused Spain of giving in to Hamas.

On Sunday, Katz posted a video to X showing flamenco dancers alongside a message that read, “Pedro Sánchez, Hamas thanks you for your service.”

In a post the following day, he wrote that “the Israeli people and the Spanish people are friends”, adding that they would not be separated by Sánchez nor by his deputy prime minister, Yolanda Díaz, who was criticised last week for using the controversial slogan “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea”.

Spain’s “historic” decision to recognise the state of Palestine later today has been taken in order to bring about peace between Palestinians and Israelis and has not been taken “against anyone, least of all Israel”, Spain’s prime minister has said.

Speaking an hour before his cabinet meets on Tuesday to formally recognise Palestine – a decision that has infuriated Israel and triggered a diplomatic crisis between the two countries – Pedro Sánchez said the decision was based on justice and international law.

He said:

At the meeting of the council of ministers that will be held today, the government will approve the official recognition of Palestine as a state. With this decision, Spain joins the more than 140 countries that already recognise Palestine. This is a historic decision that has a single goal: to contribute to achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The recognition of the state of Palestine is not only a matter of historical justice with the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people; it is also an imperative need to achieve peace.

It is the only way to recognise the solution that we all recognise as the only possible one to achieve a future of peace – that of a Palestinian state that coexists alongside the state of Israel in peace and security. The state of Palestine must be viable with the West Bank and Gaza connected by a corridor and with East Jerusalem as its capital and it must be unified under the legitimate government of the Palestinian national authority.”

Sánchez said that while it was not up to Spain to define another country’s borders, its position was aligned with those of the UN security council and the EU: “Therefore we won’t recognise change in the 1967 lines other than those agreed to by the parties.”

The prime minister also stressed that “the recognition of Palestine isn’t against anyone – least of all Israel, a friendly nation that Spain values and holds in high regard and with whom we aim to foster the strongest possible relationship”. He said the decision reflected Spain’s “absolute rejection” of Hamas, which opposes the two-state solution.

“From the outset, Spain has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks of 7 October,” he said. “This clear condemnation is the resounding expression of our steadfast commitment in the fight against terrorism.”

Sánchez said Spain would do all in its power to make the two-state solution a reality, and renewed his calls for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza, and for all the Israeli hostages to be released. He also said Spain would work to bring about an international peace conference on the two-state solution.

“The decision that Spain is solemnly adopting today is based on the respect for international law and the defence of the rules-based international order,” he said. “These are the principles that guide us always, no matter the context – both in Gaza/Palestine and in Ukraine. Spain will always defend the proposal and principles established in the UN charter.”

The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has said his cabinet will recognise a Palestinian state at its Tuesday morning meeting.

Ireland and Norway were also to make official their recognition of a Palestinian state later in the day. While dozens of countries have recognised a Palestinian state, none of the major western powers has done so.

“This is a historic decision that has a single goal, and that is to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace,” said Sánchez, standing at the gates of the prime minister’s palace in Madrid, during a televised speech.

The Socialist leader, who announced his country’s decision before parliament last week, has spent months touring European and Middle Eastern countries to garner support for recognition and a cease-fire in Gaza.

Relations between the EU and Israel nosedived Monday, the eve of the diplomatic recognition EU members Ireland and Spain, with Madrid insisting that the EU should take action against Israel for its continued deadly attacks in southern Gaza’s city of Rafah. Norway, which is not an EU member but often aligns its foreign policy with the bloc, handed diplomatic papers to the Palestinian government over the weekend ahead of its formal recognition of a Palestinian state.

Meanwhile Canada is the latest country to react to the airstrikes on Rafah, saying it is horrified by the civilian deaths.

At least 45 people were been killed after the Israeli strike caused a huge blaze at a tented area for displaced people in Rafah, according to medics.

Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement:

We are horrified by strikes that killed Palestinian civilians in Rafah.

Joly added that Canada does not support the Israeli military operation in Rafah:

This level of human suffering must come to an end. We demand an immediate ceasefire.

They are comments that have been echoed by other global leaders who have urged the implementation of an international court of justice order to halt Israel’s assault.

The United States said on Monday that Israel must make every possible effort to avoid civilian casualties after the deadly strike in Rafah.

A US national security council spokesperson said in a statement:

As we’ve been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians …

We are actively engaging the IDF and partners on the ground to assess what happened.

But the NSC spokesperson also said that “Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians,” before imploring more caution.

The Israeli military said it had launched a probe into the strike which it said was carried out based on “precise intelligence information”.

It launched the attack on Rafah hours after Hamas unleashed a barrage of rockets towards the Tel Aviv area, most of which were intercepted.

In other developments:

• Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting in Gaza despite widespread anger over Sunday’s strike in Rafah. At least 45 people were killed after an Israeli airstrike that caused a huge blaze at a tented area for displaced people in Rafah, medics have said. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said about half of the dead were women, children and older adults. The Israeli strike, one of the deadliest single incidents in the eight-month war to date, came two days after the international court of justice’s ruling ordering Israel to stop its operation in Rafah immediately.

• Netanyahu described the airstrike as a “tragic mishap” and said the incident occurred “despite our best efforts not to hurt them”. Israel’s top military prosecutor described the airstrike as “very grave” and said an investigation was under way. The Israeli military said its air force struck a Hamas compound and that the attack was carried out with “precise ammunition and on the basis of precise intelligence”. Hundreds of people gathered in Israeli cities on Monday after the Rafah attack to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

• Images of charred and dismembered children in Rafah after the Israeli strike have caused an outcry from global leaders and put ceasefire talks in jeopardy. Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas in attempts to secure a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages, said the Rafah casualties would complicate the protracted negotiations. Israeli media reported that Hamas had decided to pull out of the latest proposed talks over what its senior leadership described as a massacre.

• The UN security council is set to convene an emergency meeting Tuesday over the Rafah strike. Diplomats said the council would convene for an emergency session called by Algeria to discuss the attack.

• Spain, Ireland and Norway will formally recognise a Palestinian state Tuesday. Israel has described the decision as a “reward” for Hamas more than seven months into the devastating Gaza war. The three European countries believe their initiative has strong symbolic impact, which could encourage others to follow suit, reports AFP.

• The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he is “outraged” by the Israeli airstrike on Rafah. “These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian citizens. I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire,” he posted to X on Monday. Italy’s defence minister, Guido Crosetto, said Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza were no longer justifiable in one of the strongest criticisms Rome has made so far against Israel’s war.

• Desperately needed aid deliveries to Gaza have ground to a halt, as the Rafah border crossing, and the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing are in effect blocked by the fierce fighting. About 200 aid trucks were supposed to enter Gaza through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday after an agreement was reached with Egypt, but UN and Palestinian officials said on Monday that no aid supplies have been distributed.

• An Israeli strike targeting a motorcycle in southern Lebanon hit next to a hospital entrance Monday, killing the motorcycle driver and a hospital security guard and wounding several civilians nearby, local health officials said. It was not immediately clear who the driver was or why he was targeted in the strike in the town of Bint Jbeil, reports Associated Press. The Israeli army did not give a statement on the strike but said it had targeted other areas of southern Lebanon in response to “terrorist launches.”

• Egypt’s military says a border guard was killed in a shooting in the Rafah border area with Gaza on Monday, where Israeli forces are deployed, adding that a probe had been launched. “The Egyptian armed forces, through the competent authorities, are investigating a shooting incident in the Rafah border area which led to the martyrdom of a guard,” a military statement said. The Israeli military reported a “shooting incident” on the Egyptian border and said it was discussing the incident with Egypt, reports Agence France-Presse.