Israel-Hamas war LIVE: Death toll in new Israeli strikes in Rafah tent area reaches 21

Israeli tanks were prowling in central Rafah on Tuesday (May 28) for the first time, three weeks after the Jewish country launched a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city. News agency Reuters quoted witnesses as saying that the tanks were spotted near Al-Awda mosque, a major landmark.

Watch: Israel war: Macron Discusses Gaza war with Arab ministers

The military escalation has forced more than 1 million refugees out of the city, with “nowhere safe to go and amidst bombardments, lack of food and water, piles of waste and unsuitable living conditions,” the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) said on Tuesday.

So far, more than 36,000 Palestinians have perished and more than 81,000 have sustained injuries since Oct 7, the day when Hamas staged attacks inside Israel and the war started.

1. The flow of military aid into Gaza is set to face disruption as a part of the US military’s pier off Gaza broke off due to bad weather. US officials didn’t reveal how big the part was or speculate on how long it would take for the pier to resume operations. Since the pier began operations, the United Nations has transported 137 trucks of aid from the pier – the equivalent of 900 metric tonnes.
   
    
2. Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad has released a video showing an Israeli hostage alive and speaking in Hebrew in the 30-second clip. The man is held in the Gaza Strip. Local media said the captive is 28-year-old Sasha Trupanov. It was unclear when the footage was taken. He was taken hostage on Oct 7 last year along with his grandmother, Irena, his mother, Yelena and Trupanov’s partner, Sapir Cohen. The three women were released late last year.
   
    
3. The death toll in new Israeli strikes in the Rafah tent area has reached 21. The strikes targeted tents of displaced families in the designated humanitarian area in Mawasi in western Rafah. 12 of those killed were women.
   
    
4. Palestinians in Gaza thanked Spain, Ireland and Norway for officially recognising a Palestinian state on Tuesday (May 28). The Palestinian Authority also lauded the decision.
   
    
5. In a move denounced by Israel as a “reward” for Hamas; Spain, Norway and Ireland moved to formally recognise a Palestinian state. Read more here.
   
    
6. World Health Organization said Tuesday that Israel’s Rafah offensive had made medical evacuations impossible from the area. “There’s been an abrupt halt to all medical evacuations,” said WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris.
   
    
7. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder on Tuesday condemned Israel for its strike on Rafah camp that killed at least 45 people. “We heard this called a tragic mishap, a mistake. I guess the question is what then to call the ferocious attacks that have killed thousands and thousands of children?,” he said. “The question that needs to be asked is how many more mistakes is the world going to tolerate?,” he added.
   
    
8. Israeli strikes on Rafah have killed at least 16 Palestinians, first responders said Tuesday as locals reported a military escalation in the region. The strike comes in the same region where an earlier strike killed 45 Palestinians in a Rafah camp, sparking worldwide outrage.

(This is a live updating copy)