Analysis: Israel faces unprecedented challenges as legal and diplomatic pressure mounts
Analysis byAbbas Al Lawati
This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined the ranks of world leaders branded as international pariahs when he became the target of the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor is seeking an arrest warrant against him and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant for suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s war in Gaza.
The court has previouslysought warrantsagainst the likes of Sudan’s Omar Al Bashir, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi.
And on Friday, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel toimmediately haltits controversial military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, saying the humanitarian situation there is “disastrous” and expected to “intensify further.”
Seven months after Hamas attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, Israel’s retaliatory war has failed to achieve its goals. Top Hamas leaders remain at large and 125 hostages remain captive in the enclave. Gaza is now in ruins and more than 35,000 Palestinians have died during Israel’s onslaught, according to the the enclave's health ministry.
Pressure on Israel to end the war is mounting from all sides:US college campuses, international courts,American celebrities, Israel’s Western allies, and even the families of the Israeli hostages.
Israeli officials are scrambling to contain the fallout. They have accused criticsof antisemitismand vowed not to relent in the face of international pressure. “Even if Israel is forced to stand alone,we will stand alone, and we will continue to strike our enemies powerfully until victory,” Netanyahu declared in a fiery speech this month.
Read more on the mounting pressure Israel faces.
Spain'sDefenseMinistersaysa"realgenocide"is taking place in Gaza
From CNN’s Michelle Velez
Spain'sDefenseMinisterMargarita Robles said on Saturday that what is happening in Gaza is a "real genocide."
Duringacelebration forSpain’sArmed Forces Day on Saturday, theministertold state -owned public broadcaster TVE that Spainis supportive of different globalissues, adding,"we cannot ignore whatishappeninginGaza, whichisarealgenocide." More than 35,000 people have died in Israel's Gaza offensive.
Earlier this week, Spain, alongside Norway and Ireland,announced itsplans to formally recognizeaPalestinian state from May 28.
Israel's Ministry of ForeignAffairsis considering further diplomatic stepsagainst Norway, Ireland,and Spainafter the announcement on Wednesday,asource familiar with the matter has said.
Israel is under mounting legal and political pressure over its Gaza campaign and has denied genocide in an ongoing case at the International Court of Justice(ICJ)brought by South Africa.
Separately, this week the International Criminal Courtannounced it was seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leader in GazaYahya Sinwarand Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Ceasefiretalkstoresumenext week, officials say
From CNN's Pauline Lockwood and Benjamin Brown
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas for aceasefireand hostage swap deal willresumeonTuesday, anEgyptianofficialwith knowledge of the matter has told CNN.
TheEgyptianofficialsaid thetalkswould take place in Cairo, Egypt.
An Israeli official with knowledge of the matter also told CNN talks were set to resume next week but did not specify a location.
The renewed push comes even as fighting continues in Gaza – on Friday the UN's top court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in the southern city of Rafah,
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled for months, with both parties failing to reach an agreement over differences on key demands. Hamas declared in early May that it "agreed" to a ceasefire deal, but Israel quickly rebutted this, saying that Hamas’ position was “far from” meeting its demands.
Earlier thisweek, Egypt threatenedtowithdraw its role as mediator followingCNNreporting which quoted sources saying Egypt had changed the terms of a proposed framework unbeknownst to the other parties.
Police use water cannon as Israeli protesters demand truce and return of hostages
From CNN's Eugenia Yosef
Police and protesters clashed in Tel Aviv on Saturday night after a day of rallies calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and for the return of all hostages, according to several videos posted on social media.
In the videos, horse-mounted police and water cannons can be seen in Tel Aviv’s Democracy Square attempting to disperse crowds refusing to leave, resulting in violent clashes.
At a separate protest, police said they arrested two people “for disorderly conduct” after they allegedly left the approved demonstration site at the Kaplan intersection, headed to the Azrieli intersection and “lit fires and began to break the order, not obeying the police’s instructions.”
The clashes followed anti-government protest marches that took place in several cities across Israel, calling for the release of hostages taken during Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct 7, and for a general election.
Around 250 peoplewere taken hostage duringHamas’ surprise October 7 attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli officials. Since then, Israel’s retaliatory war on Hamas in Gaza has killedmore than 35,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Many of the protesters in the streets of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Rehovot and beyond on Saturday took aim at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing his government of corruption and criticizing his handling of the war against Hamas.
Read the full story here.
At least 10 people killed in drone attack on Gaza school used as shelter
From CNN's Abdel Qadder,Sarah El SirganyandKareem Khadder
At least 10 people, including children, died in Gaza on Saturday after a drone strike hit a school they were sheltering in, according to local health workers.
The Al-Nazla school in Saftawy, on the outskirts of Jabalya, northern Gaza, was being used as a temporary shelter by people fleeing violence when the strike took place.
An eyewitness, Saleh Al-Aswad, told CNN that his son-in-law was being treated for injuries sustained during the attack.
He added that a “man making bread for his children, thinking this was a safe space” was killed along with his daughter, Afnan, and his son, Mohamed.
CNN footage shows health workers at the Sheikh Radwan clinic tending to bodies wrapped in white sheets. One health worker shows the body of the deceased toddler – called Mohamed – with injuries to his face.
CNN reached out to the Israeli military but did not immediately hear back.
The Israeli military is again fighting in Hamas in northern Gaza, an area it said it had dismantled the military group some months ago.
