Israel–Hamas war

Ireland is certain to recognise Palestinian statehood by the end of May, the country's foreign minister said Wednesday, without specifying a date.

"We will be recognising the state of Palestine before the end of the month," Micheal Martin, who is also Ireland's deputy prime minister, told the Newstalk radio station.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that his country has decided to submit its declaration of official intervention in South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Israel battled Hamas in Gaza on Monday, including in far-southern Rafah, despite U.S. warnings against a full-scale invasion of the crowded city and of the threat from post-war anarchy or insurgency.

An all-out Israeli offensive on the Gaza city of Rafah would provoke "anarchy" without eliminating Hamas, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday, as death toll in the war had exceeded 35,000 people.

Separately, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan emphasized Washington's concerns about an offensive in a call with his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi.

Israel struck Gaza on Sunday and troops were battling militants in several areas of the Palestinian territory after an Israeli evacuation order sent hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing from Rafah.

Residents of Rafah in the Gaza Strip are reporting ongoing explosions and gunfire as fierce clashes continue in the area. Israeli tanks have nearly encircled the eastern part of the town, targeting what Israeli intelligence identifies as key Hamas strongholds. The intensifying Israeli offensive has prompted over 110,000 Palestinians to flee Rafah in recent days.

The Eurovision Song Contest final gets underway in Sweden's Malmo on Saturday with thousands of protesters expected to culminate a week of tensions surrounding Israel's participation during the Gaza war.

The United States has issued a stunning criticism of Israel's use of American weapons in the Gaza war, after Israeli forces intensified operations around the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million displaced people are sheltering.

The White House has issued a statement affirming President Joe Biden's commitment to maintaining cooperation with Israel until the complete eradication of the radical Palestinian group Hamas from the Gaza Strip, as reported by Reuters.

Israel launched fresh strikes in the Gaza Strip Friday after negotiators pursuing a long-stalled truce agreement left talks in Cairo without having secured a deal.

AFP journalists in the Gaza Strip early Friday witnessed artillery strikes on Rafah on the territory's southern border with Egypt, while witnesses reported air strikes and fighting in Gaza City further north.