Israel’s war on Gaza updates: UN condemns killing of foreign staff member

Thank you for joining us for real-time updates on everything related to Israel’s war on Gaza.

To read more about why the Israeli military is attacking Jabalia in northern Gaza, read this.

To find out about Hezbollah’s latest pledge to continue fighting Israel, see this.

For more news, analysis and opinion on the conflict, click here.

Here’s a quick look at the main developments today:

• The Israeli military fired on a car in Rafah, killing the first foreign staff member of the UN during the war on Gaza. UN chief Antonio Guterres has called for a “full investigation”.
• Heavy ground fighting has been ongoing in Rafah to the south and Jabalia to the north of the Gaza Strip, with Hamas claiming many attacks on the invading Israeli troops and armoured vehicles.
• At least 360,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah, according to the UN, as Israeli officials promise to continue their military operation in the city.
• The White House said the administration of US President Joe Biden does not view Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza as genocide.
• The US military chief for the Middle East travelled to Israel to discuss Gaza, with the US maintaining it opposes a full-scale attack on Rafah.
• Israelis attacked food aid trucks bound for Gaza at the Tarqumiyah checkpoint in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, preventing them from reaching the Palestinian enclave.

The University of Amsterdam says it will remain closed for two days after police were called in to crack down on pro-Palestinian protests at one of the school’s campuses earlier on Monday.

The university’s board said it had cancelled all classes through Wednesday, and all buildings will remain closed as it said it cannot guarantee safety for those on campus.

Demonstrators demanding divestment from Israel and opposing the war on Gaza have clashed several times with riot police in the past week at the university. But the board says the demonstrations had turned violent.

The administration of US President Joe Biden reportedly does not believe that Israel’s stated strategy of pursuing “total” victory over Hamas in Gaza is feasible.

“Sometimes when we listen closely to Israeli leaders, they talked about mostly the idea of some sort of sweeping victory on the battlefield, total victory,” said Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, according to US news outlet Politico.

“I don’t think we believe that that is likely or possible.”

Campbell said many countries wish to see a “political solution in which the rights of Palestinians are more respected”.

The armed Lebanese group says in its end-of-day report that its fighters carried out seven attacks throughout Monday, with the latest hitting Israeli soldiers in the settlement of Metulla.

Hezbollah said the attack was in response to Israeli assaults on southern Lebanese villages and civilian homes, most recently in Odaisseh.

It also reported a drone attack on an Israeli army site in Beit Hillel, resulting in casualties, along with a rocket attack on Kfarchouba and an antitank guided missile attack on a Merkava tank.

Tamara Rasamny, a master’s student at Columbia University’s Climate School, delivered the remarks during her school’s class day last week.

In April, Rasamny was arrested by New York City police on trespassing charges, which were later dismissed, and suspended by the university for her participation in the Gaza solidarity protests on campus.

Columbia University administration and police have been heavily criticised for their harsh response to the non-violent protests, which, after beginning at Columbia have since spread to campuses across the US and the globe.

“Demonstrating students are demanding their institutions divest from all investments made in Israel and businesses linked to it, as well as financial transparency.

“As students, we have historically been moral compasses of our world. … And now students [are] demanding that their education doesn’t come at the cost of Palestinian lives or any human life”, she said in her speech.

Tamara Rasamny triumphed against all odds. Her graduation yesterday from Columbia University- against all odds- is not just a personal victory but a call to all parents to support our children as they stand firm for their beliefs. As a father, I am inspired by her resilience and… pic.twitter.com/vMLE2YhSAP

— Ricardo Karam ريكاردو كرم (@RicardoRKaram) May 11, 2024

The Houthis in Yemen promise to launch more attacks – and at new scales – to oppose the war on Gaza, according to spokesman Yahya Saree.

“Gaza is a red line for us,” he said during a speech earlier today.

“We can target things that the enemy hasn’t thought of and can’t imagine, things that neither the Yemeni people nor the people of the [Islamic] nation can imagine,” he said without elaborating.

The Houthis have already promised to level up their attacks to target vessels in the Mediterranean Sea if attacks on Palestinians persist.

Israeli far-right activist group Tzav 9, which seeks to end all the limited supplies of humanitarian aid going into Gaza, blocked a shipment as it went through the Tarqumiyah checkpoint near Hebron in the occupied West Bank earlier today.

“It is a total outrage that there are people who are attacking and looting these convoys,” said US National Security adviser Jake Sullivan, about the incident, which is not the first of its kind. “It is completely and utterly unacceptable behaviour.”

The US said it has raised the incident of Israeli protesters blocking aid to starved Palestinians in the besieged enclave with the Israeli government. Meanwhile in Gaza, the UN and international aid organisations are warning that supplies are running dangerously low.

Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Hanke Bruins Slot has said she met with Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi in Amsterdam, where they discussed “the critical situation in the Middle East”.

“Qatar plays a key role in many areas, such as the negotiations between Israel and Hamas,” she said in a post on X.

Specifically, she said, the two officials “spoke about the urgent need for more humanitarian aid for the people in Gaza. We also discussed the importance of preventing regional escalation and finding long-term solutions.”

We spoke about the urgent need for more humanitarian aid for the people in Gaza. We also discussed the importance of preventing regional escalation and finding long-term solutions. The Netherlands appreciates the exchanges with Qatar on these topics. 2/2

— Hanke Bruins Slot (@HankeBruinsSlot) May 13, 2024

Students protesting the war on Gaza and calling for divestment from Israel on campuses in the City University of New York (CUNY) system have been threatened with “emergency suspension” if they fail to break up their demonstrations.

The Palestinian solidarity encampment at City College of New York, part of CUNY, released a letter from the division of student affairs, which claimed demonstrators are in violation of rules and that they must disband within minutes.

This comes after a police raid at the start of May led to hundreds of arrests at CUNY.

BREAKING: CCNY student affairs just threatened students with suspension for protesting on their own campus, falsely claiming Henderson violations. Admin continues to lawlessly target 🇵🇸 protest, 2 weeks after they sent NYPD to violently brutalize protestors. Defend CCNY students! https://t.co/KrxCZzJv84 pic.twitter.com/Y5AiITKmqW

— CUNY GAZA Solidarity Encampment (@cunygse) May 13, 2024

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has released this video that shows how volunteer paramedic Ali Khalil abruptly found out that his grandchild was among those killed by the Israeli military in Jabalia, northern Gaza.

He has two sons who are also paramedics, the relief group said.

Volunteer paramedic Ali Khalil is shocked by the martyrdom of his grandchildren while he was working at the PRCS medical point in Jabalia, northern #Gaza. Ali has two sons who work in the PRCS Red Crescent ambulance team.
Salute to the Red Crescent heroes who mourn the martyrdom… pic.twitter.com/eNknjWx7q9

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) May 13, 2024

Jagan Chapagain, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, says on X that “humanitarians and civilians must be protected” in Gaza.

“On behalf of the IFRC, I send my deepest condolences to those who lost their loved one and wish full recovery to the injured”.

His words come after Israeli fire on a clearly marked UN vehicle killed one foreign staff member and wounded another in Rafah earlier today.

A very sad news from @UN.

On behalf of the IFRC, I send my deepest condolences to those who lost their loved one and wish full recovery to the injured.

My thoughts and solidarity go to our @UN colleagues.

I reiterate my call: Humanitarians and civilians must be… https://t.co/WofCFFuR6n

— Jagan Chapagain (@jagan_chapagain) May 13, 2024

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, used a visit to the Tehran International Book Fair earlier on Monday to renew his support for the Houthis in Yemen amid the war on Gaza.

Khamenei was filmed briefly meeting with a member of the Houthis who said he brings greetings from the group’s leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi.

“I love the courageous and brave people of Yemen,” Khamenei said, also conveying a greeting for the Houthi leader.

The Yemeni group, which the US says have been receiving arms from Iran for years, has been behind many attacks using missiles and drones on vessels in the Red Sea, carried out in opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza and Western support for it.

The head of the UN’s World Health Organization has taken to X to mourn the death of a UN staff member killed earlier in what a spokesperson for the secretary-general described as an “attack” by the Israeli army.

“Too many civilian and humanitarian lives have paid the price for this war,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote.

We are devastated to learn about the death of a @UN humanitarian worker and injury of another in #Gaza today.

Too many civilian and humanitarian lives have paid the price for this war.

Ceasefire and work towards peace. https://t.co/pjAnQoyZpw

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 13, 2024

According to HaMoked, an Israeli rights group, a group of young Israelis set fire to the perimeter of the East Jerusalem headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

This is the second incident of arson targeting UNRWA in a week.

On May 9, the UNRWA compound was targeted while staff were inside.

“While there were no casualties among our staff, the fire caused extensive damage to the outdoor areas. The UNRWA headquarters has on its grounds a petrol and diesel station for the agency’s fleet of cars,” said UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini at the time.

“This is an outrageous development. Once again, the lives of UN staff were at a serious risk,” he said.

NGO Human Rights Watch said on X that the killing of a foreign UN staff member in Rafah earlier today is proof that “there is nowhere safe to go in Gaza”.

The organisation pointed out that the vehicle carrying the staff member who was killed – and another who was wounded – was on its way to a hospital when it was struck and heavily damaged by Israeli fire.

A United Nations staff member was killed and another injured while traveling to a hospital in Rafah on Monday morning.

There is nowhere safe to go in Gaza. International action is needed to prevent further atrocities. https://t.co/Ww780IUCWG

— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) May 13, 2024

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, reaffirming that Washington does not support a major military ground operation by Israel in Rafah, the State Department has said.

Earlier we reported that Shoukry told his counterpart that continued Israeli military operations in Gaza, and especially in Rafah, near the Strip’s border with Egypt, have “grave security risks”.

Pro-Palestinian protests are rippling across European universities with the University of Geneva seeing demonstrations starting last week.

Students have called on the University of Geneva to divest from Israel.

"تحيا تحيا فلسطين".. اعتصام مئات الطلاب المؤيدين لفلسطين داخل حرم جامعة جينيف السويسرية#حرب_غزة #فيديو pic.twitter.com/XP0eFrvLRc

— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) May 13, 2024

Translation: “Long live, long live Palestine.” Hundreds of pro-Palestine students staged a sit-in on the campus of the Swiss University of Geneva.