In the West Bank, Israeli settlers attack a Jordanian aid convoy, dumping aid on the ground and damaging trucks. Israeli forces raid Qusra, firing tear gas at Palestinians protesting the raid, causing tear-gas related injuries. Israeli forces also demolish a home and a water well in Burin and issue stop-work orders for 3 other homes. Elsewhere, Israeli forces place barbed wire around the entrances to 2 homes in the Old City of Hebron. Israeli forces also arrest 26 Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Hebron, Qalqilya, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Tubas, Nablus, Jericho, and Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Israeli forces arrest 30 settlers while clearing a settlement outpost near the Ofra settlement. PA forces shoot and kill a member of Islamic Jihad in Tulkarm. Islamic Jihad says the PA killed the man on behalf of Israel. 3 schools in Hebron's Old City open for the first time since 10/7/2023 after Israel allows teachers to gain access to area H2. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Gaza City, Nuseirat refugee camp, Jabalia refugee camp, and Rafah, killing at least 33 people. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Marwahin, Ayta ash Shaab, and Tayr Harfa. Hezbollah forces launch anti-tank guided missiles at a home in Shtula. Hezbollah forces also fire rockets at Metulla and Kafrchouba. (AJ, AP, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 5/1; AJ, HA, REU 5/2)
More than 34,568 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 14,520 children and 10,000 women, and around 77,765 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 10,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 480 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 117 children. More than 5,000 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured in Israel since 10/7/2023, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 262 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,602 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27/2023. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7/2023. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12/2023 due to the Israeli blockade. At least 70,000 housing units have been destroyed and 290,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7/2023, constituting over 60% of all housing units. 253 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. Aid begins to enter Gaza through the Beit Hanun (Erez) crossing. The Palestinian and Kuwaiti Red Crescent Societies begin constructing a field hospital in Mawasi. (AJ, AP, HA, REU, REU, UNOCHA, UNOCHA, WAFA 5/1; UNRWA 5/3)
UNOCHA says a Palestinian boy was injured on 4/29 when he opened a booby-trapped can of food from aid supplies. The agency says many Palestinians have been injured from aid supplies rigged with hidden explosive charges. (UNOCHA 5/1; AJ 5/2)
The Commission for Detainee's Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, and Addameer issue a joint statement, saying that around 1,000 Palestinian workers from Gaza who were in Israel on 10/7/2023 are still missing. (AJ 5/1)
UNOCHA says Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinians and their property more than 800 times since 10/7/2023, resulting in the killing of 31 Palestinians, 500 injuries, and the vandalization of 80 homes, 450 vehicles, and 11,700 trees. 1,765 Palestinians have been displaced by Israeli home demolitions during the same period. (AJ, UNOCHA 5/1)
Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri says U.S. secretary of State Antony Blinken is misleading the public on who is to blame for the delay in reaching a ceasefire agreement, adding the Israeli negotiating team has admitted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is responsible for the delay. Abu Zuhri also calls Blinken the foreign minister of Israel. (AJ, HA, REU 5/1)
An Israeli court rejects an appeal by Palestinian political prisoner Marwan Barghouti, who is held in solitary confinement, to receive hygiene equipment, magazines, an electric kettle, a television, and access to buy groceries. Barghouti said in his appeal that he has been attacked in his cell until he lost consciousness. Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh's sister Sabah Haniyeh is moved from an Israeli prison to house arrest. Sabah was arrested on 4/1 on accusations of incitement and identification with a “terror group.” (AJ, HA, HA 5/1)
The Israeli military says that about 1,000 soldiers are stationed in the West Bank, down from about 8,000 last year, while an agreement between the military and settler leaders will allow more settlers to carry arms. Military chief of staff Herzi Halevi says Israel is “preparing for an offensive in the north” during a visit near the Lebanese border. (HA, REU 5/1)
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan says his country will intervene in the South African genocide case against Israel at the ICJ, saying “Turkey will continue to support the Palestinian people in all circumstances.” (AJ, REU, WAFA 5/1; WAFA 5/2)
Secretary Blinken meets with Israeli president Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Netanyahu reportedly tells Blinken that he will not accept a ceasefire deal that ends the war on Gaza and that Israel will invade Rafah if Hamas does not accept the terms of the temporary ceasefire deal. Blinken tells Netanyahu that a Rafah invasion would diminish chances of a ceasefire deal to free captives and impact U.S. efforts to secure a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Herzog tells Blinken that the reported ICC investigation into Israeli leaders is a “clear and present danger to all democracies and to free and peace-loving nations.” Axios reports that a group of Democratic and Republican U.S. senators held a virtual meeting with ICC officials, telling them that the court should not issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials. Netanyahu reportedly spoke to some of the senators before the meeting. Axios also reports that the Israeli government has warned the U.S. that it will retaliate against the PA if the ICC issues arrest warrants for Israelis. The Guardian reports that Saudi Arabia has drafted a plan that excludes normalization with Israel but still allows for a U.S.-Saudi defense pact and U.S. help with creating a Saudi nuclear program in case Israel refuses to end its war on Gaza and work toward a Palestinian state. (AJ, AJ, AP, AX, AX, AX, GDN, HA, NYT, NYT, NYT, REU, REU 5/1; AJ, AX, HA, NYT, REU 5/2)
Colombian president Gustavo Petro says his country will sever ties with Israel over its war on Gaza. Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz calls Petro “hate-filled and anti-Semitic.” (AJ, AJ, HA, NYT, WAFA 5/1; HA, WAFA 5/2; AP 5/3)
At the UN Security Council, U.S. deputy ambassador to the UN Robert Woods defends the U.S. decision to veto Palestine's bid for full UN membership, citing Hamas's influence in Gaza and the U.S. assertion that Palestinian statehood is a bilateral matter between Israel and Palestine, making Palestinian statehood an issue for Israel to approve. PA ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour calls on countries that have not recognized the State of Palestine to do so, saying “[t]hose who want to destroy a Palestinian state and with it any chance of peace are not waiting.” (AJ 5/1)
The U.S. House of Representatives pass a bill 320-91 that would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The IHRA definition conflates anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. 57 House Democrats send a letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to withhold offensive military aid to prevent an Israeli invasion of Rafah. (AJ, AJ, AP, REU, WAFA 5/1; AJ 5/2)
U.S. police arrests pro-Palestinian protesters at university campuses throughout the U.S., including several at the University of Arizona, 20 at Northern Arizona University, more than 12 at the University of Wisconsin, and more than 20 at the University of Texas at Dallas. (AJ, AJ 5/1; AJ 5/2)