In the West Bank, Israeli settlers set up a settlement outpost near Artas. Israeli forces raid Madama, causing tear-gas related injuries. Israeli forces also stop an ambulance near Nablus, arresting a health care worker. Elsewhere, Israeli forces arrest 15 Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Hebron. 2 Israeli soldiers are killed in a car ramming near Nablus; a man reportedly turns himself into the PA for the incident. Hamas militants fire live ammunition at Bat Hefer across the Green Line; no injuries are reported. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers tour the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Rafah, Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City, Nuseirat refugee camp, and Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least 74 people. Israeli forces also bomb a Red Crescent ambulance, killing 2 paramedics in the Tal as-Sultan area of Rafah. Israel says it has taken control over the entire Philadelphi Corridor between Egypt and Gaza. 3 Israeli soldiers are killed in combat. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Khiam, Aqoura, Ramyah, and At Tiri. Hezbollah forces fire rockets at Shtula. In Syria, Israeli forces bomb Baniyas, killing a Syrian girl and injuring 10 others. In Yemen, Houthi forces shoot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Marib province. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AP, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 5/29; AP, AP, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, WAFA 5/30)
More than 36,171 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 15,103 children and 10,000 women, and around 81,420 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 512 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 124 children. More than 5,100 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, 293 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,831 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 79,000 housing units have been destroyed and 370,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7/2023. The UN says the amount of aid arriving in Gaza has dropped by 67% since 5/7. World Central Kitchen suspends its operations in Rafah, citing ongoing Israeli attacks. (AJ, AP, HA, REU, UNOCHA, UNOCHA, WAFA 5/29; WAFA 5/30)
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society says scabies are spreading among Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, especially in the Ktzi’ot and Megiddo prisons. (AJ 5/29)
Footage of Israeli unmanned armored personnel carriers (APCs) in Rafah circulates on social media. The unmanned APCs are reportedly carrying explosives that are detonated inside buildings in Gaza. (HA 5/29)
Israeli national security advisor Tzachi Hanegbi says the Israeli war on Gaza could last through the end of 2024. Military chief of staff Herzi Halevi tours Rafah. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, NYT 5/29; HA 5/30)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas speaks with French president Emmanuel Macron in a phone call. Macron reiterates his call for PA reforms, citing the “prospect of recognition of the State of Palestine.” PA prime minister Mohammad Mustafa, and a delegation of Arab foreign ministers from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan, meet with Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid. (AJ, AP, AP, WAFA, WAFA 5/29)
The Knesset passes a preliminary bill designating UNRWA a terrorist organization. Doctors Without Borders calls the vote “outrageous.” The Times of Israel reports that the Israel Land Authority has instructed UNRWA to vacate its headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah within 30 days. UNRWA says it has not been notified of the order to vacate. (JP, WAFA 5/29; AJ 5/30)
At the UN Security Council, PA deputy ambassador to the UN Majed Bamya tells the council that “you have learned to live with Israel’s irrational and racist behavior, but we die because of it.” U.S. deputy ambassador to the UN Robert Wood says Israel should remove all barriers to aid arriving in Gaza and that Israeli harm to civilians “undermines Israel’s strategic goals in Gaza,” citing the attack on Rafah on 5/26. The council discusses a draft Algerian resolution to end the Israeli invasion of Rafah and call for a ceasefire and the release captives held in Gaza. Wood calls the resolution unhelpful. (AJ, AP, AP, NYT, REU 5/29; REU 5/30)
More than 30 countries back a proposal at the WHO annual assembly that would require the WHO to boost documentation of the “catastrophic humanitarian crisis” and possible starvation in Gaza and condemn Israeli attacks on the Palestinian health care sector. PA health minister Majed Abu Ramadan meets with U.S. secretary of health and human services Xavier Becerra on the sidelines of the annual assembly, discussing the destruction of the Gaza health sector. (AJ, REU, WAFA 5/29)
EU high commissioner for foreign affairs Josep Borrell meets with UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini, pledging continued EU financial and political support. EU commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement Oliver Varhelyi meets with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, calling the meeting with Netanyahu an honor. (AJ, REU 5/29)
U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken tells reporters that he does not know if Israel used U.S.-supplied weapons in the attack on Rafah on 5/26 and calls on Israel to formulate a plan for the day after its war on Gaza. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU 5/29)
Brazil withdraws its ambassador to Israel. (AJ, AP, AP, HA, HA, WAFA 5/29)
Lebanon reverses plans to authorize the ICC to investigate war crimes committed in Lebanon. (REU 5/29)