Gantz warns he will withdraw from government if war cabinet does not lay out a plan by early June
From Eugenia Yosef and CNN's Kareem El Damanhoury and Michael Rios
Former Israeli defenseminister and war cabinet member Benny Gantz is demanding that the cabinet lays out a plan for the war against Hamas by June 8.
In remarks in the city of Ramat Gan on Saturday night local time, Gantz warned that if his demands are not met, he will withdraw from the government.
He said the plan should eliminate Hamas, bring back the hostages, establish an alternative government in the strip, bring back Israeli residents to the north of Israel, and set up a plan to make progress on normalization with Saudi Arabia.
Gantz said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must choose between "victory and disaster" as he issued the ultimatum.
"If (Netanyahu) choose(s) to lead the nation into the abyss, we will withdraw from the government, turn to the people, and form a government that can bring about a real victory," Gantz said.
Demands for a plan: Gantz's ultimatum comes days after current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant publicly demanded a post-war plan and warned he would oppose Israeli rule in Gaza — his most direct statement on the topic. Gallant warned of the consequences of a long-term Israeli military presence in Gaza and called out Netanyahu directly.
On Rafah: Gantz defended Israel’s military operations in Rafah, calling the city a “gate” for the re-emergence of Hamas. Gantz said that to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Hamas cannot remain in Gaza and must be cleared from Rafah.
He acknowledged the harmful impact the war is having on civilians but insisted that “decisiveness” is needed.
Israeli military recovers body of another hostage in Gaza
From Eugenia Yosef
The Israeli military has recovered the body of another hostage in the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a news conference Saturday.
Ron Benjamin went on a bicycle trip with his friends on October 7, before he was killed at Mefalsim Intersection during the Hamas attack, Hagari said. His body was then abducted by Hamas and taken to Gaza, he added.
This follows Friday's news that the bodies of three other hostages were recovered from a Gaza tunnel.
Access to food in Gaza "dire" following Israeli operation in Rafah, according to UN humanitarian agency
From CNN’s Xiaofei Xu
Gaza is facing a "dire" food situation as barely more than 300 aid trucks have entered the strip since Israel began its offensive in Rafah, a United Nations humanitarian agency said in a report Friday.
“More than 3,000 metric tons of food in main warehouses have become inaccessible by food security partners due to ongoing hostilities,” according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “Limited amounts of supplies have entered Gaza since 6 May and remain largely insufficient to address the soaring needs,” it added.
Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on May 7, causing aid deliveries through Rafah to be halted.
The situation in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah continues to deteriorate as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee into the two districts to escape Israeli operations in Rafah, according to OCHA.
“Between 6 and 16 May, according to the UN, nearly 640,000 people were displaced from Rafah. ... There are no remaining stocks of shelter materials inside Gaza,” the report said.
The UN agency stressed that more aid should be allowed to pass through checkpoints and enter Gaza by land.
“Any and all aid into Gaza is welcome by any route. However, getting aid to people in need, into and across Gaza, cannot and should not depend on a floating dock,” OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said Friday, referring to thefloating pierbuilt by the US military that has started to funnel aid to the enclave.
Over 300 pallets of humanitarian aid were delivered to Gaza through the pier, according to a statement from Israel Defense Forces on Saturday.
CNN’s Lucas Lilieholm contributed reporting to this post.
Displaced woman describes "death and horror" at Gaza refugee camp as battles rage nearby
From Abdel Qadder Al-Sabbah in Jabalya
A displaced woman has told CNN of the dire conditions at the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, after Israel's military heavily bombarded the area and engaged in renewed fighting with Palestinian militants there.
“It’s death and horror as you can see. We wake up scared and go to bed scared,” Ibtisam Abu Abeid told CNN on Friday.
“Our house is gone. Four floors for me and my children — all gone,” she said, referring to her home in the nearby city of Beit Hanoun.
She is now staying in a destroyed shelter in the center of Jabalya, after being again displaced from the eastern part of the camp. Abu Abeid says she hasno access to toilet facilitiesoradequate shelter,and water supply is scarce.
The Israeli military said Saturday that its troops had killed Palestinian militants in multiple battles in Jabalya. CNN footage from the area shows large explosions, with the sounds of bombardment, gunfire and drones heard throughout.
Rescuers pull bodies from the rubble: Some 300 houses were completely destroyed over the course of seven days during the Israeli incursion in Jabalya, according to Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the civil defense emergency services in Gaza.
Bassal's teams have recovered at least 150 bodies and rescued hundreds of wounded people over the past week at the refugee camp, he told CNN on Saturday.
He warned that many bodies remain under the rubble, as civil defense teams are either unable to reach them or unable to dig them out. Bassal said Israeli fire has made his team of first responders afraid to approach certain areas, despite calls for help from citizens.
CNN's Sarah El Sirgany contributed reporting to this post.
It will be a challenge to backfill the 17 American doctors who departed Gaza, sources say
From CNN's Kylie Atwood
Aid organizations will face challenges getting doctorsback into Gaza following the departure of 17 of the 20 Americandoctors who were stuck thereafter Israel shut the border crossing from Rafah to Egypt.
Sources familiar with the efforts tohelp the American doctors escapesaid that backfilling them remains a major concern, largely because the Rafah crossing remains closed afterthe Israeli military seized it early last week.
Remember: The crossing – when it was operating — was the onlyentry and exit point for foreign aid workers.Israeli and Egyptian officials have so far failed to reach an agreement on reopening it.
One of the doctors who decided to stay behind isDr. Adam Hamawy,who helped save Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s life 20 years ago in Iraq, according to a source familiar with the matter. Hamawy traveled to Gaza with thePalestinian American Medical Associationand did not feel right leaving without other doctors coming in to take over, the source said.
Many members ofCongress, including Duckworth, are working with the Biden administration topush Israel to do more to get aid and humanitarian workers into Gaza, and to get the protections needed for those workers. Earlier this week,a top USAID official said thatIsrael was not doing enough to ensure the safety of aid works.
"Thedeconflictionmeasures are not where they need to be yet, given the complexity of the environment. So those conversations are ongoing, they need to continue and they need to get to a place where humanitarian aid workers feel safe and secure and able to operate safely. And I don't think we're there yet,”said Sonali Korde, assistant to the administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance,noting that Gaza is a “very dangerous place to work.”
CNN's Jeremy Diamond andMuhammad Darwish contributed to this story.
Military escalation in Rafah could bring humanitarian operations to a "standstill," WFP warns
From CNN’s Sarah El Sirgany and Kareem El Damanhoury
The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that military escalation in Rafah could “bring humanitarian operations to a standstill.”
“We know we need additional entry points and every new entry point is a new artery pumping lifeblood into #Gaza,” WFP said in astatementon Friday.
Since the Israeli military began its offensive in Rafah on May 6, over 630,000 people were forced to flee, UNRWAsaidon Friday, with many moving to Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis.
On Thursday, UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths described the situation as “deeply tragic” as he warned about food running out in southern Gaza.
“(A)ll the predictions that so many people, including us, but so many others, member states and society have made about the consequences of an operation in Rafah are coming true,” he added.
Meanwhile, trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza have begun moving ashore on Friday morning via a temporary pier built by the US military, according to a statement from US Central Command (CENTCOM).
Aid is moved on the pier to a facility in Gaza, after which WFP helps deliver the aid to other agencies or distribute it, a UN official told CNN.
This post includes reporting from CNN’s Colin McCullough and Kareem Khadder.
