Middle East 2025.05.26, 09:00 hours | Situation Tension

1. Introduction / Background

1. The number of Palestinians killed in Israel’s military assault on Gaza has reached 53,939, with another 122,797 wounded since 7 October 2023, according to health officials in the besieged enclave.

2. In the last 24 hours alone, Gaza’s hospitals have received 38 bodies and treated 204 wounded as Israeli forces continue their offensive.

2. Key Highlights – Israel Hamas war updates

• Killed  - 38 (53,939)
• Injured  - 204 (122,797)
• Home Destroyed

3. Governments’ Response

4. Military Developments

1.  The Israeli army controls over 77% of the Gaza Strip, local authorities said on Sunday. “Field data and verified analysis indicate that the Israeli occupation forces now effectively control approximately 77% of Gaza’s total geographic area,” Gaza’s government media office said in a statement. (https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250525-israeli-army-controls-77-of-gaza-media-office/) 

2.  An Israeli air strike killed another Palestinian journalist in Gaza on Sunday, pushing up the overall death toll since October 2023 to 220, local authorities said. Hassan Majdi Abu Warda, director of the Barq Gaza news agency, was killed, along with a number of his family members, in the strike that targeted their home in Jabalia Nazla neighborhood in northern Gaza, the government media office said. (https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250525-israeli-strike-kills-another-palestinian-journalist-in-gaza-death-toll-rises-to-220/)

3.  The Palestinian resistance group Hamas claimed Sunday to have killed and injured several Israeli soldiers in an ambush in southern Gaza. The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said its fighters blew up a house on Tuesday where Israeli soldiers had holed up east of al-Qarara town in eastern Khan Younis. (https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250525-hamas-says-several-israeli-soldiers-killed-injured-in-gaza-ambush/) 

5. Militants’ Activity

1.  Yahya Saree, military spokesperson for Yemen's Houthis, said the group was responsible for an attack on Sunday intercepted by Israel.

6. Impact On the Trade and Travel

1.  The economic impact of repeated Houthi attacks on Israel’s main airport is growing, with Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International facing mounting disruptions that have grounded international travel and exposed deepening financial strains. (https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/houthi-strikes-israeli-airport-expose-economic-fallout?nid=422779&topic=Israel%2527s%2520war%2520on%2520Gaza&fid=544942) 

7. International Response

1.  Aid organisations named in a letter from a newly formed foundation bidding to deliver food aid in Gaza have sought to distance themselves from the controversial plan, which is expected to launch this week. The letter, dated 22 May and obtained by Middle East Eye, was sent by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) executive director Jake Wood to Cogat, the Israeli military unit overseeing aid logistics in Gaza. (https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/ngos-distance-gaza-humanitarian-foundation-after-leaked-letter) 

2.  British opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has defended Israel’s continuing war on Gaza, describing it as a "proxy war on behalf of the UK." In an interview with Sky News' Trevor Phillips on Sunday, Badenoch, now leading the Conservative Party, claimed that Israel’s war on Gaza aligns with Britain’s national interest, comparing it to "Ukraine [fighting] on behalf of Western Europe against Russia.” (https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-waging-proxy-war-uk-gaza-says-kemi-bedenoch)

3.  Switzerland is considering whether to open a legal investigation into the activities of the Geneva-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed organisation planning to oversee aid distribution in the enclave, Swiss authorities told Reuters. The decision comes after a Swiss NGO submitted a request for a probe into GHF's aid plan, which the UN has opposed on the grounds that it lacks impartiality and neutrality, contributes to the further displacement of Palestinians, and exposes thousands of people to harm. (https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/switzerland-may-investigate-us-backed-gaza-humanitarian-foundation) 

4.  Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela says his country will officially recognise the State of Palestine next month—ending more than four decades of hesitation—while Gaza’s death toll continues to soar.

5.  Spain’s foreign minister insisted Sunday that the two-state solution is the only alternative to conflict between Israel and Palestine and is pushing for concrete measures to advance it at an international meeting in Madrid, Anadolu reports. (https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250525-spain-pushes-for-2-state-solution-at-international-meeting-on-gaza-in-madrid/) 

6.  Germany is engaging regional and European partners to push for an end to the Gaza war, according to Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/germany-urges-end-gaza-hunger-rejects-forced-expulsions?nid=422779&topic=Israel%2527s%2520war%2520on%2520Gaza&fid=544942) 

7.  The head of the UN’s World Food Programme has dismissed claims that Hamas is diverting humanitarian aid, saying she’s seen no evidence of theft. “No, not at all,” said Cindy McCain, when asked by US network CBS whether Hamas was stealing supplies. (https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/un-food-chief-rebuts-israeli-claims-no-sign-hamas-stealing-gaza-aid?nid=422779&topic=Israel%2527s%2520war%2520on%2520Gaza&fid=544942) 

8. Comment.

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