Middle East 2025.05.20, 21:00 hours | Situation Tension

1. Introduction / Background 

Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 87 people and wounded 290 during the past 24-hour reporting period, according to the latest daily update by the Health Ministry in the besieged and bombarded territory. The casualties bring the total number of people confirmed killed in Gaza during the war to 53,573 with 121,688 wounded, the ministry said. Many victims are still missing under the rubble where rescuers cannot reach them, it added.

2. Key Highlights – Israel Hamas war updates

• Killed 182 (53,573)
• Injured 654 (121,688)
• Home Destroyed

3. Governments’ Response

Israel's prime minister has hit back at the joint statement from the UK, France, and Canada. "By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed, and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities," he says. He adds: "The war can end tomorrow if the remaining hostages are released, Hamas lays down its arms, its murderous leaders are exiled and Gaza is demilitarised. (https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cq8037dd3p9t?post=asset%3A360e99e6-2715-46c2-afc6-b9f51c38d143)

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused France, the UK, and Canada of "moral hypocrisy" and "anti-Semitism" for their criticism of Israel's military actions in Gaza and their support for recognizing a Palestinian state. He claimed these countries have morally aligned themselves with a terrorist organization and are rewarding terrorism by granting it statehood, which he said threatens Israel's existence and the future of the Jewish people.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan has warned that Israel is on the path to becoming a "pariah state," similar to apartheid South Africa, if it continues its current military actions in Gaza. He accused the government of killing children "as a hobby" and engaging in policies aimed at displacing populations, calling the current administration immoral and incompetent in managing the crisis.

4. Military Developments

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 50 Palestinians in Gaza on 20.05.2025, local medics said, as Israel continues its bombardment despite mounting international pressure to stop military operations and allow aid into Gaza unimpeded.

5. Militants’ Activity

An Israeli soldier, Sergeant Yosef Yehuda Chirak, 22, from the West Bank settlement of Harasha, was killed in combat in northern Gaza on 19.05.2025. He served in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion. This marked the first Israeli fatality since the launch of the major ground operation "Operation Gideon's Chariots" that began on 17.05.2025.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have declared a naval blockade on Israel's Haifa port as a direct response to Israel's ongoing military offensive and blockade in Gaza. The group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, announced that all commercial ships currently at or heading to Haifa are now considered targets, warning shipping companies to avoid the port. 

6. Impact On the Trade and Travel

7. International Response

The UK has announced sanctions on a number of individuals and groups in the occupied West Bank who it said have been linked with acts of violence against Palestinians. Among those targeted is Zohar Sabah, who the government says is involved in threatening, perpetrating, permitting and supporting acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. (https://aje.io/2dylxq?update=3722207) 

Tom Fletcher, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, has warned 14,000 babies are at risk of dying in the next 48 hours if aid doesn’t reach them – a figure he called “utterly chilling”.(https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cq8037dd3p9t)

The EU’s foreign policy chief has called for unrestricted aid to flow in Gaza, describing the volumes Israel planned to allow in as “a drop in the ocean”. 

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned Israel’s targeting of the Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics in Gaza City on Monday as a “flagrant violation of international law, international humanitarian law, and humanitarian norms”. (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/5/20/live-israeli-allies-say-they-will-take-concrete-actions-over-gaza-siege)

Malnutrition rates in Gaza may increase “exponentially” if food shortages continue, says Akihiro Seita, the health director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/5/20/live-israeli-allies-say-they-will-take-concrete-actions-over-gaza-siege)

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has said unrelenting Israeli attacks on Gaza are eroding renewed hopes for peace that followed the release of American Israeli captive Edan Alexander last week. (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/5/20/live-israeli-allies-say-they-will-take-concrete-actions-over-gaza-siege)

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has described the situation in Gaza as "intolerable". Standing alongside him at a UK-EU Summit this afternoon, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the blockade "needs to be lifted now". (https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cq8037dd3p9t)

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy pauses trade deal negotiations with Israel, as country’s government summons ambassador over expansion of Israel’s military operation in Gaza. (https://aje.io/2dylxq?update=3722357) 

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis says the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza is intolerably high and a massive influx of humanitarian aid is needed along with a ceasefire. (https://aje.io/2dylxq?update=3722295) 

The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that "two million people" in Gaza are "starving" as Israel begins to lift its aid blockade today. (https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cq8037dd3p9t)

8. Comment.

The Gaza conflict today epitomizes a complex crisis of humanitarian disaster, intense military confrontation, and fragile diplomacy, with urgent needs for ceasefire, aid access, and political solutions to prevent further deterioration in the Middle East region.