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Arab World

Israeli Strikes Kill Three Palestinians, Including a Child, in Gaza, Medics Say

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a police post, in Gaza City, May 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a police post, in Gaza City, May 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Strikes Kill Three Palestinians, Including a Child, in Gaza, Medics Say

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a police post, in Gaza City, May 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a police post, in Gaza City, May 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli strikes killed at least three Palestinians, including a child, and wounded several others in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health officials said.

Medics said a Palestinian was killed and two others were wounded by an Israeli airstrike near the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, while another was killed and several others were wounded by Israeli tank shelling near the central area of the enclave.

Later on Tuesday, an Israeli strike targeted a police station in northern Gaza, killing a 15-year-old child, medics said. The Hamas-run interior ministry said ‌some policemen ‌were also wounded in the attack.

Reuters has previously reported ‌that ⁠Israel has intensified its ⁠attacks on Gaza's Hamas-run police force, which the group has used to reinforce its hold in the areas it controls in the strip.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on any of the incidents.

Violence in Gaza has persisted despite an October 2025 ceasefire, with Israel conducting almost daily attacks on Palestinians. Israel and Hamas have blamed each ⁠other for ceasefire violations.

At Al Shifa Hospital, the largest ‌medical facility still partially functional in the ‌enclave, relatives and friends arrived to bid farewell to one of those ‌killed on Tuesday, Mohammed Al-Ghandour. Two girls were crying and being ‌comforted by a woman outside the hospital's morgue.

"The Zionist enemy doesn't know anything called truce and does not commit to international treaties or laws or humanitarian laws," said the victim's uncle, Abu Omar Al-Naffar.

At least 830 Palestinians ‌have been killed since the ceasefire deal took effect, according to local medics, while Israel says fighters have ⁠killed four ⁠of its soldiers over the same period.

Israel says its strikes are aimed at thwarting attempts by Hamas and other Palestinian fighters to stage attacks against its forces.

More than 72,500 Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza war started in October 2023, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Since the truce last October, Israel still occupies more than half of Gaza, where it has ordered residents out and demolished almost all remaining structures. Nearly the entire population of more than 2 million Palestinians now lives in a narrow strip along the coast, mainly in tents and damaged buildings, under the de facto control of Hamas.

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Arab World

Germany’s Wadephul Says Aid to Gaza Must Be Improved

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (R) and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar shake hands as they attend a news conference after their talks in Berlin, Germany, 05 May 2026. (EPA)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (R) and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar shake hands as they attend a news conference after their talks in Berlin, Germany, 05 May 2026. (EPA)
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Germany’s Wadephul Says Aid to Gaza Must Be Improved

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (R) and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar shake hands as they attend a news conference after their talks in Berlin, Germany, 05 May 2026. (EPA)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (R) and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar shake hands as they attend a news conference after their talks in Berlin, Germany, 05 May 2026. (EPA)

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Tuesday aid deliveries to Gaza had to be improved and he repeated Berlin's ‌position that ‌any de ‌facto annexation ⁠of parts of ⁠the occupied West Bank by Israel would not be acceptable to Germany.

"The ⁠plight of the ‌more ‌than two ‌million people whose situation ‌has not improved must not be overlooked amidst the conflict ‌in Iran. Humanitarian aid must ⁠be ⁠improved as a matter of urgency," Wadephul said at a joint news conference in Berlin with his visiting Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar.

Arab World

Gaza Factions Prepare Defensive Plans as Fears of War Rise

First responders inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a police station in Gaza City on May 5, 2026. (AFP)
First responders inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a police station in Gaza City on May 5, 2026. (AFP)
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Gaza Factions Prepare Defensive Plans as Fears of War Rise

First responders inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a police station in Gaza City on May 5, 2026. (AFP)
First responders inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a police station in Gaza City on May 5, 2026. (AFP)

Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip have raised their level of alert among fighters as Israeli threats grow over a possible return to war.

Field sources in Hamas and Islamic Jihad told Asharq Al-Awsat that factions are working on “clear defensive plans” in case Israel resumes fighting along the same lines as its previous military operations in Gaza.

Residents are increasingly concerned about a broad resumption of war months after a ceasefire agreement between the two sides in October, which has been marked by repeated Israeli violations that have killed more than 800 people.

Four sources from the two groups said the plans are based on self-defense if Israel carries out its threats, stressing there are “no plans or intentions to initiate any attack.”

Israeli newspaper Maariv quoted Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir as saying during a visit to troops in Lebanon days ago that the next battle could be in the Gaza Strip, because it has not ended yet, warning that if Hamas obstructs efforts to disarm it, the army would have to resume the war “with full force.”

Avoiding provocations

Two Hamas sources said instructions have been issued to avoid any provocative actions and maintain the current calm despite Israeli violations. A third source said the primary goal is to confront any Israeli military incursions into cities, as was the case before the ceasefire.

For months, Palestinian factions have deployed armed members at night across various areas of the enclave, especially in locations where Israeli special forces or armed groups aligned with Israel could infiltrate, aiming to confront them.

Fighters rotate shifts under a system that requires each member to participate in security duties once or twice a week.

Since a ceasefire was announced under a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, a boundary known as the “yellow line” has divided the Gaza Strip.

Areas east of the line are held by Israel and make up about 55% of the territory, while areas to the west remain under the control of Hamas and other factions.

Factions accuse Israel of using armed groups cooperating with its military to expand the scope of the yellow line and force residents in non-occupied areas to flee.

Killings of Hamas members

Israel has recently targeted security checkpoints manned by faction members, as well as police and security forces affiliated with the Hamas-run government, killing at least 33 police and security personnel since the ceasefire.

The latest victim was a lieutenant colonel in Hamas’s internal security service, Mohammad al-Ghandour, who was killed in an airstrike in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood shortly after midnight between Monday and Tuesday.

Gaza’s Interior Ministry said al-Ghandour was killed when his vehicle was struck, while field sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the attack targeted him and another member of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, who was critically wounded as they were stationed at a checkpoint on Al-Jalaa Street in Sheikh Radwan.

Sources said al-Ghandour, who was also active in the Qassam Brigades, had previously survived two assassination attempts, one by drone and another in a strike on his home.

The strike came days after Israeli attacks had paused in deeper western areas beyond the yellow line, where Hamas maintains control.

The Israeli military also announced on Tuesday it had killed what it described as a “Nukhba commander” in Hamas, Anas Mohammad Ibrahim Hammad, accusing him of taking part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Israeli strikes have decreased in recent days at the request of mediators and the senior Gaza representative to the “Board of Peace,” Nickolay Mladenov, to allow room for negotiations underway in Cairo on a new roadmap for the ceasefire agreement.

Arab World

Israeli Court Extends Detention of Two Gaza Flotilla Activists Until May 10

Brazil's activist Thiago Avila is escorted into court in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon on May 5, 2026. (AFP)
Brazil's activist Thiago Avila is escorted into court in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon on May 5, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Court Extends Detention of Two Gaza Flotilla Activists Until May 10

Brazil's activist Thiago Avila is escorted into court in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon on May 5, 2026. (AFP)
Brazil's activist Thiago Avila is escorted into court in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon on May 5, 2026. (AFP)

An Israeli court has extended by another six days the detention of two activists arrested aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla that was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near Greece. 

Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were detained by Israeli authorities last Wednesday and brought to Israel, while more than 100 other pro-Palestinian activists on the boats were taken to the Greek island of Crete. 

Abu Keshek and Avila's detention had initially been extended until Tuesday, but the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court extended it further until May 10.  

The activists were part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla launched in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance. The ‌ships set sail ‌from Barcelona on April 12. 

Court documents show that Israel accuses Abu Keshek ‌and Avila ⁠of offences including ⁠aiding the enemy, contact with a foreign agent and a terrorist organization, prohibited activity involving a terrorist component, and providing means to a terrorist organization. 

"I am convinced that there is reasonable suspicion," Judge Yaniv Ben-Haroush concluded after hearing parties' arguments in granting the extension. 

Lawyers for human rights group Adalah had argued during the hearing that the allegations were baseless and there were no legal grounds for the continued detention of the two men. 

They said no formal charges have been filed, and their detention was for purposes of ongoing interrogation. 

Adalah said it would appeal the ⁠decision and would demand the immediate and unconditional release of Abu Keshek and ‌Avila. It also said the men had been tortured in ‌custody - a charge dismissed by Israel. 

Abu Keshek's wife, Sally Issa, told Reuters on Tuesday she had not been allowed to ‌speak directly to her husband since his detention, relying instead on information from the Spanish consul and lawyers. 

"They've ‌told us that he's in good condition. He's hunger striking," Issa said. "But he's okay. He suffered from torture on the boat when he was attacked by the Israelis." 

SPAIN, BRAZIL DEMAND RELEASE 

Israel's foreign ministry has said that Abu Keshek and Avila are linked to Palestinian group Hamas, and that the flotilla "is another provocation designed to divert attention from Hamas' ‌refusal to disarm". 

A ministry spokesperson denied "false and baseless claims" of torture. 

"Following violent physical obstruction by Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila against Israeli staff members, ⁠staff were compelled to act ⁠in order to stop these actions. All measures taken were in accordance with the law," the spokesperson said. 

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares demanded Abu Keshek's immediate release, saying there was no evidence linking him to Hamas. 

Albares said he had personally told his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, that the activists' detention was illegal because Israel lacked jurisdiction in international waters. 

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva demanded Abu Keshek and Avila's release, saying the Brazilian's detention "is an unjustifiable action by the Israeli government, causes great concern, and must be condemned by all." 

"The detention of the flotilla activists in international waters had already represented a serious affront to international law," Lula said. 

Avila's spouse, Lara Souza, said her husband was on the sixth day of a hunger strike and was being monitored by doctors. 

"He's better from the injuries, but he is very weak, and the embassy is very worried about this," she said. 

Due to the hunger strikes, the court ordered Israel's Prison Service to monitor the detainees' medical condition.