Updates: Israel begins ‘preparations’ for new Gaza offensive as 115 killed

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For more of our coverage, read our breakdown on a deadly week in Gaza, in which Israeli attacks killed hundreds, here.

Catch up on Israel’s strikes on Yemen, here.

Or learn more about why Gaza is at risk of soon reaching famine, here.

This live page will soon be closing. Here’s a recap of the major developments of the day.

• The Israeli military said “extensive attacks” on Palestinians over the past 24 hours are the initial moves of what Israel has dubbed Operation Gideon’s Chariots.
• The leaders of Ireland, Spain, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway and Slovenia called on Israel to halt its attacks on Gaza and allow humanitarian aid into the enclave, dubbing the situation a “man-made catastrophe”.
• The Health Ministry in Gaza reported that at least 115 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since dawn today.
• NBC News reported that Trump is working on a potential plan which would see up to one million Palestinians displaced from Gaza to Libya.

As we’ve been reporting, Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing a surge in Israeli attacks.

The Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has been particularly hard-hit in recent days. You can see the aftermath of some of the recent strikes in our video below.

More than 19,000 Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza since Thursday afternoon, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

“Many with nothing but the clothes on their backs,” the organisation said in a post on X. “Nowhere is safe in Gaza.”

Nearly all of Gaza’s population has been displaced at some point during the war, with several forced to flee many times over.

Israel has increasingly issued forced displacement orders as it escalates its attacks in the enclave.

Over 19,000 people forced to flee again since Thursday afternoon, according to the Site Management Cluster.

Many with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Nowhere is safe in #Gaza.

Let the UN reach people in need. https://t.co/btzH0EhvrF pic.twitter.com/q6RAaxmGTh

— IOM – UN Migration 🇺🇳 (@UNmigration) May 16, 2025

Danny Danon has taken aim at ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, hours after Khan’s office announced he will take a leave of absence pending the conclusion of a UN-led investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

Khan had announced ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as several since-assassinated Hamas leaders, in November of last year.

Danon, in a post on X, claimed the warrants were meant to distract from “baseless accusations” lodged by the court. The ICC warrants accuse Netanyahu of war crimes and crimes against humanity for the war in Gaza.

Khan has denied any wrongdoing and remains the prosecutor in the case.

Read more about the situation here.

At least 370 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since Sunday, according to figures compiled by Al Jazeera.

The violence has been particularly deadly in the second half of the week, with medical sources reporting the killing of at least 100 Palestinians on Friday, and 143 on Thursday. Many of those killed have been women and children.

The uptick in attacks came as US President Trump visited the region, but declined to visit Israel.

Read our examination of the deadly week, and its context, here.

The governorate said Mohammad Nidal Abu Libdeh had been shot and left bleeding by Israeli forces following the stabbing attack earlier today at the entranceway to the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, according to Wafa news agency.

It said that Israeli forces have since raided Abu Libdeh’s home in Beit Hanina following the incident.

The governorate further said that Israeli forces “brutally attacked” citizens in the vicinity and briefly detained worshippers inside the compound for some time.

Israeli police had earlier said an officer was wounded in a stabbing near the Bab as-Silsila, also known as Chain Gate, entryway.

Basement Films has expressed doubt that its film investigating attacks on hospitals and medics in the Gaza Strip will be released by the BBC despite being “cleared multiple times at all levels”.

“We apologise to the survivors of these attacks, those alleging torture and the families of those killed,” the film production company said in a post on X.

“They all doubted whether @BBCNews would ever tell their stories. We thought they would; they still can. We are desperate for this film to be released.”

The post comes just days after more than 600 figures from the film, media and culture industries accused the BBC of engaging in “the censorship of Palestinian voices” by delaying the film’s release.

Variety reported that “the BBC has received the letter and will respond in due course and is not cancelling the documentary”.

Earlier this year, the BBC pulled another documentary from Gaza after pro-Israel groups denounced it for including a Palestinian boy whose father is a Hamas official.

We are doubtful that our film investigating attacks on hospitals & medics in Gaza, produced with @BBCNews over 14 months, cleared multiple times at all levels, containing graphic footage of attacks & searing testimony of survivors of those attacks, will be released by @BBCNews

— basement films (@Basement_Films) May 16, 2025

The military has released a statement in English confirming its earlier remarks that it was in the early stages of the “expansion” of its assault on Gaza.

It added that it wants to “fulfill the objectives of the war”, namely the release of captives and the “dismantling” of Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has faced widespread criticism, including from members of the Israeli captives’ families, for refusing to agree to a ceasefire deal that would see their loved ones released from Gaza.

Many observers have also noted that Israel has not been able to dismantle Hamas despite its 19-month offensive.

It is rare for US presidents to travel to the Middle East and not visit Israel, but Trump omitted the US ally from his itinerary as he toured the region this week.

Skipping Israel was seen as a reflection of the deteriorating ties between the Trump administration and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

This week’s trip also came in the context of several moves perceived as evidence of the US marginalising Israel, including continued US talks with Israel’s rival Iran and a ceasefire between Washington and the Houthis in Yemen.

It remains unclear how Trump’s decisions will affect the “special relationship” between the two allies, but experts say it is becoming increasingly apparent that the US no longer views the Middle East solely through the lens of Israel.

“Is it a tactical problem for Netanyahu and the entire pro-Israel lobby? I think it is,” Khaled Elgindy, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University, said of Trump’s shift.

Read more of the key takeaways from Trump’s Middle East trip in our story here.

The UN’s rights chief, Volker Turk, has denounced Israel’s escalation of attacks in Gaza – and its apparent push to permanently displace the population – as amounting to “ethnic cleansing”.

“This latest barrage of bombs … and the denial of humanitarian assistance underline that there appears to be a push for a permanent demographic shift in Gaza that is in defiance of international law and is tantamount to ethnic cleansing,” Turk said in a statement.

He warned that a clear intensification in attacks this week raised fears that a wider Israeli offensive had begun.

“We must stop the clock on this madness,” Turk pressed.

How will history judge the West’s complicity in the Gaza genocide?

With Israel’s assault nearing its second year, the divide between those condemning the violence and those remaining silent continues to widen.

On Al Jazeera’s UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks with author and journalist Omar Al Akkad on his book One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, exploring the failures of Western liberalism and the moral cost of looking away from war.

NBC News reports the potential plan would see up to one million Palestinians displaced from Gaza to the North African country.

The news organisation cited five people with knowledge of the effort. Two of the sources said the plan was under “serious enough consideration” that the administration had already brought it up to Libyan leaders.

In exchange for accepting the displaced Palestinians, the US would release billions in funds it had previously frozen.

Libya has been racked by violence throughout a nearly 14-year civil war. There are currently two governments in the country, the UN and US recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) based in Tripoli and led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and the Government of National Stability (GNS) based in Benghazi and led by Khalifa Haftar.

Since taking office in January, Trump has supported proposals for mass displacement of Palestinians that rights groups warn would amount to ethnic cleansing. Several neighbouring Arab countries have rejected the prospect of a mass population transfer.

Settler vandalism is continuing in the occupied West Bank, damaging critical infrastructure and disrupting the livelihoods of affected communities, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The agency reported that in one herding community in the Jericho governorate, there were at least three incidents involving settlers damaging water pipes serving the community.

That disrupted access to water for several households, undermining domestic and livestock needs.

In a letter to Congress, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on US lawmakers to speak out against Israel’s plan to “flatten” and forcibly displace Palestinians in Gaza.

“This is it. Now or never. We implore you to condemn Netanyahu’s plan, demand a permanent end to this genocidal war, and pledge to oppose further weapons sales to the Israeli government unless its human rights abuses stop,” Robert McCaw, the director of the group’s government affairs department, wrote in the letter.

He pointed to a resolution introduced this week by Democratic senators that calls for the end of Israel’s two-month aid blockade of the enclave.

Such resolutions are “extremely helpful but not enough”, he said. He called on lawmakers to leverage US military aid and diplomatic support to stop Israel.

Speaking at the European Political Community Summit in Albania, French President Emmanuel Macron has said “we’re reaching an unprecedented point in humanitarian terms” since the Gaza war began in 2023.

Macron was asked by a reporter whether he would consider imposing sanctions against Israel similar to the those imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine – and if not, whether that would constitute a double standard.

“The question you ask is completely valid, and it will be raised in the coming weeks,” the French president said.

Macron added that, in the coming days, France is working to broker a ceasefire and get humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

“I’ll have the chance to speak to Prime Minister Netanyahu in the coming days,” he said, adding that he also raised the issue in talks with US President Trump.

Macron drew the ire of Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders earlier this week for condemning the Israeli blockade of Gaza. “What Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is doing today is unacceptable,” Macron had said in an interview.