Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday that at least one Palestinian was killed and 48 were wounded when gunshots were fired on a crowd that overran a new aid distribution site in the war-battered enclave that was set up by an Israeli and U.S.-backed foundation.

Chaos erupted as crowds of Palestinians broke through the fences around the distribution site on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear who opened fire, Israeli forces, private contractors or others.

Israel has vowed to seize control of Gaza and fight until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed and exiled, and until the militant group returns the remaining 58 hostages seized in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the 2023 attack. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed around 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

Here’s the latest:

Israel hits the airport in Yemen’s capital held by Iran-backed rebels

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday’s strikes destroyed the last plane used by the Houthi rebels, while the rebel-run al-Masirah TV said they had targeted a plane from the country’s flagship carrier Yemenia.

The strikes came after Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired several missiles at Israel in recent days, without causing casualties.

The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in Gaza in solidarity with Palestinians. The Houthi missiles have mostly been intercepted, although some have penetrated Israel’s missile defense systems, causing casualties and damage.

Israel last struck the airport in Sanaa on May 6, destroying the airport’s terminal and leaving its runway riddled with craters. Some flights resumed to Sanaa on May 17.

A controversial new aid distribution system

The distribution hub outside Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah were chaos erupted on Tuesday was opened by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

The foundation is taking over the handling of desperately needed aid under a new, U.S. and Israeli-backed system despite concerns raised about the group from the United Nations and the recent resignation of its executive director.

The U.N. and other humanitarian organizations have rejected the new system, saying it won’t be able to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food as a weapon to control the population. They have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and people seeking supplies.

Spokesman says the UN has nothing to do with the new aid system

Stephane Dujarric says the United Nations has not nothing to do with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s aid distribution because its plan does not comply with U,N. humanitarian principles of neutrality, independence and impartiality in delivering aid — which apply from Gaza to Sudan to Myanmar and dozens of other countries.

Dujarric said on Tuesday that it is “an arduous process” to coordinate with Israeli authorities to get U.N. trucks to the loading area to pick up aid, and to determine if roads for the trucks to traverse are safe.

“We’re still trying — desperately trying — to deliver aid based on our system that has worked … and it’s very challenging,” he said

U.S. President Donald Trump purported on Tuesday that Canada was “considering” giving up its statehood in exchange for protection by the proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system at no cost, despite Canadian officials repeatedly stating that the country is not for sale.

“I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“They are considering the offer!” he claimed.

Trump has threatened in recent months to annex Canada, an idea fiercely rebuked by Canadian officials and their citizens.

KING CHARLES II VISITS CANADA AS SHOW OF SUPPORT FOR COUNTRY COVETED BY TRUMP

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, who secured an election win last month in part due to Canadians’ opposition to Trump’s wish to make the country part of the U.S., told Trump earlier this month that his country “won’t be for sale, ever.”

King Charles III, who is recognized as Canada’s sovereign, gave a speech before the Canadian Parliament on Tuesday in which he appeared to reject Trump’s idea of purchasing the North American country and making it the 51st U.S. state.

“Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away,” he said. “And that, by staying true to Canadian values, Canada can build new alliances and a new economy that serves all Canadians.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is greeted by U.S. President Donald Trump as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

As for the “Golden Dome,” Trump announced last week that the U.S. had officially selected the architecture for the missile defense system that would create a network of satellites to detect, track and potentially intercept incoming ballistic missiles.

The U.S. president said the project would cost $175 billion to build and that it was expected to be “fully operational” within three years. He also said Canada would be included in its safety net.

“Canada has called us, and they want to be a part of it. So we’ll be talking to them; they want to have protection also,” Trump said at the time.

CARNEY SAYS CANADA IS NOT FOR SALE, TRUMP REPLIES, ‘NEVER SAY NEVER’

U.S. President Donald Trump meets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Carney’s office said last week that there were “active discussions” between the U.S. and Canada on current and new security programs, including the “Golden Dome.”

“Canadians gave the prime minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States,” a spokesperson for Carney told BBC News.

“To that end, the prime minister and his ministers are having wide-ranging and constructive discussions with their American counterparts. These discussions naturally include strengthening [North American Aerospace Defense Command] and related initiatives such as the Golden Dome,” the spokesperson continued.

Published on
28/05/2025 – 7:45 GMT+2

A document going around online alleges that the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to take back control of the Tombs of the Kings, a sacred site which is under French control in East Jerusalem. 

It’s been circulating on social media and presents a decision allegedly made by Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s Foreign Affairs Minister. 

It suggests that Israel’s Foreign Ministry is looking into holding “diplomatic negotiations with the French government,” in a bid to transfer the holy site to Israel. 

At the top of the document, “Jerusalem Day” is mentioned, an Israeli national holiday which marks the moment when Israeli forces took over East Jerusalem, following the 1967 six-day war.

Jerusalem Day falls yearly in May or June, in line with the Hebrew calendar’s month of Iyar. 

However, EuroVerify found no proof that the document is real. 

In a public statement shared on X, Israel’s French embassy refuted the allegations and said it deplores such “fake news.”

“We urge everyone to be vigilant when it comes to unsourced information on social networks,” it added.

When approached by EuroVerify, France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “We are not aware of any official Israeli approach to this effect. The national domains are the property of the French State.”

“This ownership is recognised by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority through international agreements,” it continued. “In Jerusalem, France has owned, since the 19th century, four national domains and religious Christian and Jewish sites, whose ownership was recognised by the State of Israel in 1948.”

Why does France control certain sites in Jerusalem?

In addition to various Christian and Jewish religious sites in the region, France owns four heritage sites in Jerusalem, under a treaty known as the Fischer-Chauvel agreement.

These sites, including the Tombs of the Kings, are known as the French National Domain in the Holy Land, with some of France’s claims over them dating back to the Ottoman era.

The other three are the Church of the Pater Noster (also known as the Sanctuary of the Eleona), the Benedictine monastery in Abu Ghosh and the Church of Saint Anne.

The Tombs of the Kings are believed to be the burial site of Queen Helene of Adiabene, who converted to Judaism around 30 AD and died sometime between 50 and 56 AD. They were originally thought to be the burial place of the kings of Judah.

The French claims are based on the government’s purchase of the site from a private owner in 1886. Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time and the Ottoman government officially recognised the sale as legal under its law.

France continued to assert its ownership of the Tombs of the Kings and other sites during the British Mandate and later under Israeli rule.

It and the newly-founded State of Israel drew up the Fischer-Chauvel agreement between 1948 and 1949 to formalise Paris’ claim to the sites. However, while Israel acknowledges the existence of the agreement, it has never officially ratified it.

Nevertheless, it has generally respected the privileges associated with the sites and given de facto recognition to French control. The tricolour flag flies over them, and they are administered by French authorities, but they conform to Israeli property law.