Image source, PA Media

Ireland is the latest country to officially recognise a Palestinian state, joining Norway and Spain who did the same this morning.

"The government recognises Palestine as a sovereign and independent state and agreed to establish full diplomatic relations between Dublin and Ramallah," a statement said.

An Irish ambassador will be appointed to the state of Palestine "along with a full Embassy of Ireland in Ramallah", it said.

Irish PM Simon Harris said that a two-state solution "is the only way for Israel and Palestine to live side by side in peace and security".

This morning he said there was a "new despicable and disgusting trend" where the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu describes deaths of Palestinian civilians "a 'tragic mistake'".

Harris was speaking after Israeli strikes killed on a refugee camp killed at least 45 people in Rafah on Sunday, which Netanyahu said was a “tragic mishap” but vowed to continue the war against Hamas.

"April's 'tragic mistake' was the bombing to death of aid workers trying to provide food to starving mouths, May's 'tragic mistake', yesterday, was children being blown to death while seeking protection in a displaced centre," Harris said.

"What will June's 'tragic mistake' be? And more importantly what does the world now intend to stop it happening?"

Around one million people have fled Rafah in the last three weeks, according to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

"This happened with nowhere safe to go & amidst bombardments, lack of food & water, piles of waste & unsuitable living conditions," UNRWA posted on social media., external

"Day after day, providing assistance & protection becomes nearly impossible," the agency wrote.

Rushdi Abualouf
BBC News Gaza correspondent

Eyewitnesses and local journalists in Rafah have reported that Israeli tanks have seized control of al-Awda roundabout in the heart of the city.

This roundabout is a key landmark housing major banks, government institutions, businesses, and shops.

The Israeli army's takeover of the roundabout, located just half-a-kilometre from the Palestinian-Egyptian border on the southern side, was marked by intense artillery shelling.

A witness, who sought refuge with family members at the Emirati Hospital in the city's west side described how soldiers positioned themselves at the top of a building overlooking the square and began shooting at any movement in the area.

The Hamas-controlled health ministry has said 46 people have died across Gaza in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 36,096.

A further 110 injuries were also reported.

The Israel Defense Forces are conducting military operation in northern and central Gaza, as well as pushing ahead with the highly contentious raid into the southern city of Rafah.

What is the Philadelphi Corridor?published at 11:51 British Summer Time 28 May

11:51 BST 28 May

Raffi Berg
Digital Middle East editor

Image source, Reuters

The so-called Philadelphi Corridor, where the IDF says it operated overnight, is a narrow strip about 14km (8.6 miles) long which runs the length of Gaza's border with Egypt. It includes the Rafah crossing, which Israel seized from Hamas on 7 May.

The corridor is part of a wider, demilitarised zone agreed upon by Israel and Egypt when Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005. As part of the accord, Egypt was allowed to deploy a small number of border guards on its side to stop weapons smuggling and infiltrations.

Since 2007 though, Hamas has been in control of the Gaza side, digging tunnels and smuggling arms, with taxation on goods brought in that way becoming a major source of income. Egypt flooded and demolished many tunnels but some survived and new ones were dug. Israel says it has identified 50 tunnels crossing into Egypt.

Back in December 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had to take control of the border area, including the Philadelphi Corridor, to "ensure [its] demilitarisation". The IDF has now taken control of Zoroub Hill, the highest hill overlooking the Gaza-Egypt border, giving it effective control of a 9km stretch of the corridor.

Egypt has previously said it will not reopen its side of the Rafah crossing for aid until the Gazan side is handed back to the Palestinians. That is a prospect which now seems ever more distant.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed troops were deployed along the Philadelphi Corridor - the thin buffer zone which separates Gaza and Egypt - overnight.

Earlier, we reported witness reports that Israeli forces were now in control of 9km of the strategically important route.

In a statement on its Rafah operations, the IDF says it is "engaging with terrorists in close-quarters combat and locating terror tunnel shafts, weapons, and additional terrorist infrastructure in the area".

The Israel military also says it is "intensifying" operations in the central Gaza Strip and carrying out operations in northern Gaza.

Diplomatic moves today will not be felt on the groundpublished at 11:14 British Summer Time 28 May

11:14 BST 28 May

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, EPA

Ireland, Spain and Norway say they are recognising Palestinian statehood to kick-start a political process.

They argue there will be a sustained solution to the current crisis only if both sides can aim at some kind of political horizon - but what will it mean in practical terms?

The problem is that recognising a Palestinian state is largely a symbolic gesture if it does not also address the vital concomitant questions.

What should the borders be? Where should the capital be located? What should both sides do first to make it happen?

These are difficult questions that have not been agreed - or even answered - satisfactorily for decades.

Supporters will cheer the move, opponents will decry it.

The grim reality for Palestinians on the ground is unlikely to change.

You can read my full analysis here.

Image source, Reuters

The director of planning for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Sam Rose, has been speaking to the BBC's Today programme from Rafah about the air strike that killed scores of Palestinians on Sunday.

At least 45 people were killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, while hundreds more have been treated for severe burns, fractures and shrapnel wounds.

Rose says there were around eight strikes on a camp and that many were killed in fires as a result. He has heard reports of "horrific shrapnel injuries”.

Rose raises Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's initial description of the strike as a "mishap".

“We cannot dismiss this as a simple accident. Women and children were killed in the most gruesome, the most brutal, of circumstances," he says.

The situation in Gaza is reaching “new depths of horror and bloodshed and brutality every single day", he says.

“If this isn’t a wake up call" for the international community, "it’s hard to see what will be", he adds.

Image source, Reuters

A lot has been happening over the past few days. Here's a round-up of where we're at ahead of an emergency UN Security Council meeting later this evening.

• At least 45 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on the city of Rafah on Sunday, the Hamas-run health ministry said, while hundreds more were treated for severe burns, fractures and shrapnel wounds
• Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike was a “tragic mishap” but vowed to continue the war against Hamas
• Strikes on Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had been sheltering, have continued overnight, with 16 people reportedly killed
• There has been international condemnation of Sunday's strike, with UN secretary general António Guterres saying: "There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop"
• At Algeria's request, a UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting later today to discuss Sunday's strike on Rafah
• Last week, the EU asked Israel to "fully respect" a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel stop military actions on Rafah "which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”
• Since the ICJ ruling, Israel has pledged to continue the offensive on Rafah, with officials insisting the ruling left room for its operation to continue
• Ireland, Norway and Spain are expected to formally recognise the state of Palestine today

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz issued a strong public criticism of a key member of the Spanish government this morning.

In a video posted on social media last week, Yolanda Diaz, Spain's left-wing deputy prime minister and labour minister, used the controversial expression "Palestine will be free from the river to the sea".

Writing in Spanish on X, Katz compared Diaz's views with the leaders of Hamas and Iran, saying they called for "the disappearance of the State of Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian Islamic terrorist state from the river to the sea".

By not firing her and recognising a Palestinian state, Katz accused the Spanish prime minister of being complicit in inciting "in inciting the murder of the Jewish people and war crimes".

Israel has been strongly critical of Spain's decision to recognise Palestinian statehood, which it says will embolden Hamas.

Image source, X/Spanish government

Spain's prime minister has given a public address this morning in which he said the move to recognise Palestinian statehood was necessary to establish stability in the region.

Pedro Sánchez said it was a matter of "historic justice", as well as an "essential" step towards a lasting peace.

He said Spain would join around 140 other countries around the world which have already recognised Palestinian statehood.

Later today, he will meet with his ministers where the diplomatic move will be formally signed off.

Image source, EPA

China has called on Israel to “stop its attacks on Rafah” after Sunday's strike, which killed dozens in a displaced persons camp.

Beijing expressed “grave concern over the ongoing Israeli military operations in Rafah", foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, according to the AFP news agency.

It comes amid a wave of international condemnation over the strike.

In a statement on Monday, UN secretary general António Guterres said the strike had "killed scores of innocent civilians who were only seeking shelter from this deadly conflict".

The UN's human rights chief, Volker Turk, said the attack suggested that there had been "no apparent change in the methods and means of warfare used by Israel that have already led to so many civilian deaths".

The US called the images "heart-breaking" but insisted Israel had a right to defend itself, adding that "Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians", while the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, called Sunday's strike "horrifying".

Some of the hundreds of thousands of civilians who were sheltering in Rafah are now fleeing the city as military operations intensify.

Families were seen transporting their belongings in Rafah this morning as they looked for shelter away from the increased fighting.

Rafah had been designated a safe zone by Israel for people displaced from their homes elsewhere in Gaza but many have now been ordered to leave or are fleeing.

The Israeli military is pressing ahead with an incursion into the city, which it says is one of Hamas's last remaining strongholds in the Palestinian enclave.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Rushdi Abualouf
BBC News Gaza correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

As the sun rose, thousands of Palestinians were seen leaving the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood using cars, trucks and carts drawn by donkeys and horses, heading north.

Khaled Mahmoud, a resident of Tal al-Sultan in western Rafah, expressed his distress.

"The explosions are rattling our tent, my children are frightened, and my sick father makes it impossible for us to escape the darkness.

"We are supposed to be in a safe zone according to the Israeli army's standards, yet we have not received evacuation orders like those in the eastern region, we fear for our lives if no one steps in to protect us," Mahmoud said.

A harrowing video shared on social media captured a woman rushing through a dark street, clutching her child tightly to escape the ongoing Israeli attacks.

A local journalist at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Tal Al-Sultan, amidst the relentless bombings, reported that numerous families sought refuge in the medical centre's courtyard, while ambulances struggled to reach the affected areas due to the severity of the situation.

Rushdi Abualouf
BBC News Gaza correspondent

Image source, Reuters

The western part of Rafah city is currently under heavy bombardment and artillery fire, the most intense since the military operation began in early May.

Eyewitnesses said that Israeli tanks have now taken control of the strategic Zoroub Hill, the highest hill overlooking the Palestinian-Egyptian border.

The Israeli army has expanded its military operations in the west and troops are controlling 9km of the Philadelphi Corridor, witnesses told the BBC. Local officials said at least 16 people were killed overnight, with no confirmation from the health ministry yet.

The air strikes have forced hundreds of families to flee to a nearby hospital, with rescue teams struggling to access the explosion sites.

Israel under enormous pressure to explain strike which killed dozenspublished at 08:40 British Summer Time 28 May

08:40 BST 28 May

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

Israel has been scrambling to find out what went wrong in Rafah on Sunday. How did a “precision strike” using specialised munitions with “reduced warheads” result in a firestorm which killed dozens and injured scores?

Following last week’s ruling by the International Court of Justice, ordering Israel to halt any operations in the Rafah area that might inflict further harm on the Palestinian population, Israel knows that the eyes of the world are on it.

It’s under enormous pressure to explain its actions. It says the operation was based on intelligence, and it seems Hamas figures were killed.

But the presence of huge numbers of civilians and, it seems, a significant quantity of flammable material, raises a great many questions about how this incident was planned and executed.

But whether this marks a turning point in the campaign is another matter. Benjamin Netanyahu remains committed to what he calls “total victory” in Rafah, so there’s no sign that this will change his mind.

Peter Bowes
North America correspondent

The UN Security Council has called an emergency meeting for today to discuss an Israeli air strike which killed dozens of displaced Palestinians in Rafah on Sunday.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the strike as a "tragic mishap," but there's growing international condemnation of the incident

The closed door emergency meeting of the Security Council was requested by Algeria - and comes after the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres added his voice to the international outcry over the Rafah attack.

He said the situation there was "a horror that had to stop" and that there was "no safe place in Gaza".

According to the Hamas-run health ministry at least 45 people were killed by the strike on Sunday. Hundreds more were treated for severe burns, fractures and shrapnel wounds.

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

This is largely a process today involving cabinets signing off recognition after the respective prime ministers announced they would do it last week on 28 May.

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez, is making a statement now at La Moncloa, the government's headquarters, saying it’s “for peace, for justice and for coherence” ahead of Spanish cabinet approval.

Dublin too is formally approving the plan brought by Tánaiste (Foreign Minister) Micheál Martin to the cabinet – and the Palestinian flag will be raised alongside the Ukrainian flag at Leinster House, the seat of parliament.

It’s a big deal for Spain and Ireland but other EU states think it’s not the right time at all, including Belgium, Malta and Slovenia which were initially cited as keen.

Several EU states already recognise a Palestinian state because they did already before the joined the EU. Sweden is the only Western European state that has done so up until now - in 2014.

Spain has the most rhetoric – it has EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell who yesterday targeted Netanyahu accusing him of using the term antisemitism whenever anyone criticised him – EU foreign ministers yesterday agreed to hold a meeting of the EU-Israel Council in response to the ICJ announcement. Borrell is the most outspoken man in the EU on Israel.

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares also spoke outside yesterday’s EU FMs meeting in Brussels. "Recognising the state of Palestine is about justice for the Palestinian people," it’s also "the best guarantee of security for Israel and absolutely essential for reaching peace in the region", he said alongside his Irish and Norwegian counterparts.

Formal recognition unlikely to change much on the groundpublished at 07:57 British Summer Time 28 May

07:57 BST 28 May

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

Today’s recognition of the state of Palestine by three European countries is on one level prosaically diplomatic: documents will be exchanged, consulates will become embassies, representatives will transform into ambassadors.

On another level it is deeply political. Ireland, Norway and Spain want to revive focus on a two-state solution.

It is not enough, they say, to work only for a ceasefire and hostage exchange. And they are acting together to put pressure on their counterparts to follow suit.

Israel is outraged, saying this rewards terrorism. It’s withdrawn its own ambassadors from the three countries and formally reprimanded their envoys in Israel.

All this may encourage Palestinians and shift the diplomatic dial but it’s unlikely to change much on the ground.

Recognition of Palestinian statehood is a minority position in Europe but Spain, Ireland and Norway are attempting to begin to shift that balance today.

The three European countries have co-ordinated this move, which was announced last week in a rapid succession of announcements and will be formally confirmed by today.

They have said the move is not designed to be anti-Israel, but rather a step towards a two-state solution and stability in the region.

In practice, it means they join almost all of Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East by formally enshrining their position that the Palestinian territories constitute a state.

The move puts them at odds with the vast majority of Europe, where there is broad, long-standing political support for a two-state solution - which would see Israel peacefully co-exist alongside a Palestinian state - but where actual recognition is limited.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is due to speak this morning and there will be a debate in the Irish parliament, where the Palestinian flag is due to be flown.