Egypt rips Israel's 'desperate attempts' to deflect blame for Gaza crisis

Editor's Note: This is a summary of news on the Israel-Hamas war for Tuesday, May 14. For the latest news, see our file for Wednesday, May 15.

Egypt, a key mediator in negotiations for a cease-fire and the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, fired back Tuesday at Israel for passing along blame for what the U.S. is calling "not nearly enough'' humanitarian aid going into the embattled territory.

Israel took over the vital Rafah crossing a week ago during what it calls a limited military operation in the southern border city, prompting condemnation from Egypt and concern from the United Nations about the move's impact on the influx of assistance for Palestinians deprived of food, fuel and other necessities. That access point and the Kerem Shalom crossing, also in the south, remain closed, limiting the ability of aid organizations to bring in supplies that have piled up on the Egyptian side of the border.

“We’ve seen 50 trucks enter Gaza on May 12. This is not nearly enough,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said Tuesday.

Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz said it was up to Egypt to open the Rafah crossing, going as far as saying he addressed that need with some of his European counterparts. “The key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends,” Katz said in comments released by his office.

That did not sit well with Egyptian foreign ministry officials, who issued a statement decrying "the desperate attempts of the Israeli side to hold Egypt responsible for the unprecedented humanitarian crisis facing the Gaza Strip,'' and adding, "The foreign minister called on Israel to fulfil its legal responsibility as the occupying power, by allowing aid to enter through the land ports under its control."

Though it worries about a large influx of Palestinians fleeing the violence, Egypt has maintained its side of the crossing has been open since the war started.

Escape from Rafah: Hundreds of thousands flee city as fighting intensifies in Gaza

Developments:

∎ A $1 billion military package for Israel, including tank rounds, mortars and armored tactical vehicles, has been transferred from the State Department into the congressional review process, Reuters reported Tuesday. President Joe Biden said last week he was delaying delivery of hundreds of bombs over disagreements about Israel's military plans in Rafah.

∎ Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said Tuesday that cease-fire talks would continue, although Israel’s assault on Rafah has set back progress on any truce or release of the remaining hostages Hamas captured Oct. 7.

∎ White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan is scheduled to travel to Israel and Saudi Arabia this weekend amid concerns about a larger Israeli incursion into Rafah.

∎ An Israeli strike on a house in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza killed seven people and wounded several others, medics told Reuters.

∎ Amid concerns over an escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, a British emergency room doctor volunteering there said he had been told by the World Health Organization that some emergency fuel had made it into the enclave. “Health is still being prioritized over other essential services, so when health looks a bit better it generally means other essential services are struggling,” James Smith told Reuters via WhatsApp. “It’s a zero-sum game.”

Israel presses further into besieged Rafah

Israeli troops drove deeper into of Rafah on Tuesday as the military said its forces were wiping out Hamas terrorists and fighting flared again in the north.

UNRWA, the main United Nations aid agency in Gaza, estimates about 450,000 people have fled Rafah since May 6. "People face constant exhaustion, hunger and fear. Nowhere is safe,” UNRWA said on X.

Israel has dismissed global outcries over the escalation into Rafah, saying the incursion is necessary to root out Hamas militants responsible for the Oct. 7 border attacks that left 1,200 Israelis dead and triggered the war. More than 1 million Palestinians had been sheltering in Rafah after fleeing fighting in the north.

The Israeli Defense Forces said Tuesday that it destroyed “several armed terrorist” cells on the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and east of the city, and also a launch post for missiles being fired at IDF troops.

Gunbattles also intensified in northern Gaza, where Israel claimed Hamas militants were regrouping. The IDF said it had killed dozens of Hamas fighters in Jabalia, a large refugee camp, and found tunnel shafts and rocket launchers in other nearby areas.

Humanitarian efforts in Gaza paralyzed, aid group says

The Israeli ground incursion that has led to an ongoing closure of the Rafah crossing is causing major disruptions in humanitarian organizations' efforts to bring assistance into Gaza, leaving the territory "on the brink of collapse and famine,'' the International Rescue Committee said in an e-mail Tuesday.

The aid group said it was scheduled to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing along with an emergency medical team Monday but they were unable to get through the closed access point, denying Palestinians in the enclave desperately needed health care and medications.

“What we are witnessing in Rafah is nothing less than a humanitarian catastrophe,'' said Kiryn Lanning, the IRC team lead for Gaza. "The ongoing Israeli bombardment, combined with the closure of the Rafah crossing, has led to critical fuel shortages and severe movement restrictions, paralyzing all humanitarian operations.''

UN court to hold hearings on genocide claims

The U.N.’s International Court of Justice said Tuesday it will hold hearings Thursday and Friday as part of an ongoing case South Africa filed at the court in December accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention in Gaza.

Israel has countered by accusing South Africa of acting as "the legal arm" of Hamas, and says it is acting in accordance with international law in attempting to root out terrorists.

South Africa will address the court Thursday after asking last week that Israel be ordered to cease its Rafah offensive and allow access to Gaza for U.N. and other humanitarian aid officials. Israel will present its side of the case Friday.

WHO supports Gaza Health Ministry death toll numbers

The World Health Organization on Tuesday expressed full confidence in death toll figures from the Health Ministry in Gaza after Israel questioned the numbers.

The ministry last week updated its breakdown of 35,000 total fatalities in Gaza, saying about 25,000 of the dead have been fully identified. U.N. agencies have republished these figures.

“The fact we now have 25,000 identified people is a step forward,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said, insisting there was “nothing wrong” with Health Ministry data, which have stood up to scrutiny in past wars.

Among those killed who have been identified, 52% were women and children, lower than the ministry's previous estimates of close to 70%. The agency's figures don't differentiate civilians from combatants. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that 14,000 Hamas fighters and 16,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza.

Is Biden at a turning point with longtime ally Israel?

President Joe Biden is at a crossroads on America's military support for Israel in its war against Hamas, which could have profound and lasting effects on his presidency and the relationship with the Middle East country.

Biden's decision to pause a shipment of arms to Israel, along with a State Department report that concluded U.S. weapons were likely used to conduct operations in Gaza without adequately protecting civilians, marked a turning point for the Democratic president.

For the first time since the war began, Biden last week put conditions on U.S.-supplied weaponry: no more high payload bombs or artillery shells until the Israeli government abandons a plan to invade Rafah. Read more.

− Francesca Chambers

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel war live updates: Egypt says Israel to blame for Gaza crisis