Expanding its military attacks in the Jibaliya camp, Israel announced that 5 soldiers were killed by “friendly fire” and 7 were wounded. Hamas’ military wing, the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, said it had killed 12 Israeli soldiers in the operation it organised in the camp.

According to the Times of Israel, 5 Israeli soldiers were killed by friendly fire and 7 were wounded, 3 of them seriously, in the Jibaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, where the Israeli army said it had “expanded its ground offensive”.

The Israeli army’s preliminary report said that an Israeli tank, acting in conjunction with paratroopers, targeted a building housing the soldiers twice last night. It was stated that the tank unit arrived in the area before the paratroopers and deployed in the building in question after the paratroopers reached the area.

In the evening, it was stated that another paratrooper unit arrived in the area and informed 2 Israeli tanks that they had entered the same building.

It was stated that the tank unit opened fire twice on the building after detecting a gun barrel in one of the windows of the building in question.

In a written statement, the Israeli army identified the soldiers killed as Captain Roy Beit Yaakov (22), Sergeant Gilad Arye Boim (22), Sergeant Daniel Chemu (20), Sergeant Ilan Cohen (20) and Sergeant Betzlel David Shashuah (21) of the Paratroopers Brigade.

The Israeli army announced yesterday that it had expanded its military offensive in the Jibaliya camp, and eyewitnesses said Israeli soldiers had forcibly evicted “hundreds of displaced Palestinians from their shelters west of Gaza City”.

Palestinian factions also engaged in fierce clashes with the Israeli army, which stepped up its attacks.

Hamas announced that it had hit 12 Israeli army vehicles, including 7 tanks, 4 bulldozers and 1 unidentified military vehicle.

The Kassam Brigades’ statement said that the Israeli army’s D9 military bulldozer was targeted with a “Yassin-105” rocket, and that the Israeli forces hiding in a house were targeted with two anti-personnel rockets and clashed.Meanwhile, a Merkava tank was targeted with an explosive device as the rescue force was moving towards the scene, and at least 12 Israeli soldiers were killed in the operation.

More troops to Rafah

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the Israeli army has sent additional troops to the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where it is threatening to expand its ground offensive.

The Times of Israel reported that the Israeli army sent a commando unit overnight to join the 162nd Division stationed east of Rafah.

The article noted that an additional military unit had been sent to Rafah at a time when Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government had approved the “expansion of Israel’s ground offensive” in Rafah.

In its statement on 6 May, the Israeli army demanded the evacuation of some neighbourhoods in the east of Rafah where displaced Palestinians had taken refuge, and on the morning of 7 May it announced that it had launched a ground offensive in the Rafah area of Gaza, capturing the Gaza side of the border crossing with Egypt.

On Thursday and Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will consider new urgent measures requested by South Africa in response to the Israeli offensive in Rafah.

On 10 May, the Republic of South Africa asked the ICJ to grant new measures on the grounds that the Israeli offensive in Rafah has caused irreparable harm to the rights of the people of Gaza.

The ICJ announced that hearings on 16 and 17 May will consider South Africa’s request to the Court for further urgent measures against Israel for its attacks on Rafah, as part of the ongoing case accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians.

South Africa’s application stated that new measures should be ordered against Israel on the grounds that the ICJ’s orders of 26 January and 28 March did not reflect the deteriorating conditions and new facts in Gaza and Rafah. The application said Israel had persistently failed to comply with the Court’s orders and continued its “egregious violations” in Gaza.

“Israel’s military operations in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza are themselves genocidal,” the application said, stressing that the Court should do more than order Israel to comply with the injunctions and its obligations under the Genocide Convention. The application asked the Court to order Israel to cease its military operations.

In January, the Court did not order Israel to stop its attacks as a precautionary measure.

The request stated that Israel had seized the Kerem Abu Salim (Shalom) crossing, the last place of refuge for civilians in Gaza, and had taken de facto control of entry and exit to and from Gaza, and that Israel had prevented humanitarian aid from reaching 1.5 million Gazans.

The new measures demanded were as follows:

1- Israel will cease its military attacks at Rafah and withdraw immediately.

2 – Israel will immediately take all effective measures to ensure and facilitate unhindered access to Gaza for non-governmental organisations, including United Nations agencies, researchers and journalists, to assess the situation in Gaza and to ensure the preservation and collection of evidence, and to ensure that its army does not act in a manner that prevents access.

3- Within one week of the announcement of the new measures, Israel shall provide the Court with an accessible report describing the measures it has taken to implement both the previous measures and the new measures requested.

Israel has previously dismissed South Africa’s genocide case as unfounded, claiming that it is acting in accordance with international law in Gaza, with Tel Aviv accusing Pretoria of acting as the “legal arm of Hamas”.

Will Egypt intervene?

Egypt announced its intention to intervene in the case after Israel seized the Rafah border crossing.

In a statement posted on the Facebook page of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was stated that the decision to intervene came as a result of the escalation in the severity and scope of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, the continuation of systematic practices, including direct attacks against the Palestinian people, the destruction of infrastructure, the displacement of Palestinians from their lands, and the unprecedented humanitarian crisis that has made the Gaza Strip uninhabitable.

Egypt urged Israel to fulfil its obligations as an occupying power, to implement the interim measures issued by the ICJ, and to refrain from any violations against the Palestinian people, a protected people under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the statement said.

The statement also called on the United Nations Security Council and international parties to take immediate action to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, halt military operations at Rafah and provide the necessary protection to Palestinian civilians.

It was previously announced that Nicaragua, Colombia and Libya had requested intervention under Articles 62 and 63 of the Court’s Charter.

Under Article 83 of its Rules of Procedure, the Court had invited South Africa and Israel to submit written observations on Colombia’s application for intervention.

At least 315 people have lost their lives, thousands of homes were damaged and livestock wiped out during the recent flash floods caused by heavy rain in northern Afghanistan.

Taliban authorities announced that over 1,600 people were wounded and the villagers buried their dead and aid agencies scrambling to help the survivors. “The death toll has exceeded 300, and sadly, we expect this number to rise. The flood has also destroyed more than 2,000 homes,” the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on X.

Most of the casualties were reported in the northern Baghlan province where the floods destroyed 3,000 homes, damaged farmland, and washed away livestock. People are in desperate need as the deadly flood also damaged health centers.

Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Abdul Ghani Baradar had visited Baghlan and met with the victims. He called on the aid organizations and the traders to help the affected people and the residents are in a deep shock as they buried dozens of bodies. The most of the victims are from Nahrin district

We have not food and no drinking water 

“We have no food, no drinking water and no shelter or blankets,” said Najibullah, who has lost nine members of his family. Three children are among the casualties.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that heavy rainfall and flash floods affected 21 districts across Badakhshan, Baghlan, and Takhar provinces.

At least 73 people have lost their lives and 76 others were wounded in Baghlani Jadid district where 1,500 houses have been damaged or destroyed. “In Burka district, 70 deaths and 150 injuries have been confirmed, along with damage to 5,000 homes. Elsewhere, 13 deaths were reported across Dahnai Ghori,  Guzargah Noor, Jelga, Narin and Puli Khumri districts where 1,612 homes were reportedly destroyed or damaged. A further 603 homes were reported as such in Khost and Tala wa Barfak  districts,” it said in a statement.

Afghan relatives offer prayers during a burial ceremony, near the graves of victims who lost their lives following flash floods after heavy rainfall at a village in Baghlan-e-Markazi district of Baghlan province.

At least 24 people were reportedly killed across Chall, Ishkamish, Farkhar and Namak Ab districts in Takhar province, with 14 injured and a further seven missing. More than one hundred homes were also reportedly destroyed or damaged – the vast majority in Chall and Ishkamish districts.

Baghlan, Badakhshan and Takhar provinces are affected the most

In Badakhshan province, Teshkan district has been the most affected with 200 homes, 50 bridges and 30 electricity dams destroyed or damaged and 2,000 animals killed.

“With every beat of our hearts, we feel the deep sorrow that’s befallen Baghlan and all of Afghanistan. In this tragic time, our spirits reach out to embrace the families in mourning,” the International Labour Organization (ILIO) covering Afghanistan said in X.

UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett, said that “recent floods in Afghanistan including Baghlan which claimed many lives, are a stark reminder of Afghanistan’s vulnerability to the climate crisis and both immediate aid and long term planning by the Taliban and international actors are needed”.

Recent floods are stark reminder of Afghanistan’s vulnerability to the climate crisis 

Indrika Ratwatte, deputy special representative of UNAMA for Afghanistan said that the country has remained amongst the world’s top 10 climate impacted countries while having no significant carbon footprint. “Climate shocks continue to ravage vulnerable communities. Urgent support for climate adaptation and mitigation for the people of Afghanistan is a critical need,” he added.

He furthered that Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) will remain the main funding platform for providing life saving humanitarian assistance to millions. The international community needs to step up and support this critical lifeline for the people of Afghanistan, he added.

At the same time the World Health Organization’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that WHO and its partners have deployed 17 mobile health teams to assist flood victims in Afghanistan.

In a post on X, Tedros emphasized that the recent floods resulted in more than 300 deaths and caused extensive damage to homes and health facilities.

“We are providing essential medicines and medical supplies to the affected communities,” he added.