Israel-Gaza war live: Israel recalls ambassadors as Norway, Ireland and Spain say they will recognise Palestinian state | Israel-Gaza war

Ireland’s recognition of a Palestine state will be formally enacted on 28 May, foreign minister Micheál Martin said on X.

This is the same date as for Spain and Norway, who also confirmed today their intentions to officially recognise a Palestinian state.

Sam Jones is Madrid correspondent for the Guardian.

Speaking to MPs in congress on Wednesday, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez announced that his socialist-led coalition government would recognise the state of Palestine on 28 May.

He said his government rejected what he termed “the massacre in Gaza and the rest of the Palestinian territories” and reiterated its demands for a ceasefire and the implementation of the two-state solution.

But he also said the time had come for concrete action.

“Prime minister Netanyahu is still turning a blind eye and bombing hospitals, schools, homes,” said Sánchez. “He is still using hunger, cold and terror to punish more than a million innocent boys and girls – and things have gone so far that prosecutors at the international criminal court have this week sought his arrest for war crimes.”

The Spanish prime minister said that he was in no doubt whatsoever that Netanyahu had “no peace plan for Palestine”, adding that he was causing so much pain, destruction and bitterness in Gaza and the rest of Palestine that the two-state solution was now in serious danger.

“Those countries that defend human rights and rule-based international law are obliged to act – in Ukraine and in Palestine – without double standards,” said Sánchez.

He said:

We’re obliged to do what we can: sending humanitarian aid, as we are; helping refugees and displaced people, as we are.

But we also have to use all the political resources at our disposal to say, loud and clear, that we’re not going to allow the possibility of the two-state solution to be destroyed by force because it’s the only just and sustainable solution to this terrible conflict.

And that is why I wish to inform you that after discussing the decision with the two parties that make up this progressive coalition government – and in keeping with the feelings of the majority of the Spanish people – Spain’s cabinet will approve the recognition of the Palestinian state on Tuesday 28 May.”

His words were met with huge applause in Spain’s lower chamber.

Aletha Adu

Aletha Adu is a political correspondent for the Guardian.

A group of cross-party MPs and peers in the UK have urged the government “to do all it can to support the international criminal court” after the British prime minister Rishi Sunak called the ICC’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders “deeply unhelpful”.

In a letter to the foreign secretary, Lord David Cameron, 105 MPs and Lords from 11 parties said the government must take a clear stance against any attempts to intimidate an independent and impartial international court”, adding “the court, its prosecutor, and all its staff must be free to pursue justice without fear or favour”.

The chief prosecutor of the ICC has said he will apply for arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.

Labour MPs Richard Burgon and Imran Hussain who organised the letter said “there is mounting evidence that Israel has committed clear and obvious violations of international law in Gaza and we strongly believe that those responsible must be held to account”.

Spain will recognise a Palestinian state from 28 May, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has announced.

More details soon …

Israel have “instructed for the immediate recall” of Israel’s ambassadors to Ireland and Norway.

Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz shared a post with the news on X. It said:

I have instructed the immediate recall of Israel’s ambassadors to Ireland and Norway for consultations in light of these countries’ decisions to recognise a Palestinian state.

I’m sending a clear and unequivocal message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not remain silent in the face of those undermining its sovereignty and endangering its security.

Today’s decision sends a message to the Palestinians and the world: Terrorism pays. After the Hamas terror organisation carried out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, after committing heinous sexual crimes witnessed by the world, these countries chose to reward Hamas and Iran by recognizing a Palestinian state.

This distorted step by these countries is an injustice to the memory of the victims of 7/10, a blow to efforts to return the 128 hostages, and a boost to Hamas and Iran’s jihadists, which undermines the chance for peace and questions Israel’s right to self-defence.

Israel will not remain silent – there will be further severe consequences. If Spain follows through on its intention to recognise a Palestinian state, a similar step will be taken against it.

The Irish-Norwegian folly does not deter us; we are determined to achieve our goals: restoring security to our citizens, dismantling Hamas, and bringing the hostages home. There are no more just causes than these.”

Ireland’s taoiseach Simon Harris has confirmed that Ireland will recognise a Palestinian state. He is speaking at a press conference now.

Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre said on Wednesday: “There cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition.”

Gahr Støre said the Scandinavian country will officially recognise a Palestinian state as of 28 May, reports the Associated Press (AP).

Several EU countries have in the past weeks indicated that they plan to make the recognition, arguing a two-state solution is essential for lasting peace in the region.

According to the AP, Norway – which is not a member of the EU but mirror its moves – has been an ardent supporter of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

“The terror has been committed by Hamas and militant groups who are not supporters of a two-state solution and the state of Israel,” Gahr Støre said. “Palestine has a fundamental right to an independent state,” he told a press conference, reports the AP.

The Scandinavian country “will therefore regard Palestine as an independent state with all the rights and obligations that entails,” Gahr Støre said.

Norway’s recognition of a Palestine state comes more than 30 years after the first Oslo agreement was signed in 1993. Since then, “the Palestinians have taken important steps towards a two-state solution,” the Norwegian government said.

It said that the World Bank determined that Palestine had met key criteria to function as a state in 2011, that national institutions have been built up to provide the population with important services.

“The war in Gaza and the constant expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank still mean that the situation in Palestine is more difficult than it has been in decades,” the Norwegian government said, according to the AP.

Norway will recognise a Palestinian state, prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre said on Wednesday, writes Reuters, confirming earlier reports.

More details soon …

Ireland, Spain and Norway are expected to announce plans to formally recognise a Palestinian state on Wednesday, according to multiple reports, amid warnings from Israel that recognition will “fuel extremism and instability”.

The three Irish government leaders – premier Simon Harris, deputy premier Micheál Martin and minister Eamon Ryan – are due to hold a press conference on Wednesday morning. They had earlier signalled the government would make the move to recognise Palestinian statehood by the end of May.

National public broadcaster RTÉ and the Irish Times both reported it was understood the decision to do so would be announced at the news conference.

The Guardian understands that Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, will also reveal a date for formal recognition on Wednesday, after announcing his intention last week to do so.

Sánchez has been one of the most outspoken European leaders when it comes to criticism of Israel’s offensive in Gaza. He has also repeatedly said that the two-state solution remains the only answer to the crisis in the Middle East.

Norway’s public broadcaster and the daily Aftenposten meanwhile reported, citing unnamed sources, that the government would announce on Wednesday that the Nordic country recognises an independent Palestinian state.

It has gone 9am in Gaza and Tel Aviv. This is our latest Guardian live blog on the Israel-Gaza war and the wider Middle East crisis.

Ireland, Spain and Norway are reportedly to announce a date for the formal recognition of a Palestinian state on Wednesday, according to reports from all three countries.

The three nations have been among the most outspoken critics of Israel’s campaign in Gaza and have been holding negotiations with other European states about making a joint declaration on recognition of Palestine.

The Israeli foreign ministry pre-empted a potential announcement, releasing a video claiming that recognition of a Palestinian state would “lead to more terrorism, instability in the region and jeopardize any prospects for peace”.

“Don’t be a pawn in the hands of Hamas,” it warned.

More on that in a moment. Here is a summary of the latest developments:

• The UN has suspended food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where Israel launched an intensified assault earlier this month, due to lack of supplies and insecurity. It also said no aid trucks have entered the territory in the past two days via a floating pier set up by the US for sea deliveries, and warned that the $320m (£250m) project may fail unless Israel starts providing the conditions humanitarian groups need to operate safely.

• Fighting raged around the far southern city of Rafah, the last area to face a ground invasion, on Tuesday but fierce combat was also reported again in the northern Jabalia area where Hamas forces have regrouped. The World Health Organization said northern Gaza’s last two functioning hospitals, al-Awda and Kamal Adwan, were besieged by Israeli forces, with more than 200 patients trapped inside both.

• Israeli missiles struck the emergency department of Kamal Adwan hospital, medics said, prompting panicked medical staff to rush patients on hospital beds and stretchers to the rubble-strewn street outside. “The first missile when it hit, it hit the entrance of the emergency department. We tried to enter, and then a second missile hit, and the third hit the building nearby,” Hussam Abu Safia, the head of the hospital, told Reuters.

• The health ministry in Gaza said that 35,647 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israel’s military action since 7 October, with 79,852 wounded. Thousands more are believed to be buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

• Israel urged what it called “nations of the civilised world” to refuse to implement any international criminal court (ICC) arrest warrants issued against its leaders. “We call on the nations of the civilised, free world – nations who despise terrorists and anyone who supports them – to stand by Israel. You should outright condemn this step,” government spokesperson, Tal Heinrich, said.

• The Biden administration is willing to work with Congress to potentially impose sanctions against ICC officials over the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over the Gaza war, Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, said. Joe Biden as well as his political opponents have sharply criticised the ICC announcement, arguing the court does not have jurisdiction over the Gaza conflict and raising concerns over process.

• The Republican leader of the US House of Representatives said on Tuesday he was close to inviting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address lawmakers even if the Senate’s Democratic leader did not go along. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters at the Capitol he had given Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer until Tuesday to sign a letter inviting Netanyahu to address a joint meeting.

• Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant said the court’s move was an “attempt to deny the state of Israel the right to defend itself”. Gallant said the “prosecutor’s parallel between the terrorist organization Hamas and the state of Israel is despicable and disgusting.”

• Israeli officials seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to the Associated Press in southern Israel on Tuesday, before reversing course in the face of widespread condemnation from media groups and criticism from its closest ally, the US. Officials had accused the US-based wire service, which has subscribers around the globe, of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera, which it has banned from the country.

• Individual members of Israel’s security forces are tipping off far-right activists and settlers to the location of aid trucks delivering vital supplies to Gaza, enabling the groups to block and vandalise the convoys, according to multiple sources. Settlers intercepting the vital humanitarian supplies to the strip are receiving information about the location of the aid trucks from members of the Israeli police and military, a spokesperson from the main Israeli activist group behind the blockades told the Guardian.

• The British government is preparing to publish a summary of its legal advice stating there are no clear risks that selling arms to Israel will lead to a serious breach of international humanitarian law (IHL). The government has so far rigidly insisted it will not publish any legal advice or any summary but on Tuesday the deputy foreign secretary, Andrew Mitchell, said he would “look to see what more detail we could offer” due to the “strength of feeling in the IHL assessment process”.

• A surgeon, a teacher and a schoolchild riding a bicycle were among eight Palestinians killed in an Israeli raid on the West Bank refugee camp in Jenin on Tuesday, while 20 others were wounded including photojournalist Amr Manasra, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the raid in a statement on Wafa, saying Israel was “killing innocent people, doctors, and destroying the infrastructure of Palestinian hospitals, cities and villages”.

• The Israeli military, which said it was carrying out a “counter-terrorism operation”, also bulldozed and destroyed infrastructure near Jenin governmental hospital, Wafa reported. At least 513 Palestinians have been killed in the territory by Israeli troops or settlers since the Gaza war broke out, according to Palestinian officials.

• Israel has addressed many of Biden’s concerns over its long-simmering plan to carry out a widescale military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas, a senior Biden administration official said Tuesday. The official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and requested anonymity, said that in talks over the weekend with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Israeli officials incorporated many changes into their planning that seem to meet concerns about deepening an operation in an area that has been flooded with Palestinian refugees during the seven-month war.

• The US and Saudi Arabia have reached a near final set of arrangements for a bilateral defence pact that includes a security component and a civil nuclear component, a senior administration official said on Tuesday. The official said the deal was “more or less complete,” but cautioned that certain elements, including a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood and steps on stabilising Gaza, still needed to be completed.